Instead of featuring just the Men’s Folio team’s weekly playlists (you can catch up here), however, we’ve opened up the column to friends, industry mates, and people who we think have the right groove.
This week, we slow things down with singer-songwriter and doctor Shea Ng, who gets pensive yet winsome with some lo-fi picks that are perfect to accompany any kind of one-man activity or commute. Read here for a short introduction to his curation:
“What really draws me in to these particular songs is how much their songwriters use the chords and harmonies to encapsulate the meaning of the lyrics. Even before listening to the lyrics, you can already tell the emotions the songs are meant to convey. This is something that I have always hoped to convey in the music that I write, whereby the lyrics, chords, melody and instrumentation are able to sing the same tune.”
1. Bruno Major – places we won’t walk
The song conveys the idea of “what could have been” without spelling it out for you. With the metaphors in the lyrics and the dissonance in the chords used, this song hits different.
2. Charlie Lim – Choices
This song has one of my favourite chord progressions, conveying both a warm comforting feeling as the chords descend, but yet with a hint of sadness. Charlie’s falsetto also hits the spot.
3. Bon Iver – Holocene
A classic. Justin Vernon’s dreamy falsetto is juxtaposed against the bright instrumentals.
4. Sara Bareilles – Manhattan
The opening riff of this song conveys what this song is at its heart – a person trying to move on from a breakup but battling the urge to reminisce, symbolised by the 4th chord of each progression.
5. Bruno Major – Nothing
An intimate lullaby.
Once you’re done with Shea Ng’s mix, click here to catch up with our November 2022 issue!
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