The Playlist Special: Jivraj Singh
The Kolkata-based drummer’s top tracks include obscure jazz courtesy Uri Caine, a prime Radiohead single and an Eminem anthem
Jivraj Singh. Photo courtesy of Red Bull Music Academy.
Kolkata drummer Jivraj Singh aka Jiver picks a curious mix of favorite artists ”“ from the dreamy Donald Fagen to the bass bomb that is Jon Hopkins.
1. “Produk 29” Aphex Twin, 2014Â
I like to go for random drives at night and this song is often an integral part of my soundtrack. I love the slinky balance of the parts.
2. “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)” Donald Fagen, 1982Â
I used to love falling asleep to this song as a child. I still do. Dreamy stuff.
3. “The Real Slim Shady” Eminem, 2000Â
The Marshall Mathers LP was the first tape I bought with my own money. This was my gateway to the world of rap. I still think it’s fiendishly clever and what a hook!
4. “Open Eye Signal” Jon Hopkins, 2013
One word: bass.
5. “Reptile” Nine Inch Nails, 1994
This song introduced me to the musician I find most inspiring. Experiencing it live was like a punch in the stomach, in a good way.
6. “Problem Areas” Oneohtrix Point Never, 2013Â
I really enjoy the contrast of the heady and the humorous in all of Daniel Lopatin’s music.
7. “Paranoid Android” Radiohead, 1997
I think OK Computer was the first album where I was taken with the overall concept and had a sense that the whole was a magical and mysterious result of the sum of the parts [including the artwork].
8. “Nymphomania” Uri Caine, 2002Â
This [Bedrock 3] may have been the album that planted the seed in me to consider taking up music seriously. When I started playing drums, this was my jam. My dad’s, too.
9. “Havona” Weather Report, 1977Â
This song is a world unto itself; so beautiful and imaginative that the playing seems to disappear.
10. “Mortal Man” Kendrick Lamar, 2015Â
This isn’t necessarily my favorite song on To Pimp A Butterfly but the first time I heard it I felt like I was going to cry.
