10 Seconds: Merryn Jeann

https://merrynjeann.bandcamp.com/album/dog-beach-2

1.Roberta Flack - I Can See the Sun in Late December (6'25" - 6'35")

from Roberta Flack - Feel Like Making Love (1975)

"I absolutely love the way this song is one thing then, just like that, it goes deep into another section, giving the song two sides of the sun, something mysterious and chaotic but grounded with the continuous bass line that anchors pt 2. The vocal colour, melodies and harmonies blow me away (they really blew me away when i was on acid listening to this album for the first time too)"

2. Brigitte Fontaine - Brigitte (0'00" - 0'10")

from Brigitte Fontaine - Brigitte Fontaine (1972)

"I am instantly drawn into this song through the relationship between the bass line and guitar rhythm. The quality of this song’s production feels absolutely perfect to me. The lyrics are so Brigitte, quite absurd, intimate and somehow relatable too.I aspire to find a song in the ether like this, to see how it feels to make it."

3. Beth Gibbons - Romance (2'00" - 2'10")

from Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Shepherd’s Bush Empire (2002)

"For me, the perfect song. I was late to find this album - in cd form at a charity shop. Luckily I have an old car that plays cd’s. I have listened to this album over and over again, a friend accompanying me on the winding roads home. Like Brigitte - I hope that this song is sinking into my psyche and guiding me towards something similar. The production and arrangements just fuck me up!!"

4. Arthur Russell - Picture of Bunny Rabbit (0'00" - 0'10")

from Arthur Russell - Picture of Bunny Rabbit (2023)

"The demanding presence of the use of the cello instantly chills me. I love how Arthur Russell this track is. The sounds almost feel like things he explored around World of Echo, though i’m not sure when this was actually recorded as his catalogue - ah yep I just saw online that it was recorded the same time as W O E in 1986. There’s something so rich about his relationship with cello, so much thought and listening feels like it’s been done. This track is a real trip."

5. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning (2'55" - 3'05")

from Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Nancy & Lee (1968)

"Absolutely obsessed with the A B A B structure of this song. The transitions are sensical for the most part of the song, then, at 2.55 they are switching rather quickly and it feels like two different songs have been stitched together, like little fairies who's wings we fly on. A moment of silliness that sways so beautifully."

6. Hamid Al Shaeri - Maktoub Aleina (1'29" - 1"39")

from Hamid Al Shaeri - The Slam Years (1983-1988)

"I think this is my most favourite sound to ever appear on a recording. Every time I hear it this uncontrollable, unrelenting desire to shake around comes from the depth of me, no matter how many times I listen. I’ve definitely listened to this song on repeat for hours, multiple times, and it blows me away equally every time. The tone of the instrument - I'm not sure if it’s a stringed instrument or synth (anyone know?!) is so gritty and driving. It cuts through the otherwise warm and rounded production of the vocals and everything else and with it’s melody sitting on top of the bass and driving 4 4 beat, it becomes an instant dance hit. Every listen will be like the first!"

7.Bodies of Divine and Infinite Eternal Spirit - Song for Blessing (1'17" - 1'27")

from Bodies of Divine and Infinite Eternal Spirit - all the songs i know about fire (2023)

"Daniel Ward of BODIES is one of Australia’s sort of hidden gems. They are a poet and artist living in Naarm, Melbourne. Daniel is one of the most engaging performers i’ve ever had the luck of seeing. The drums in this song are almost like big 80’s rock drums found in a Midnight Oil track, but we are quickly reminded the uniqueness of their sound with all else that is the music of BODIES. Their sound feels very ‘Australian’ to me, in the way the Eucalypt trees and koalas and spiders are here, I feel their sound taps into this and is felt in the music. I love the way that Daniels raw voice cuts through the music ‘ You step back, you are a whole world’, their lyrics take us deep into metaphor and visual worlds, spoken to us through shitty synths, guitars and drums and vocals run through pedals and pure expression."