Songs I Love Right Now — Summer Session

Michael Neault

Michael Neault

— 1 min read
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Songs I Love Right Now — Summer Session
Per Kleiva, 1971

Songs I Love Right Now — July 2026: Listen on Spotify

July 2026. Themes: Trinidadian jazz, Cajun accordion, Japanese spiritual jazz, Hawaiian experimental new age, Samoan choirs, Papa New Guinea string bands, pastoral country.

Listening Notes: I spent a lot of time listening to Japanese jazz, with a focus on spiritual piano. I think I was looking for the McCoy Tyner of Tokyo. American Jazz appears to have been adapted successfully by Japanese culture. Ryu Fukui is a force of nature. Worth your full attention, if you have 10 minutes. I came across a cool harp group called Tadao Hayashi Harp trio. I revisited the Bob Brozman collaboration, Papua New Guinea Stringbands, from 2005. Nothing else sounds like it. Mental bookmark to learn more about Brozman, who traveled the world, playing with interesting bands. See also: the Irish string band he played with on this same mix. Erin Durant's new record is very good. Following Me Around, Willie Nelson's best melody? Bobby Callender is an enigma (h/t Jeff Walls). Frankie Archer is pushing the format of folk music. Paul Spring is a new talent. Apparently he can do dance music and fingerpicking folk, both quite well (h/t Fredrik).

Artwork thumbnail, Per Kleiva, 1971.

Songs I Love Right Now — August 2026: Listen on Spotify

August 2026, themes: Cuban jazz, Joe Boyd productions, 50s Gospel, Italian disco (but not much), Australian indie rock, fuzzy folk.

Listening notes: Committed time to exploring the Chilly Gonzales catalogue. I think I enjoyed hearing his ideas about music more than some of his rap recordings, but I respect his craft. I would listen to his masterclass videos. Sam and Louise Sullivan was a revelation. Fresh sounds in indie rock. I explored a number of playlists by Bobby Lee; many are posted on Spotify. Mildred, from Oakland, is a discovery. I read Joe Boyd's White Bicycles, so many selections here are from his catalogue. Other selections were motivated by tracking down songs that inspired Graceland and other Paul Simon albums.

Artwork thumbnail, Don Ivan Punchatz.

—Michael Neault • Tell me about new music I need to hear

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