Juno Award-nominated Montreal producer Jacques Greene is here to help us feel human in the context of dance music. Today, Greene releases his debut full-length album, Feel Infinite. To celebrate, he put together this playlist full of recent obsessions, techno legends and much more. Give it a listen, be sure to catch him on tour and have a great weekend!
–Dave Lucas, Talkhouse Marketing Manager
Mark Kozelek & Jimmy Lavalle – “Somehow the Wonder of Life Prevails”
This album has accompanied me on many solo plane rides, hangovers, drives, late nights, early mornings. Hard to pick a favorite, but this one takes the cake for also being one of the best album closers ever.
Traumprinz – “Where is Home?”
This song feels simultaneously totally relaxed yet kind of strung-out. Pretty sure those chords are from the soundtrack to this documentary I watched a few years ago and if I’m correct then kudos to him for some really cool sampling.
Mikael Seifu – “Wedagn”
Recent obsession. I was a bit late to Mikael Seifu, but after hearing a radio mix from the kids who run the label that releases his music, DC-based 1432R, I’ve been obsessed with their whole roster, specifically Mikael. He’s an Ethiopian producer who seems to mix influences and sounds from all around the world with impeccable grace and often connects it all back to Ethiopian rhythms or sounds. I’m absolutely enthralled with everything he does.
Nicolas Jaar – “The Three Sides of Audrey and Why She’s All Alone Now”
I remember Nico playing me this in his apartment when I lived in New York and offhand he was like, “Yeah, this is just some stuff I’ve been working on.” I just sat there trying to poker-face my way through the glory of this track. His sense of ASMR-triggering sound design and clever restraint (the way that main melody comes in, always broken and altered, near the end of this track) is so, so, so good.
Mike Mind – “Satellite Son”
Mike is a bit of a Montreal techno legend. When I first got into going to techno parties he would almost purposefully play downbeat, moody and slower than most, and this record reflects this beautifully melancholic attitude. There’s something so relaxed about the pace of this one, but then those reverb trails and the 303 modulation is almost suffocating. Perfect.
Jacques Greene – “The Look (Koreless Remix)”
I know it’s probably lame as hell to pick something for this that I put out, but honestly I’ve grown a lot since this record came out and though I can barely listen to my original anymore, this remix done by my friend Koreless still amazes me whenever I come across it. The amount of emotion and movement drawn out of that minimalism is still inspiring to me to this day. Way to outshine the original track, asshole. All jokes aside, I wish I could bathe in Koreless’ more melodic and minimal tracks for hours at a time.
Theo Parrish – “Soul Control”
I first heard this on Burial and Kode9’s mix for Mary Anne Hobbs in 2010. I’m really into melancholic dance records. Such beautiful restraint and composition on this, truly masterful.
Telefon Tel Aviv – “You are the Worst Thing in the World (Sasha Invol2ver Remix)”
Didn’t expect I’d throw some Sasha into a playlist like this, but this remix works itself into my life for many settings and moods. Somehow the melancholy of the vocals and the slow pace of the structure of the track really soothe me. Love this one.
Alex G – “Change”
I was a big Elliott Smith fan in high school (still am to be honest) and I love how this Alex G track captures the aesthetic and style of Smith, but with this hazy stoner West Coast thing instead of strung-out Pacific Northwest junkie angst. I’ll go back to stuff like this after a weekend of playing clubs or while traveling. Gives me respite from the drums from time to time.
Frank Ocean – “Seigfried”
The one-two punch of Endless and Blonde is something that’ll stick with me for a long long long long long long long long time. The variety of ideas and creative genius throughout makes it easy to jump from one project to another whenever you’ve overplayed one. This one track has that crazy Elliott Smith quote that wrecks me every time and then about four or five different impeccable hooks that are never quite repeated enough, so you find yourself replaying this song about a dozen times.
