With the notable exception of gilbert and george (“Music is the Enemy”), Esthete interviewees are often excited to share their musical discoveries with HTSI. From James Blake and Ryuichi Sakamoto to old favorites like Siouxsie and the Banshees, the choices are both insightful and fascinating.
Mimi Xu at home in London, wearing a pair of her favorite chunky shoes © Guy Bolongaro
Mimi Xu, composer, producer and DJ
Artist: Tan Dun
“The latest music I downloaded explains my scattered brain. One song is called ‘Whoop!’ by R Can and Sonic Noise. I heard it at a party; it’s kind of a dancehall techno track. It’s so good, so spontaneous. And then I downloaded a piece of music by Tan Dun, who wrote the score for Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger. Last year I went to a concert of his at the Luxembourg Philharmonic where he did Stravinsky’s ‘The Firebird’ and then his own composition, incorporating iPhones. He had everyone in the audience download a track of the birdsong and directed us all to play it on our phones, then moved on to his symphonic piece. It was just beautiful.”
Mimi Xu: “I don’t queue for nightclubs, but I will queue for food.”
Solange Azagury-Partridge, jewelry designer
Track: “Like Sugar” by Chaka Khan
“Usually my world is quite quiet, as I don’t like the sound when I work or when I rest. So I trust my husband Muz [Murray Partridge] know what to play to stand up. When he puts on songs like Chaka Khan’s ‘Like Sugar’, he knows I’m going to start dancing.”
Solange Azagury-Partridge: “It takes too long to be brilliant!”
Courtney Love, musician
Theme: “Bonjour Cava” by Shaybo, feat. miss lafamilia
“I really like UK women’s exercise. I love that there are all these female leads in hip-hop now. When I started, there just wasn’t much I could really get excited about. The last one I bought is “Bonjour Cava” with Miss Lafamilia de Shaybo with her rap in French, Yoruba and English. Drill’s musical aesthetic is like Joy Division, sevenths. The drill I like is the British chick from South London. And the last big band I saw was Picture Parlor at the Windmill in London’s Soho.”
Courtney Love: “I ate 280 macarons last week”
Michael Chow, restorer and artist
Album: once upon a time in the west by Ennio Morricone
“I love the whole soundtrack, but especially the sequence where Claudia Cardinale appears. It’s a masterpiece, an incredible entrance scene, and the music is very romantic.”
Dandy Wellington at his New York home © Timothy O’Connell
Dandy Wellington, bandleader and vintage activist
Track: “Opus One” by The Mills Brothers
“This great little song was written in 1943 and it doesn’t have much to it, but it exemplifies the greatness of The Mills Brothers. The lyrics are very much in the vein of what you hear in hip-hop from the ’70s onwards, which are basically references. [to other artists].”
Dandy Wellington: “Hats are the best form of self-expression”
Remo Ruffini, Chairman and CEO of Moncler
Theme: “Time Lapse” by Michael Nyman
“The last music I downloaded was ‘Gnossienne No 1’ by Satie, performed by Kid Francescoli. My favorite piece though is ‘Time Lapse’ by Michael Nyman, kind of a theme song for me. I played it the day Moncler was listed on the Italian stock exchange, in Milan. It is always the soundtrack of the most important moments of the company”.
Moncler boss Remo Ruffini talks about taste
Tschabalala Self, artist
Artist: Corbin Canvas
“The last music I downloaded was Corbin Canvas songs. My favorites are ‘Function’ and ‘Milk & Honey’. I’ve been listening to a lot of contemporary neo-soul lately. I found these artists when I was looking for a fresh but nostalgic sound for the studio.”
Artist Tschabalala Self: “I tend to be a bit nosy”
Corin Mellor, Creative Director of David Mellor Design
Band: X-Ray Spex
“The last music I downloaded was from X-Ray Spex. I saw what I thought was the most fascinating movie called Styrofoam – I’m a cliché, about the lead singer of the band. It took me back to my childhood, when punk rock was emerging. I’ve been listening to the band ever since.”
Corin Mellor on why “the best designs come naturally”
Tom Broughton, founder of the Cubitts eyewear brand
Album: friends who break your heart by James Blake
“Usually I just go where Spotify’s algorithm takes me: I’m like a rat in a maze fed on opium. This is the first time in months that I’ve consciously clicked through an album and played it from start to finish. It’s classic Blake, full of distorted harmonies, vocals, and samples. Although he may not see himself this way, I consider him a great folk musician.”
Cubitts’ Tom Broughton: “My obsession with Isokon furniture is dangerous.”
Walter Van Beirendonck, fashion designer
Album: metal machine music by Lou Reed
“I have recently rediscovered my vinyl collection. It’s such a different experience listening to music by taking the record out of the sleeve and then turning it over once you’ve played one side. It is reminiscent of my life as a teenager. I’ve been listening to Lou Reed metal machine music, his mid-’70s industrial noise record. You can’t really hear it as music. It’s just a concept.”
“I absolutely deserve waffles”: Walter Van Beirendonck on taste
Harry Lambert, stylist
Harry’s House by Harry Styles
Album: harry’s house by Harry Styles
“I’ve been working with Harry Styles for nine years, designing his look, including the album cover for this release; in it she wears a cream linen blouse, oversized denim jeans and white ballerina shoes by Molly Goddard. I’m a huge fan of his music and I love this album so much – we played it a lot in the studio, learning all the lyrics from his performances. My earliest memory of fashion is watching Madonna’s music videos on VHS when she was a child. I used to be obsessed with the ‘Like a Prayer’ video and loved watching her dance in that minimalist dress. Fashion has such an important role to play in creating those moments; they were as iconic as art.
Harry Lambert, the man behind Harry Styles’ wardrobe, talks about tastes
Jonathan Saunders, fashion designer
Band: Khruang Bin
“I discovered this band from Texas watching Glastonbury live. They looked and sounded amazing: guitar masters. Towards the end of their set they started riffing on ’90s house songs, done through the eyes of this alternative rock band, which I loved.”
Jonathan Saunders: “Whatever you do, do it to the nth degree.”
Dancer and choreographer Léo Walk at home in Paris © Alex Crétey Systermans
Léo Walk, dancer and choreographer
Track: “#20” by Aphex Twin
“Last year I did a one-week residency, staying in a beautiful house in the south of France called La Villa Galaxie. Every morning I would get up and listen to this music in the middle of the forest that surrounds the house. It was like being in a parallel universe.”
The dancer and choreographer Léo Walk talks about tastes
Vincent Van Duysen, architect and designer
Album: 12 by Ryuichi Sakamoto
“Sakamoto died this year, so this is his farewell album, but I have listened to his music for many years. It ranges from pure instrumental piano to collaborations with Brazilian vocal artists and movie soundtracks.”
Architect and designer Vincent Van Duysen talks about taste
Jung Lee, party planner
Album: Did you know there is a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? by Lana Del Rey
“This album has a really cinematic sound. [When party planning] I also listen to mixes from the DJs I work with: hip-hop, jazz… basically anything but country. The best music to get people moving has to appeal to multiple generations. Start old school and turn it into a dance party. A great party must transform over time. At a recent State Dinner at the White House, we finished with jazz musician Jon Batiste, who brought a playful element to the evening. Everyone hit the dance floor, regardless of what language they spoke.”
White House party planner Jung Lee talks about tastmy
Stefan Bruggemann, artist
Track: “Sweetest Chill” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
“I’ve always loved that band and I’ve heard they’re going to release a new album soon. I hadn’t heard that song in so long. It took me back to when I was working really hard trying to get to London so I could come and explore this new idea that was the punk movement.”
Multidisciplinary artist Stefan Brüggemann talks about taste
Liz Lambert, hotelier and designer
Album: yesterday’s news by Robert Ellis
“He’s an absolutely masterful guitar player from Fort Worth, Texas, with a beautiful voice that blends elements of folk and jazz, sort of like Chet Baker.”
Hotelier and designer Liz Lambert talks about taste
Mai Ikusawa, Automotive and Action Sports Brand Consultant
Band: The Wild Bunch
“The last music I downloaded was from this loose collective of Bristol-based English musicians and DJs. They were the beginning of trip hop and a truly rich era of creative music that you feel in your spine when you go clubbing.”
The Black Book of Style for Japanese Racing Royalty Mai Ikusawa
Jessica Bell Brown, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Album: masego by Masego
“The last music I downloaded was from Masego. His new album has been on repeat at my home; it is wonderful. He’s a brilliant multi-instrumentalist and he also sings, so it’s a little bit jazzy and a little bit R&B. It’s very smooth and easy and fun to listen to.”
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