20 More Cafe Albums
GOOD MORNING! Happy Tuesday, I’m listening to Asobi Seksu’s 2006 album “Citrus” which is some fairly heavy early dreampop. I’m drinking espresso shots as I get this Onyx guest coffee dialed. They’re house espresso for smaller milk drinks, “geometry” is a bit lighter than I would normally have on espresso but I really love it. I think this will open me up to doing more fun espresso in the future with a better understanding of how it plays with milk. Anyways,
I’d like to recommend some more music to play in your cafe
I wrote a whole blog on this, but essentially I always recommend you match the tone of the room, so keep in mind these aren’t all perfect for every situation. In general though they’re great picks and good music and you can listen to them all day : )
1. Latin Vibes EP collection: lounge edition (house / latin club / instrumental)
A regular of mine brought this in as a physical cd and sure enough it was on streaming services, had to check it out. It’s awesome wallpaper music, blends in but is clearly a specific pick. Super long vibey stuff.
2. Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees; Harrison (Jazz band / electronic instrumental / heavy drums)
Some of that whiny electronic piano I like in african jazz, but clearly made by one guy in a studio with some great drums. A pretty short lp especially with the explicit tracks turned off. Recent fave though.
3. Wede Harer GuzoWe; Hailu Mergia (70’s African Psych Rock / folk / accordion and piano )
Speaking of African Jazz, this album rules. It’s got some fuzzy cozy singing and a really round but upbeat sound. I have no idea how I came across it but I think it’s a great fit for the cafe. His album Lala Belu is also good
4. Win & Lose; Chinese Football( Chinese Math Rock / heavy walls of sound / Guitar Lead )
A lot of modern math rock (that I have listened to) is a little heavy! This one still has a strong sound but the vocals are more lighthearted kind of like “this town needs guns” (another older classic math rock band). Because it’s in chinese, if it’s melodramatic I wouldn’t know, I just like the sound. It can still be loud at the cafe without coming off as too abrasive.
5. the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety; toe (complex heavy guitar / japanese rock / instrumental )
Speaking of heavy modern math rock, this is kind of like that. I don’t think this Japanese quartet considers themselves that, but I do : ) It’s got a lot to chew on for music fans while still being playable in a cafe and not too wild.
6. Let it Sway; Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
7. Chorus; Literature
8. Early Music; Voxtrot
These are all Indie pop rock albums from 10+ years ago that are bright fun energized, and easy to put on in a louder environment. The strongest front to back is Voxtrot but the others are nice too!
9. Black Sands; Bonobo (Chill electronic beats / soothing vocals / coffeehouse )
10. Mixtape; Bobbing (Experimental beats / Fun songs from a new artist / song based on threat level midnight from the office???)
10. The Mix-Up; Beastie Boys (Jazzy breaks and beats from the beastie boys, super replayable)
11. Beats and Breaks from the Flower Patch; Kitty Craft (thin cute beats / weird 90’s electronic)
12. Lost Tapes; Kitty Craft (more from kitty craft : )) )
Here are some nice low tempo beats and breaks to play in the early morning, Kitty Craft is a little strange and the Beastie Boys are a little loud but overall they’re nice morning music!
13. Today; Babe Rainbow (Chill / Slow / repetitive / surf rock / psych rock )
14. Layla; Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Slightly more awake chill psych rock / ‘that life’ being the most banger )
15. Paper Machete Dream Balloon; King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (dreamy psych rock / but now we’re pretty high energy and weird)
Here are some progressively strange and loud psych rock albums to play throughout the morning.
16. Expert In A Dying Field; The Beths (Punk Rock / Soft Vocals / Loud SFW)
I basically play the Beths Discog in here all the time, because it’s loud indie punk rock kind of music from New Zealand, but soft enough to play again, all the time. Pretty SFW, Pretty Fun, BIG REC!
17. Dots and Loops; Stereolab (London electronic / repetitive / hypnotic )
18. Cherry-coloured Funk; Cocteau Twins (shoegaze / deep walls of sound / pretty )
19. Delaware; The Drop Nineteens (90’s slacker grungy shoegaze)
Here are a bunch of Dreamy Shoegaze-esque songs to fill in the rainy mornings at the cafe. They’re all sort of different but the same, and easy to put on but still have a good time.
20. Inner World Peace; Frankie Cosmos (singer songwriter / minimal cute guitar)
I used to play frankie’s early albums in the cafe all the time, but haven’t given them a chance in years. I found myself really connecting with this one and I’d recommend this along with “Next Thing” any day for a cute cafe pick.
Okay that’s enough for today
I told myself I’d stop at 20, and I busted these out really fast haha. I hope this helps out someone who’s sick of the same cafe radio they’ve had on loop the last few months. I hope you have a great day! Peace! - Elias
