While all the playlists posted to date on this blog have had specific “themes” like “chillax” and “funkalicious,” for example, there are occasions when I am listening to music and do not have a specific theme in mind, preferring to sample whatever comes up on a random Apple created “station.” When I hear something I like, I save it, and those saves over the years are what make up the ALBOE playlist that follows. Just in case you haven’t deciphered the acronym – “A Little Bit of Everything.” I know, way too cute, but what the hell! What follows are fourteen songs, anchored by three from one artist I recently discovered, BadboE. These selections, as I have suggested above, are all over the musical landscape, and from a variety of different artists. I have selected four of these artists/groups to feature.
Kicking off the playlist are RÜFÜS DU SOL, an Australian alternative dance group from Sydney, consisting of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George, and James Hunt. The band was known simply as Rüfüs (stylized in all caps) from their inception until January 2014, before changing it to the above – exclusively in the United States – to avoid confusion with an existing funk band, Rufus. In 2018, they adopted the longer name worldwide for the sake of consistency. Their debut album, Atlas, peaked at number one in Australia in 2013, and their three subsequent albums also did very well in their homeland. In 2020, the band recorded a live album from Joshua Tree, California entitled Rüfüs Du Sol: Live From Joshua Tree. The 45-minute album and accompanying feature film, shot in Joshua Tree National Park, included music from the band’s three albums to date: Bloom, Atlas, and Solace. As part of their 2021-2023 Surrender world tour, they played three sold out stadium shows at Banc of California Stadium. In 2022, they won a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for their song, “Alive.”
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced “dead-mouse”), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house and electro house music, as well as being a producer and DJ of other styles of electronic, including techno under the alias Testpilot. Zimmerman is well known for wearing custom helmets for performances and appearances, similar to Daft Punk and later inspiring Marshmello. Zimmerman has worked with other DJs and producers, such as Wolfgang Gartner, Rob Swire, and Chris Lake. He also collaborated with Steve Duda as the duo, BSOD (Better Sounding On Drugs) and the band WTF? With Duda, Tommy Lee, and DJ Aero. In 2007, he founded his own record label, Mau5trap. Zimmerman is currently one of the highest-paid electronic music producers in the world.
Friendly Fires are an English indie rock band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, consisting of Ed Macfarlane, Jack Savidge, and Edd Gibson. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2008. The group first met and formed their first band as thirteen-year-olds (1997) while attending St. Albans School. That first band was a post-hardcore outfit called First Day Back, covering songs by Green Day and other rock-like artists. That incarnation existed until they began university. During that time, Lead singer Ed Macfarlane released his own music (under his own name) through the electronics label, Skam, and Precinct Recordings. When the three left university, they formed a new band inspired by dance music, “lush shoegaze melodies,” and classic pop songwriting. The name Friendly Fires originates from the opening track of the Section 25 LP, Always Now. They have toured extensively, with past festival appearances throughout the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Australia.
Last up are the Sofa Surfers. They are an Austrian band formed in 1997 that plays a mixture of rock and electronic music floating between trip hop, dub, and acid jazz. Founding members include Markus Kienzl, Michael Holzgruber, Wolfgang Frisch, and Wolfgang Schlögl, with Mani Obeya joining in 2005. They consider themselves to be sound-obsessed instrumentalists. The group’s debut single, “Sofa Rockers,” earned a remix from fellow Austrian, Richard Dorfmeister (of Kruder & Dorfmeister), and their debut album, Transit, was widely released and praised. Over the years, the band’s familiar hip-hop/dub style has given way to a minimalized indie rock/R&B/Soul sound using sparsely arranged bass, drum, and guitar with an R7B/Soul vocal style, compliments of Mani Obeva. They have managed to do this while still retaining the Sofa Surfers well-known vibe.
Time to enjoy some music!
Los Angeles 2025
I like RÜFÜS DU SOL, and love their song “On My Knees”, which made my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list. I’m also familiar with deadmau5, though more for his production and collaborative work with other artists, as well as Morcheeba.
Yeah, that’s a great song!