This morning, we welcome Mansfield.TYA, a surprisingly raw music duo from Nantes. Their music will both illuminate and sometimes somber your journey. With their sensitive and sensible songs composed of accessible yet very dense lyrics, Mansfield.TYA will take you on a poetic journey bathed in electronic sounds.

Being there

You never left. You? You were always present. Somewhere around, or down below, behind the window, elbow on the counter, underneath the covers, in the mist of the plaid.

You never failed. No, you? You always tried something, something else, something new, something dark or even something blurry. You never let yourself down, you always rose, somehow, somewhere.

And these days, I watch you. And each day, you wake, you move, you go, you try, endlessly, fearlessly.

In these difficult times, as our faces are masked and our hopes gently jostled, today’s selection brings rays of consolation, magnifying our states and pacifying our moods.

Yet, we must not try so hard it seems. As existing seems a challenge, acceptance seems keys. Acceptance of the inevitable. Of our paths. Of our states. Today’s selection probably won’t make you forget the uneasy feelings currently inhabiting all of us, but maybe, just as it did for me, it will move you, shifting some elements, to continue on this troubled and gruesome path we call life.

Mansfield.TYA’s selection

Anika - I Go To Sleep

Mansfield.TYA: ” Also sung by The pretenders, and originally written and composed by Ray Davies for the Kinks, I like the versatility of this song. And particularly the version of Anika. With her beautiful deep voice that reminds Nico, and recorded with Beak, only that. Always classy Anika.

To fight against insomnia. For her dark and intimate side too.

”I go to sleep, and imagine that you’re there with me.”

To be imaginative. It seems precious to me at the moment. “

Erykah Badu - I Been Going Thru It All

Mansfield.TYA: ” I am totally stupid with this track. It’s Odezenne who play it at parties and when I hear it I want to bang my head into a concrete wall. I love Erykah Badu Beyond, but I must admit that I was stunned to hear her mixing with Trap. She knows how to do everything, she’s an incredible melodist on top of being a great singer. “

Lena Platonos - Markos

Mansfield.TYA: ” It’s a song that gets me. I know Carla likes it a lot too. I think it’s about a man who is treated like a dog. Lena Platonos is a Greek composer (born in Crete) and a big name in 80’s electronic music. Like many women she is not recognized at her true value. “

MailTape’s selection

Mansfield.TYA - Une Danse de Mauvais Goût (feat. Odezenne)

ImaCrea: ” The more I listen to their album Monument Ordinaire released lastly, the more I get addicted to it. It came progressively, wasn’t an “instant crush” I’d say but now it’s going to be one my favorites of the year. Lyrics are well written and feels like a new wave in the french music scene. A breath of reinvigorating air, poetry that make you wanna live fully. In our trouble times this is a true sign of courageousness only great art warriors are capable of. “

Ola Szmidt - C Tactile Afferent

ImaCrea: ” As hope should be cultivated like our most precious flowers, this meditative track by Ola Smizdt builds the perfect warm and caring atmosphere we all preciously need to keep staying in the light with our loved ones.” “

Holly Herndon - Frontier

ImaCrea: ” Holly Herndon is known for experimenting with music borders. Using artificial intelligence to craft generated voices and playing with instruments or her own making, she demonstrates in her latest album Proto, and particularly in this track, her ability in shaping powerful mental landscapes. This one inspires me the soundtrack of a desirable future where technology has finally found its place in a utopian realm governed by nature. Big thank’s to Miro for the discovery. “

TYGAPAW - In Their Fear They Plotted Her Destruction

ImaCrea: ” Back to earth, back to Detroit. Tygapaw delivers here the right punch we might need to remember a simple truth. Love is the only way. There’s no doubt. Dance, dance, dance, no matter what. “

That’s all for this morning! Thank you so much for being with us. It’s already been a year of lockdowns, covid, and distancing. A vaccine won’t save us all. For that we’ll need more than a bit of chemistry and biology. We’ll need hope, courage, and love. You can count on us to be here with you every Sunday morning.

So much love to Mansfield.TYA for their trippy Sunday selections and to Meriam Kharbat for her hazy punchy illustration :)