My New Favourite Song: Ellie Goulding - Tessellate (Alt-J Cover)

asijdksjd is the reaction I had to Ellie Goulding's slinky cover of Alt-J's Tessellate. Alt-J's debut album An Awesome Wave was probably my most listened album on 2012, I couldn't, and still can't, get enough of it. Likewise my Ellie-obsession has increased rapidly recently. I had listened to Lights but never really thought that much of it until on a seemingly endless train journey from Liverpool to Dorset I listened to it almost non-stop and realised how much I liked it. A night spent dancing drunkenly in a kitchen to Anything Could Happen sealed the deal, so by the time Halycon was released and I was totally and utterly hooked. And after hearing this, I think I might just want to marry her. Creating an original version of Tessellate can't have been an easy feat, but Ellie Goulding manages to turn it into an enchantingly sexy tune that ticks all the boxes. Goosebumps? Yes. Overwhelming urge to press repeat? Yes.

Life Lately

1. Late night walks home.
2. Park bench romance.
3. Sitting at the front of the bus.
4. Waiting to hear Naomi Wolf speak at Southbank Centre.
5. The view from my window.
6. Snowy Alexandra Palace park.

Time flies so quickly at the moment, I can't believe it's almost April. Maybe because the weather still thinks it's January. (Come on March, sort it out...) It's been another funny sort of month and it's been hard to stay motivated with the lack of sunshine and still not feeling settled in my new life.

Inspired by this post on one of my favourite blogs, Here Comes The Sun I thought I'd share some of the things I've been doing lately. It's also an attempt to remind to not let things slip away so quickly and to appreciate the small pleasures in life - it's often hard when everything seems to be as grey and gloomy as the weather we've been having. Anyway, here's what I've been filling my time with:

Listening to a mixture of Frank Ocean, Twin Shadow, Willy Mason and James Blake.

Reading Susan Cain's brilliant book Quiet which explores "the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking" - it's fascinating and I recommend it to anyone who has ever felt overlooked because they are "quiet" or that being introverted is something to be ashamed of.

Watching, or rather devouring, episodes of Nashville this weekend and absolutely loving it.

My New Favourite Song: Vampire Weekend - Diane Young

It's hard to choose which song I prefer from Vampire Weekend's double a-side single, the uptempo Diane Young or subdued Step (which you can listen to here) but Diane Young has had me dancing round my room to Ezra Koenig's warped, almost Elvis-esque vocals, crooning "baby, baby, baby, right on time" since I first heard it. Either way, they've both got me looking forward to their new album Vampires Of The Modern City in May.

Water Graves

I came across Water Graves on Tumblr recently and I'm so glad I did because their chilled out vibes are a great de-stresser. The Perth duo's ambient sounds are akin to the instant relaxation of getting into a warm bath or the first sip of cup of tea after a long day, except, you know, a lot cooler and less cosy than either of those things... In fact, those are kind of terrible examples but their dreamy vocals and synthy tones do make all the things on your mind start to melt away. You can listen and find out for yourself below...