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Baker's Dozen

Secret Weapons: Luke Una's Favourite Music
Julian Marszalek , May 31st, 2023 09:35

As he prepares for the second volume of his É Soul Cultura series, Luke Una takes us through 13 of his favourite tracks, from his secret dancefloor fillers to the beauty of Pharoah Sanders

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Chêne Noir – ‘Le Train’ from Chant Pour Le Delta, La Lune Et Le Soleil

For me, it feels almost in that spiritual jazz camp. It’s one those proggy, psychy, murky, weird records that just sound great when you're driving your 2CV over the Snake Pass. I don't drive by the way, but if I did then it’d be a 2CV with a little lunch basket on the back. That’s a fantasy that I have. I don't drive; I’m too ADHD – you get to the roundabouts and there's too many options.

It's funny, you know? I think I would never have listened to music like this 30 years ago. Never. I would have found it boring. But I think the process of getting high on ecstasy, going out to clubs… of course, that hedonism was great, but it was much more important than that. It felt like the doors of consciousness would widen; you could spread your wings more and listen. As trite as that sounds – and my God it does sound trite – that's just how I felt.

Chene Noir were a theatre group from the south of France. I think they were session musicians and I've got two of their albums and they’re beautiful. I love a lot of French spiritual jazz stuff. It’s very much like the Pharoah Sanders thing. I think it's a bit like olives, isn't it? No one likes olives when they’re 15 and then eventually your taste buds change and then you’re fucking necking them with your Aldi wine in your 40s. I don't know how you describe that sound, but I've got a lot of that stuff.