va -- Bees & Things & Flowers [Graham's Mixtape Summer 2023]

 "Just bees and things and flowers", quoted from Roy Ayers' timeless classic "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", was a good start and a perfect inspiration for this summer's soundtrack. In the same spirit as "Voyage Sans Retour" (mixtape from 2021), it features many trippy and far-out tracks.

2 hypnotic tracks by Turkish folk singer Fikret Kızılok combine rather well with French pop icon Polnareff's early stuff ; and American jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby's experimental koto-led tunes flow into Najat Al Saghira's beautiful "Bahlam Maak" and Lebanese songwriter Hissam Hajali's epic 11-minute folk fresque "Ana Damir El Motakallim". The psychedelic "Garip", sung by Anatolian rock figure Edip Akbayram, was written by legendary poet and songwriter Mahzuni Şerif, and arranged by genius keyboardist Murat Ses.

A handful of cool intrumentals too : multi-instrumentist and composer Uriah Witztum a.k.a. "YUZ" who kindly sent me his mesmerizing track "Revadim" from his soon-to-come album ; Dominique Guiot's "Iceberg en Voyage" from his cult "l'Univers de la Mer" album, Swedish composer Sven Wunder's cinematic "Snowdrops" from his upcoming album ; 2 great tracks by Italian composers Piero Umiliani and Pino Presti.

The selection ends with Ornella Vanoni's "l'Appuntamento", inspired by the famous song "Cucurrucucu Paloma".

Thanks : Molly, Dav' Grass, Uriah Witztum, Derya, Mambo Chick, Flavien, John "Piano Piano" and Sven Wunder