Magnum Haus: Top 10 Albums

Gorillaz - Demon Days

This album was one of our first exposures to how interesting and experimental pop music could be and still be massively successful in the mainstream. For us, and imaginably others our age, it was so exciting to hear songs like Feel Good Inc. and Dare on the Radio in the era of the great indie bands and pop princesses.

Multi Love - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra have always been a collective favourite band of ours throughout the years, this album was like the soundtrack to the spookiest Halloween you’ve ever had. Incredible song writing, musicianship and lyrics with production that sounds like it was downloaded through a bad link on Limewire. We always returned to this album, it’s dark and downright weird and gave us permission to get really freaky at points. Big up UMO.

D'angelo - Black Messiah

Black Messiah completely set a new precedent for us of how menacing and dark an album could be while still consisting of amazing songs with huge commercial success. This album is grimey and chaotic, it sounds 20 years old yet is simultaneously a staple of modern soul and R&B. Black Messiah and it’s all start musician line up (Questlove, Pino Palladino etc) tipped our song writing and production process on its head.

What's going on - Marvin Gaye

What's going on needs no validation. It is a magnum opus of soul and has inspired decades of soul and RnB artists alike. The recordings have a mesmerising aura that perfectly capture Gaye's musicianship and message. This album also inspired us to use a multitude of percussion instruments in our recordings.

Songs in the key of life - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is one of our biggest musical heroes and, without a doubt, one of the best song writers of all time. Each of these songs have interesting yet universally appreciated chord sequences and forms. We all often play stevie songs together for fun and marvel at their greatness and simplicity.

To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

We had dabbled in keys in previous projects but it honestly feels like we hadn’t discovered chords until we heard ‘These Walls’. That song alone inspired handfuls of new ideas for us but Magnum Haus is hugely influenced by this album as a whole. The bass wizardry of Thundercat alongside Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and of course Kendrick Lamar’s insane narrative kept us occupied in the studio for months on end.

Miike Snow - Miike Snow

The self named, debut Miike Snow record is a corner stone in our development as song writers - spanning numerous genres all the while feeling cohesive song to song. It’s a great example of how to get weird with pop tunes.

Ventura - Anderson .Paak

Ventura proves that musicality still has a place in popular music. After releasing the incredible Oxnard, we didn't think Anderson .Paak's genius could get any more impressive. Ventura was released soon after blowing all of our minds with it's incredible roster of legendary artists, the effortless flow of .Paak's lyrics and the quality of the performances in every single moment from start to finish.

Hive Mind - The Internet

Hive Mind helped teach us how to seamlessly combine live drums with electronic programmed beats throughout this wonderful body of work, in particular, ‘Come Over’. In addition, Lacy’s unique guitar work really makes their songs ooze super-realness. What an album.

Erykah Badu - Baduizm

Once on it’s hard to pull yourself away from this album, picking a single song to play is near impossible. It’s seamlessly transitions from each masterpiece to the next with a togetherness that’s unbelievable - given the amount of listed producers.

Catch Magnum Haus at 3 Session Street, Dundee on Friday 23rd August.

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