Your Perfect Christmas Playlist

It’s not a proper get together without great tunes. Ruth Kavanagh, DJ at Mother Club, explains how it’s done.

It’s good to create more than one playlist – start your night with some nice background music while your guests settle in, then build the atmosphere and pick up the pace to get everyone dancing. Spotify is a great source.

EARLY

Keep the volume low as guests arrive. Instrumentals work well, plus quirky down tempo covers are always a good talking point.

Something along the lines of…
? MinnieRiperton ?LesFleurs?
? JohnBeltran ?CloudsPull?
? Hot8BrassBand ?SexualHealing?
? Kiasmos ?Looped?
? Brasstronaut ?Bounce?

If you prefer to put on a full album, try Maxence Cyrin’s Novo? Piano or Jon Hopkins? Late Night Tales, a beautiful compilation that’s fully mixed.

MIDDLE

Now that your guests have settled in, you can pick up the pace. A nice mix of classics and contemporaries work well here.

Here are some suggestions:
? Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell ?Ain’t No Mountain High Enough?
? The Chemical Brothers ?Wide Open?
? Jungle ?Busy Earnin??
? Sister Sledge ?Thinking of You?
? Talking Heads ?This Must Be The Place?

Again, if you’d like a full album, go for something like Joey Negro’s Remixed With Love Volume 2.

LATE

Once the food is done and the drinks are flowing, it’s time to clear the dance floor. You’re looking for something for everyone. One great trick (if using Spotify) is to make this playlist a collaborative one. That way, you can get people to add tracks in advance and/ or on the fly on the night. Everyone’s a DJ…

Some of my favourite tracks at this time of night:
? The 2 Bears ?Not This Time?
? Beyonce? ?Crazy In Love?
? David Bowie & Queen ?Under Pressure”
? Lionel Richie ?All Night Long?

This article originally appeared in the December issue of IMAGE magazine.