Tape 003: Wet Clay

A botanical playlist to nourish your roots. 
Inspired by the moisture of nourishing soils, the smoothness of wet clay and the darkness of the underground, curated by DJ Kyma for horti.

GROUND INTO THE EARTHLY TONES OF NOURISHING SOILS FROM AROUND THE WORLD


With primal and terrestrial tones mixed with smooth vocals + worldly and funky rhythms, the music for this playlist has been intentionally chosen to get down and dirty in the darkness of earthly delights watered with nuances of hydrating and human textures. A little like the signature horti terra-cotta pots, this playlist is easily adaptable in a variety of settings providing a little something for everyone to get through long, cold nights and bring a little boogie to heat up your home without overheating your plants. Say hellllo to Club Cabin Fever and peace out Winter blues.

  • 371 - Melt into your earthly and groovy existence with this one… Very recently introduced to me (like last week), Thor Rixon is quite the chameleon with varying genres, grooves and tempos - hailing from South Africa a land that has many sounds and stories to tell. 
  • Fairy Slope - The Swiss producer Canson delivering a minimal and melancholic meandering through an open landscape of tones and textures...
  • Wildflowers - Delightful addition added because my Traditional Medicinals Licorice Root tea tag once told me: “The Earth laughs in flowers” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Forest - “i wanna heal in the water...i wanna run in the ancient land...i wanna breathe in the forest...”
  • Sunu - This one has been pulled from the archives. Sunu means "Dance Beautiful Women Dance" in Guinea. A soulful bit with a banjo that used to get plenty of rotation in my headphones and it brings me joy to cross paths again. Imagining the fun of frolicking through fields of sound as bare feet hit the wet ground.
  • Smek - Two of my all time favorite remixes from Rey & Kjavik made this playlist offering up a mystical and spiritual depth. This one remixing Yuma’s filtered arabic vocals. Enjoy the rough english translation HERE. It leaves you wanting more. I am stoked to find out that he will be releasing Mountiri this month on his own label RKJVK and I will definitely be digging in.
  • Nova - Brazilian producer Nicolas Pera offers up rich textures, hypnotic percussion and atmospheric and snake like charming with a melodic flute. An earthly embodiment that is sure to get your hips a moving and your body a grooving...
  • Minero - I discovered this one by Chilean composer, musician and producer Rodrigo Gallardo while in Miami putting together a playlist for the Spanish espadrille brand Verbenas USA. I was working on my computer out of Dr. Smood’s in the Spotify vortex when this track came through my headphones and I could not help but tap my feet and begin to dance and wiggle in my seat to this jam.
  • Love Song - Marcus Worgull cover of The Cure’s Love Song (a sure classic that is hard to touch) but I found myself replaying this experimental electronic remake as an ode to Mother Earth…
  • Sex Crystals - Loving on this playful and psychedelic addition taking you deep into crystalline caverns of sex crystals - I discovered the Australian artist Lord Fascinator on Instagram - a comical “alleged human” and enjoying the nostalgic 70’s and some-what satirical vibes
  • Gone Too Soon - Fucking Darkside - always a yummy and deep choice… and mmm that voice. Made up of Chilean-American Nicolas Jaar and Brooklyn based Dave Harringer - bluesy and guitar influenced per usual but really (and no joke) I added this track with climate change in mind…  
  • Make it Through - Repping Northern California from “Deep in the heart of the Dimond District in the land of oaks..” (Oakland, Ca) Dimond Saints came on my radar about 4-ish years ago with a Lorde remix - with electronic and trappy beats. I’ve always associated 808 drums and sub bass with a very earthly feeling. It is a grounding vibration, just as most drums. A motivating loop to get through the winter…
  • Bad Karma - Finland native Axel Thesleff released this badass track in 2014 with an eastern vibe and Indian samples. The kick is getting deeper the vibe a little darker...
  • Borders - A precise dialogue narrating the state of affairs at various country borders. A commentary on pop culture. MIA, the rapper and activist and refugee herself was forced to flee war-torn Sri Lanka with her family when she was nine-years-old, before later settling in London. The shadows are out...
  • Run Run - Born in Nigeria - grew up in London, “feminist” R&B artist Ray BLK created a poignant track narrating a story of a young black boy in the wild lands of the city streets of London...
  • Alright - An uplifting Winter anthem when things get heavy from French artist - Jain. She’s always bringing a refreshing effervescence. I was introduced to her music with tracks like Lil Mama when DJ Adam 12 played the unreleased track at Sayer’s Club in Hollywood back in 2014 and later Makeba would become a dance anthem for my 2016 Kundalini Disco classes.
  • Best Light - Repping NYC - Elliot Moss brings us hope and light in the darkness with his 2015 release offering buoyant drums and moody vocals, playing with tempo make this a chill out track until about 3 mins where he picks up the pace turning a downtempo track into an uplifting and emo winter track.
  • Cuatros Vientos - FOREVER a medicinal track for me - from the reverent voice of Danit - an incredible Swiss vocalist speaking to the four directions - the four winds - the breathe that is breathed through all lands - the wind that flows through all earthly bodies - from mountains to jungles, valleys to deserts.
  • Elega al Che - German based duo JAJA - “weave a wild cosmos of natural sounds with their dance floor-ready bass and astral synthesizers made up of Jascha Hagen and Jan Soutchek - luring listeners into a tropical jungle of psychedelic sounds, roaming through a damp and dreamy swamp down to labyrinthine rivers. Flute and guitar samples from long-forgotten South American folk songs paint a melancholy rainbow over the whole tropical hallucination”
  • Intercambio - This track introduced me to a new genre - “folktronic” - by SidiRum - the project of Nicolas Bruschi, Dj and producer of Buenos Aires whose sound combines electronic elements with organic instrumentation derived from the Latin American folk music. The perfect earthly outro to leave you feeling grounded and moist...

    Embodiment Activity: BreatheWalk Walking Meditation -

    Try this in a meadow, on the beach or in the woods. Take your shoes off and walk on the bare wet earth - allow yourself to merge with the soil. Notice the texture of the dirt on your feet. From the soles to the soil go deep inside the Earth and begin to take notice of everything that lies beneath the surface. Begin walking at your normal pace - becoming aware of all bodily sensations.

    PART 1: Bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breathe. Is it shallow or deep? Does the breathe travel into the belly or does it enter the chest? Are you breathing through your nose, through your mouth or both? Is your breathe noisy or quiet?

    PART 2: Gently begin to regulate the breathe into a quiet and smooth wind in and out through the nose that travels deep into the belly, and even deeper bringing the breathe into the feet. Begin to synchronize your breathe with your strides - inhaling for 4 steps and exhaling for 4 steps. As you find coordination and comfort in this walk allow the breathe to become quartered...

    PART 3: Keeping your nasal passages and facial muscles relaxed, take four short staccato puffs of air through the nostrils—one puff for each step. Your breath will be audible now; begin to focus on the beat, the sound, the rhythm that you are creating with your breathe. At this time you are dividing your inhalation into four segments that are synchronized with four consecutive steps. After the first puff, your lungs should be about one-quarter full; after the second, two-quarters full; after the third, three-quarters full; and after the fourth, four-quarters full. Without pausing, exhale in the same fashion, contracting the abdominal muscles and pushing the navel to the spine for four steps (and four segments of the out-breath), so that the final puff pushes the last quarter of air out of your lungs. Continue this pattern for five minutes, then walk and breathe normally for three minutes. (8 minutes total)

    PART 4: Now, repeat the eight-minute practice. This time, as you synchronize your segmented breath with your stride, mentally say the mantra “Sa Ta Na Ma”—one sound for each step and each segmented breath. Repeat the mantra in coordination with the quartered breath for five minutes, then walk and breathe normally for another three.  (8 minutes total)

    PART 5: As you grow accustom with the cadence of the breathe, strides, the beat that you create with your breathe and the mantra - if you would like to introduce music to coordinate with a beat enjoy THESE earthly sounds to take you along your path...

    “It’s not about, ‘How far did I walk, how many calories did I burn, how much effort was expended?’ It’s about synchronizing the body, breath, and mind to the present moment, about experiencing a profound sense of connection with yourself and nature.” - Gurucharan Singh

    Backstory: I’ve found that land has its own stories to tell and often this is expressed through its rich culture and music. Whether in soil or sound - diversity is key. I’ve realized that the density of nutrients in the land provides a rich soil and usually cultural characteristics are influenced by the terrain and climate. The life giving vegetation is often reflected in the vibrancy of the culture. Living in NYC, I’ve also come to find that diversity breeds an abundance of lifestyles and different ways of listening.

    When I travel to new lands I try to listen closely to the earth, to the point where the land and the sky begins to speak. Sooner or later a subtle language of rhythm arises from the winds & a sweet song is sung. The sun speaks to me and the moon whispers; the waters harmonize with mine and the winds uplift me - the earth supports me and the light of fire guides me. When I listen deeply I hear the language of its people infused in the land, in the elements. Often and if I listen deeply enough the song is one of harmony, nourishment, balance and inclusivity...