After a high-pressure week of meetings, management and making connections, the best way to decompress is to plug in your headphones and allow a superb selection of tunes to take your brain far away from the world of work. Enter the Walpole Weekend Wind-Down x Ten.
This playlist celebrates both Ten’s 25th birthday and our global company, with a selection of tracks from 1998 to the present that reflect our multicultural team’s diverse tastes.We’ve rifled through the music collections of our team to find a classic song from every year of Ten’s existence.
From French slow grooves to experimental Scottish electronica, take a listen...
| 1998 | Roygbiv | Boards of Canada | A typically atmospheric number from the Scottish hauntologists – a favourite of our London team |
| 1999 | Sterolab | Come and play in the milky night (demo) | A sweet little gem from the British-French electro-collective that will sweep the week’s cares away |
| 2000 | Erykah Badu | Didn’t Cha Know | The R&B singer is on typically strident form in this stunning track from the Mama’s Gun album |
| 2001 | The Beta Band | Squares | Back to Scotland for a driving, toe-tapping tune from these indie mavericks |
| 2002 | Beck | Lost Cause | A reflective and downbeat number from the bard of LA |
| 2003 | Los Hermanos | Conversa de Botas Batidas | A track from a seminal album that catapulted the Rio de Janeiro band to cult status |
| 2004 | Sebastien Tellier | La Ritournelle | A masterpiece of French electronica featuring the great Tony Allen on drums |
| 2005 | Cheikh Lô | Santa Yalla | Traditional Mbalax dance music fuses with rhumba to create this steady Senegalese groove, perfect for sunny Friday evenings |
| 2006 | Sergio Mendes | The Frog | A Latin American legend makes a contemporary comeback with will.i.am and Q-Tip |
| 2007 | MIA | Paper Planes | The Sri Lanka-born Londoner is wholeheartedly global (as well as critiquing globalisation) |
| 2008 | Amidou and Mariam | Ce N’est Pas Bon | Another favourite of the former Africa correspondent on our team of travel and lifestyle writers, this blind Malian couple won legions of fans with their melodic harmonies long before they played Glastonbury 2023 |
| 2009 | Matthew Halsall | Together | Cool evocative jazz from the Manchester saxophonist |
| 2010 | St. Vincent | Laughing with a Mouth of Blood | The Texas-born singer-songwriter’s complex instrumental arragements have seen her collaborate with the likes of Talking Heads’ David Byrne |
| 2011 | Jamie xx Gil Scott-Heron | Home | The great poet of life on the gritty Harlem streets (of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised fame) teams up with the English DJ and producer behind indie popsters the xx |
| 2012 | Mac Demarco | Dreaming | A wonderful slice of lo-fi from the singular Canadian singer-songwriter |
| 2013 | James Blake | Life Round Here | A textured electronic soundscape from the genre-jumping, Mercury Prize-winning Londoner |
| 2014 | Silk Rhodes | Pains | Unbeatably chilled, American producer Michael Collins and singer Sasha Desree pay homage to ’70s soul |
| 2015 | Julia Holter | Sea Calls me Home | Raw vocals and saxophone characterise this gem from the American singer-songwriter, who has drawn comparisons to everyone from Kate Bush to PJ Harvey, Siouxsie Sioux and Nico |
| 2016 | Noname | Sunny Duet | Gloriously upbeat hip hop from Fatimah Warner, a Chicago-born veteran of open-mic nights and poetry slam competitions |
| 2017 | Loyle Carner | Mean it in the Morning | The Mercury-nominated London rapper captures the British capital’s energy |
| 2018 | Jorja Smith | Blue Lights | The UK’s West Midlands shows it has more up its sleeve than Led Zeppelin with this streetwise R&B singer-songwriter |
| 2019 | Four Tet | Teenage birdsong | British electronic artist Kieran Hebden does it again on this richly layered composition that simultaneously sets toes tapping, engages discerning listeners and evokes distant memories |
| 2020 | Daniel Avery | Two lone swordsmen | Avery’s tribute to producer/mixer/musician and all-round legend Andrew Weatherall is a fittingly downbeat tribute to someone who changed music and DJing singlehandedly |
| 2021 | Little Simz | Woman | An artist who summarises everything that makes London (and its music scene) so fresh, ever-evolving and truly world-leading |
| 2022 | Sault | Fight For Love | We’re in a mellow mood as we approach the end of our playlist and the present day, thanks to fluid guitar-picking, jazz vibes and butterfly-soft vocals from this British R&B collective |
| 2023 | Sampha | Spirit 2.0 | The blazingly talented Mercury Prize-winning Brit shows why his soulful voice has been utilised by everyone from Stormzy to Alicia Keys |
With offices from London to Cape Town, Mexico City and New York, the resulting playlist offers a Friday night session of chilled global sounds, so hit play and get ready for the weekend with Ten.
You can find out more information about Ten x Walpole here
