What's Spinning? Spring Edition

An intimate look into what's on my turntables - Soothing tunes to soundtrack your season.

After a month-long hiatus, I’m back - a little softer, a little older, heavy from the weight of the world yet somehow, hopeful. March has been my in-between month - that slow drift between winter’s end and spring’s first breath keeps me cocooned in reflection. I was floating in a liminal space and wasn’t quite ready to come back down until now.

It was a month of celebrations and self discovery - I turned 35, found peace in baking, re-learned how to play the piano, picked up a crate of new records, and finally got the momentum to start this new post series!

My weekly music re-cap posts generally encompass the playlists and curatorial process of my Thursday night show on KEXP. It’s a journey that begins the moment I wake up on Fridays. I listen deeply and tune into the pulse of the city to find what excites, intrigues, and challenges me. By the time Thursdays roll around, I’ve condensed all of what I've heard that week into about 3 hours. It’s great and all, but there’s more to my life than what makes the air.

As a record collector and co-founder of SEA Vinyl Society, I have a penchant for hoarding songs; carrying them out in my crate usually only to gigs and shows. I’ve traveled around the world hunting for records, stuffing LPs into suitcases - abandoning clothing and souvenirs along the way. These records hold a special place in my heart and the westside wall of my home. It’s time to showcase them, here’s whats spinning on my turntables as of late.

Hiroshi Yoshimura - Flora

March 28th marked the end of winter. As we crossed over the spring equinox, I could feel the winds begin to shift - quite literally. That day, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Flora was released, aligning perfectly with the seasonal turn.

Across the city, Seattle began to prepare for one of the worst anticipated storms of the decade - the bomb cyclone. People set up tarps and makeshift carports. Some even threw mattresses over their cars in an attempt to shield them from the golf ball-sized hail that threatened to fall from the sky. In that moment, I found myself thinking about preparedness—what we do to brace for the inevitable.

We try to anticipate the shit-storm, the onslaut of hail, the fall of an empire. We look so far ahead that we often forget to feel what’s unfolding right now. Flora brought me to a screeching halt. For a moment, I stood still—suspended.

‘Flora’ is a follow-up to Yoshimura’s acclaimed 1986 works Green and Surround. Once again, he continues to play with the ambience of sound and the sound of ambience, underscoring his mastery in the field of environmental music. Listening to Flora is like taking a quiet walk through a garden—absorbing the textures of the world: the movement of leaves, the hum of insects, the color of light. It echoes the same meditative walks Yoshimura took through his favorite Edo-era park near his home in Tokyo.

As the storm rolled in, I watched clouds gather and flowers bow. There was nothing left to do but wait—something humans have always known how to do. No major damage was reported in the end. But as the sky cleared and the city exhaled, I was reminded: calm always follows chaos.

Carole King - Rhymes & Reasons

Rhymes & Reasons is the fourth release by American folk legend Carole King. Though the album was released in 1972, I continue to find myself deeply connected to the messages weaved throughout her songs. This album held me in my teens as a young woman witlessly attempting to navigate the world. I continue to re-visit her music through the many iterations of my life. Tinged with nostalgia, day-dreams, and sprinkled with a little hope, “Rhymes and Reasons” is my comfort record.

At 35, I’m a little older, maybe a little wiser—but when I press play, I still find myself that same wide-eyed girl, looking for meaning in the melodies. And somehow, Carole always knows what to say.

One more for you. The Sugarcubes - Birthday

I play this song every year on my birthday. This year is no different. Bjork is life