The former Goldenhorse frontwoman shares her perfect weekend playlist.
Kirsten Morrell recently finished reading Pip Williams’ The Bookbinder Of Jericho, a novel about women working in a man’s world, and what gets lost when knowledge is withheld. Reading is how the UK-born former Goldenhorse frontwoman enjoys spending her weekends, but if she had a garden, she’d probably be tending to that too.
Morrell reckons she works better when she’s happy, and her upcoming single ‘Avignon’, from her forthcoming solo sophomore album Morrellium, is a reflection of this joy. She says the track invites the listener to get up, dance and forget the daily grind for a few minutes. “I went backpacking around Europe as a teenager and visited Avignon,” she says. “It was an incredibly inspiring time – maybe I fantasise a bit about being a Mod girl from a movie like the Pink Panther, or a Bond girl.”
With one more weekend to go until the single’s release on October 19, Morrell will likely be decompressing by seeing family or a movie. There’s always a perfect weekend scenario, though there’s not necessarily one single perfect scenario to enjoy Morrell’s musical stylings. “The whole record is quite eclectic and diverse sounding so I imagine it taking shape, sound-wise, in a range of scenarios,” she says. Having once played a nanoscientist convention in Queenstown, you could say her sound has no boundaries.
With a mix of funky, French and fleur-themed tunes, check out Morrell’s picks for the ten songs that make her weekend perfect.
Parliament – ‘Mothership Connection (Star Child)’
I love that juncture between music and space travel – I hitchhiked when I was 19 from Madrid around Europe up to The Hague to go and see the North Sea Jazz Festival. Along with Parliament, I saw some of my teenage music idols play music I was into while in college – James Brown, Buckshot le Fonque, James Taylor & his Orchestra, Fishbone and even Branford Marsalis duetting with his brother Wynton Marsalis. It was an exceptional music moment in my life.
Gorillaz – ‘Feel Good Inc.’
Why not? It’s not like there isn’t enough bad stuff happening in the world to make one feel bad. What I love about Gorillaz is their incredible ability to make light of the really bad/heavy stuff going on. Blur did it again and again with a subtler satirical style – but Gorillaz, for me, speaks to a broader audience. Their collaborations with De La Soul and such, really resonates to this “daisy age” child.
Minnie Ripperton – ‘Les Fleurs’
She’s sort of a new old discovery for me. I spent a large part of the lockdowns making playlists from BBC programmes. Since the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK there’s been a raft of incredible art/TV and new culture being made – I rediscovered Minnie’s music here. Soulful, groovy, relaxing and enjoyable.
Nitin Sawney – ‘Homelands’
This album represents for me a moment when in the UK, big artists were coming to terms with people’s access to democracy. It’s full of sadness and also some optimism, a door/invitation to explore and adventure to new places through this album. My friend Lena runs a company in London called FTSQ, she’s giving back to the local community – a lot of us artists do that and feel that it’s an essential part to the privilege of being an artist these days. Nitin always platforms and gives female artists a spotlight in his work. I like that.
France Gall – ‘Laisse tomber les filles’
Mum and Dad used to listen to a bit of Mod music. Yeah, tres moviesque. Her/their music reminds me of film series like the Pink Panther and Austin Powers. Ha! Ah, you gotta laugh a little at yourself… especially now, when there’s so much fake news and wars going on. People do desperate things in desperate times. Don’t get me wrong, I love KEZIAI’s music video – but if I could make a new ‘Strawberry Fool’ video now, I’d be slipping on banana skins, sliding down Neptune fountains and sketching a sasquatch! That much bad stuff has happened here in Aotearoa.
Angele – ‘Balance ton quoi’
This is sweet, this pop song, and the music video is such a laugh, it looks like they had a real hoot making it. Plus she’s calling men out for their sexism. So brilliant!
Joan Baez – ‘In The Quiet Morning’
Any of Joan Baez’s songs, really. I really, really love her – my parents played her albums a lot. There’s some music that can only lead you to good, even better music.
José Felicitiano – ‘Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying’
I love this song and album, 1968 Feliciano is a good balm for the brokenhearted. Felciano’s voice is sublime and soulful, like many songsters at the time: Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan … It reminds me of my dad’s voice, who sang me to sleep with his guitar for possibly the first nine or 10 years of my life.
Sisters Underground – ‘In The Neighbourhood’
This always makes me feel at home, going to any one of the myriad of Pacific food markets here in Auckland. Sunny, fun days soaking up the sun and swimming. Reminds me of holidays here where we’d go off for six-week camping trips and take kayaks, boogie boards, packed lunches and zone into nature. I feel grounded listening to their beautiful pop/hip hop.
Jorja Smith – ‘Teenage Fantasy’
I love Jorja Smith’s original album Lost and Found. I stumbled across it on my way to rehearsal once when I asked the girl at my bus stop what she was listening to. And she played me some of this artist’s music. This track is a breath of fresh air musically and lyrically. It’s got the hook that hooked a lot of listeners in and most likely still does.