10 Seconds: Rosie Frater-Taylor

https://rosiefratertaylor.com/

1. Joni Mitchell - Cherokee Louise (0'00" - 0'10")

from Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home (1991)

"I have an obsession with fretless bass and I have every intention of exploiting that on my next record. The bass slide into this track followed swiftly by Joni's incomparably gorgeous fingerstyle acoustic guitar... Followed by that chord change at 0:07! It's a beautiful introduction to an even more outstanding piece of music. One of my favourite songs of all time"

2. Kate Bush - An Architect's Dream (1’11” - 1’21”)

from Kate Bush - Aerial (2005)

"And all of the time the light is changing and he keeps painting"

"From Zero 7, John Mayer and Seal to Brotherly and Lewis Taylor, the noughties is one of my favourite eras of music. I think some people feel the production of that time is "dated"... But for me, it's the decade where artists were still the most boundary pushing in their songwriting whilst simultaneously experimenting with ever-growing tech options in their music. I hesitate to say that our understanding of the means to produce records has increased ten-fold but the experimentation with said tech hasn't followed suit.

So, no surprise for me personally that I'm drawn to Kate Bush's 2005 self-produced album 'Aerial'. It's deep and features all of her signature twists and turns (plus more fretless bass!) with a heart-wrenching message about the purity of artists!"

3. David Bowie - New Killer Star (1’38” - 1’48”)

from David Bowie - Reality (2003)

"The sidewalks and trees, I'm thinking now, (I've got a better way) I discovered a star (I've got a better way), Ready-set-go!"

"Here's another awesome noughties record. It's a record that's inspired a lot of the music on my new album - it's also a body of work introduced to me by one of my all time heroes; someone I had the honour of meeting this summer past, so it's meaningful music to me! Listening to this track specifically is like literal elation. Bowie just keeps notching it up a gear which I've tried to demonstrate in my ever-so-brief ten second segment! The groove is driving and it's full of attitude. I love walking down the street listening to this."

4. Charli XCX - Mean Girls (2’23” - 2’33”)

from Charli XCX - Brat (2024)

"This one's for all my mean girls"

"So, it is potentially a cardinal sin to include Charli XCX on this list. I'm not sure how much crossover there is between the "pop girlie" and Moment's Notice crews. However, I cannot lie to you about the fact that I was in Charli XCX's top 0.005% of listeners last year! I completely and utterly endorsed Brat Summer. The production, sound-world, attitude and inventiveness of Charli is cutting-edge (like so many other artists on this list). It commands respect and oozes individuality and confidence. This track speaks to me and many other women I'm sure, we're all just surfing this up and down life-wave and the uplifting energy of the layered piano in this segment really makes you feel proud to be on that journey!

5. David Bowie - Where Are We Now? (1’29” – 1’39”)

from David Bowie - The Next Day (2011)

"The moment you know, you know, you know"

"This is a truly touching moment in a gorgeous track that I feel brutally and honestly resonates. It's totally uplifting yet depressing - an oxymoron of a song Bowie released just before he passed away. The musical and lyrical simplicity hits you like a ton of bricks. Such a beautiful knot to tie-up the most iconic career."

6. Prefab Sprout - Faron Young (0'53" - 1'03")

from Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen (1985)

"You give me Faron Young, four in the morning"

"Very, very, very cool band that I listened to for the first time several months back. It's a classic 80s moment infused with the most randomly appropriate banjo part I've ever heard. I love the boundary pushing nature of it all."

7. Steely Dan - The Caves of Altamira (1’00” – 1’10”)

from Steely Dan - The Royal Scam (1976)

"Before the war when they wrote it on the wall and there wasn't even any Hollywood"

"Enter my token Steely Dan track.

It's everything. It's the vocals, the lyrics, the chords, the chord changes, the hits, the horns. It's all live! As you might have guessed, I have a big political agenda for pushing music that is played live by amazing musicians. In this climate of AI (it's up for debate whether it will actually amount to the recorded music apocalypse!) I'm always going back to timeless records like these."

8. Saya Gray - EMPATHY 4 BETHANY (3’18” - 3’28”)

from Saya Gray - 19 Masters (2022)

"I've selected the first line of this gorgeous chorus but ultimately it's the way this song builds to and from that moment that touches my heart! Saya Gray is a force of nature in her writing. She's so unapologetically committed to her vision (which is strange in places!) in a fashion that commands respect. This track hits the sweet spot for me with the pulsing nylon guitar and interwoven vocals."

9. Willow - Run! (2’05” - 2’15”)

from Willow - Empathogen (2024)

"Now this is cutting-edge! I adore this new Willow Smith album and her inventive use of rhythm, layering and production in this section is really enjoyable to listen to. Her sound is rather restless and could easily be construed as "too much" for lots of listeners I'm sure but it really depends what you're trying to get out of it. She conveys her inner world in a totally unique and exciting way. I don't find it too much at all but then my favourite songs are all in 7/8 🙂"

10. Ben Howard - Days of Lantana (3’07” - 3’13”)

from Ben Howard - Is It? (2023)

"The world only turns twice, once for the laughter, once for the memories after"

"This song is gorgeous. It's reminiscent of Ben's older, folkier sound but with an added sense of macabre that oddly touches and soothes me. For me, Ben has gained a certain wisdom in his songwriting on this record. Musically, I'm a massive fan of the "wobbles" and vibrato on his electric guitar; the guitar fx create a nostalgic atmosphere that my ears / brain find addictive. So, the ten second segment I've selected hones in on this poignant lyrical wisdom and deeply emotional vocals."