‘Moths Of Flight’ - A Collaborative Playlist

As much as possible, we try to keep up with the artists we write about, so when electronic duo Lines Of Flight sent out a tweet back in November asking for co-curators on a Spotify playlist, we responded straight away!

So, Lines Of Flight in collaboration with Moths and Giraffes present: ‘Moths Of Flight’, a playlist of electronic music and the like. This article goes through all of the tracks we’ve chosen, with the three of us giving more context to our choices.

Lines Of Flight are Matthew Henderson and Helen Whale.

Lines Of Flight are Leeds duo Helen Whale and Matthew Henderson, who remotely collaborated during the first lockdown in 2020 to create an album, which they released one single at a time during 2021.

Not only was their album created remotely, but they hadn’t met in person either. Yet they put together ten songs using only their mobile phones, which were then collated and mixed by producer Ed Heaton. We caught up with them in May of that year to write about their first three singles, ‘Birthing Bell’, ‘Moth Eaten Heart’ and ‘Heading Out To You’. They’ve since released their album as a complete collection, and on vinyl - they’ve called it ‘Signs Of Life’, and it’s available to order from their Bandcamp page now.

‘The first of 6 Spotify playlist collaborations where Lines of Flight pick tracks that stood out for them in 2022; fuelled the sounds and songs of their next release, due in spring 2023 and also, drop in some fave bands that they have collaborated with for future exclusive remixes. First up is Teri from Moths and Giraffes who adds in some beautiful songs to this playlist.’ – Lines Of Flight

We’re very excited to present our collaborative Spotify playlist, if you want to read more about our song choices, press play and read on! We’ve also included YouTube videos for non-Spotify users. Enjoy!

‘A new release this year from someone who we’ve admired from the get-go – we love the production on this – the synthwave, the gothic undertones, the Cure-y guitar line and of course, NINA’s voice: crystal clear, emotive, and yearning.’ – Matthew Henderson (Lines Of Flight)

“Another new release, from the fantastic album ‘Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky’. This has a fantastic existential-stream-of-consciousness that draws you in. It starts gentle and just grows! It sounds like something tearing, or perhaps being dragged out to sea by a strong current. To us it really resonated with Disintegration by the Cure (also on the playlist).” – Matthew (LOF)

‘Vocally, this is the most unique song in this playlist. It just oozes passion, Dana Margolin’s delivery is gut-wrenching, leaving a lasting impression.’ – Teri Woods (Moths and Giraffes)

“I’ve said before there are times when the algorithm gets it right, and this is one of those times. Errunhrd was suggested to me on Instagram and I was drawn in immediately by her work. ‘I Want (Someone)’ appears here in its original form as it did on her debut EP, ‘I Liked You Better When You Were Mine’, though it also concludes her debut album, ‘You Can Be You, I Can Be Me’, in two parts. I love how the lead synth line climbs, like scaling a cliff where you keep slipping, but you keep on climbing regardless.” – Teri (M&G)

“This song came about following a drive out to the east coast. I was reminded of driving up Sutton Bank in the snow, in a wonderful old car that my dad drove - a 1970’s Datsun Laurel. It felt so luxurious! At the time I was driving to a party and all the anxieties of that I had as a teenager but in the song, I repositioned it to be my final drive to reach my dad. To be reunited with him, in his car - to travel to the ‘other side’ as referenced in the song. This was the last song we wrote together but the one where we discovered ‘our’ sound – it shaped the other tunes and made us Lines of Flight.” – Matthew (LOF)

‘My favourite Lines Of Flight song. The melody is tremendous, and beautifully sung by Helen. I particularly love the extra vocal harmony that scoops in under the chorus. Musical bliss, the other side indeed.’ – Teri (M&G)

‘Understated, rhythmic, with a wit and a sharp tongue. The synths invoke a sadder time but the rhythm and bass mean you can’t help but dance it all off and the hook line is gently optimistic in the face of existential ennui. We have the pleasure of announcing that Gemma has done a remix of a future track for us - released in spring 2023.’ – Matthew (LOF)

‘Released last year, this track, and the whole album it is from, is just soaked in deep, rich electronica which is simultaneously gentle and yet uncomfortable and all the more listenable for it. This is effortlessly cool but with heart and emotion.’ – Matthew (LOF)

“Another artist who bloomed during the pandemic, Cholly utilised livestreaming to perfect her craft using her own pre-existing recordings (usually of her voice) to create new pieces of music. ‘3 Day Weekend’ is the concluding track on her ‘Friday Night’ EP, a self-produced collection made during lockdown on a series of Friday nights. We’ve written about Cholly before when we reviewed her track ‘Stepping’ from the same batch of songs. Earlier this year she released her latest EP, ‘The Daydream’ and is set to release more new music in 2023.” – Teri (M&G)

“Again, the algorithm gets it right. This time it was on Facebook. I was half-asleep watching this artist ride her bike in slow motion and was taken by the freeing sound I heard. ‘Gazelles’ from Frida Sundemo is the least electronic and rhythmic on this playlist, but what a dream. It was later released on her ‘Sounds In My Head’ EP in 2020. The intimacy in Frida’s voice still has power enough to paint a panoramic landscape in this song.” – Teri (M&G)

“I found Danish songwriter and producer Lydmor when she was playing piano on a livestream in her Mum’s house, long before the pandemic. ‘Claudia’ was one of the first singles I heard from her after that, a track that hits me like a ton of bricks every time. That and the album it’s taken from, ‘I Told You I’d Tell Them Our Story’ is about Lydmor’s time spent in Shanghai. We later wrote about and interviewed Lydmor several times, including for her follow-up album ‘Capacity’ in 2021.” – Teri (M&G)

‘It’s no surprise that Helen and I love The Cure – we saw them at Leeds this year and I could have picked any track from that awesome set. But I liked the call back to the Porridge Radio track because it was this song that I went to in my mind when I first heard it.’ – Matthew (LOF)

“If the word ‘infectious’ was invented for any song, it was for this one. From the very first drum fill, to the bassline, to Laura Bettinson’s voice, ‘Tin King’ a brilliant album opener to Ultraísta’s second album ‘Sister’. The trio also features Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and session drummer Joey Waronker (famous for his work with R.E.M.). Together they craft such a unique sound as a band, I’d love to see them live one day.” – Teri (M&G)

“An artist whose music I fell in love with the moment I heard it. ‘Took Your Ashes’ is TS Autopilot’s third single, and I enjoy how this track begins ambiently, leading you to believe it’s going one way. And then, BAM, we’ve got this beat that blends their love for Hans Zimmer with a more contemporary sound. TS Autopilot is just one of those artists that pushes boundaries because they don’t think in terms of boundaries. They just do what they love and it comes out sounding amazing every time.” – Teri (M&G)

‘Dreampop from Wales and its melody, riff and reverb-soaked atmosphere are just the dream to be swept away in. The rolling, pounding drums fill all the drive of this song but yet there is a gorgeous space, light and laconic feel to this track. The dual vocals work so well and we’re always a fan of that here at LoF.’ – Matthew (LOF)

“HBIT make enthrallingly beautiful tracks and this release from this year is no different. We love the sub bass and low beat vibes as it contrasts with their natural, clear voice and the wonderful synth sound throughout this song. As an ‘exclusive’ HBIT have remixed one of our new tracks which will be released in spring 2023.” – Matthew (LOF)

‘A world leading producer and an exceptional vocalist making a dream-y synth-y watercolour painting track. It’s so clear and produced so well that it creates a sense of the hazy and day-dreaming moments that you don’t want to leave its absorbing textures.’ – Matthew (LOF)

‘There’s deffo a dreamy vibe to many of these tracks. Maybe subconsciously we both want to be lost in a world of dreamy bliss…it’s probably not that subconscious actually?! Mint Julep are masters of this craft – blending shoegaze, melody, atmosphere and this track is the perfect example of their skills: multi-layered, multi-skilled, multi-loveliness.’ – Matthew (LOF)

‘I’ve really gotten into Slowdive in the past few years, so to hear that shoegaze is alive and well in 2022 is a great comfort. Mesmerising, a sound you can swim inside.’ – Teri (M&G)

‘The titular track from their brand new album, this track shows off John Elliott’s beautiful voice splendidly, and is a good example of their gorgeous melting pot sound, with lush strings underpinned by a hypnotic, almost-West-African rhythm. TLU are well-worth checking out for the dense poetic wit of their lyrics, too.’ – Matthew (LOF)

‘A song to envelop you completely. Her delivery is so unique that you can barely hear what she’s saying, but that’s not what matters – you can fall headlong into this track and just feel. It’s been around a while, and I don’t know where I first heard it, but I can listen to this over and over again.’ – Helen Whale (LOF)

‘This is simply a great piece of music production and vocal delivery – a sumptuous river of sound.’ – Matthew (LOF)

‘A twinkly, plinky plonky slice of psychedelia by the band with arguably the best name ever, and featuring the hallowed omnichord! This kind of music gets my brain in the right gear.’ – Helen (LOF)

‘If Goldfrapp opened a toy box and hid inside. Helen isn’t wrong about the band name, sensational.’ – Teri (M&G)

Thank you for coming on this journey with Lines Of Flight and Moths and Giraffes, we hope you enjoyed listening to ‘Moths Of Flight’ as much as we’ve enjoyed curating it! Matthew and Helen are working on more collaborative playlists, which can be found on their MH | HW Music Spotify profile, with new music due in 2023. As always, our Moths and Giraffes playlist contains a sample of the artists we’ve reviewed since 2020, and can be found here.

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Listen to the debut album from Lines Of Flight called ‘Signs Of Life’ on their Bandcamp page, vinyl copies of their album are also available, as well as a healthy collection of remixes.

Follow the ‘Moths Of Flight’ playlist on Spotify here.

Follow Lines Of Flight on Instagram and Twitter @linesof_flight and on Facebook @linesofflightmusic.

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Follow and interact with Moths and Giraffes on Instagram and Facebook @mothsandgiraffes, and on Twitter @mothsgiraffes.

We have a Spotify Playlist! Featuring almost every artist we've written about on Moths and Giraffes, find some new music here.

For submissions, or if you’d just like to send us your thoughts, don’t hesitate to contact us via our social media accounts, our contact page, or via email at mothsandgiraffes@outlook.com. We receive a lot of emails though, so please bear with us!