The Playlist: Matthew and Kasey Hickey of Turntable Kitchen
We’re always inspired by the smart food and music pairings made by Kasey and Matthew Hickey from Turntable Kitchen (and are especially fans of their new Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box — what could be better?). Take a listen to their Playlist—and a look at the workspace in their San Francisco apartment—in our latest post.
What do you listen to while you work? Matthew: That is a hard question for me to answer, because I listen to a really diverse range of music while working: lo-fi garage rock, French chanson, hip hop, 60’s Motown, indie rock, electronica, chillwave, cumbia, Argentinian folklorica, classic rock, and really just about anything else I get my hands on. I love discovering new music and that includes delving into genres that aren’t really contemporary. It just depends on my mood and what I’m doing. I think the diversity of our Musical Pairings speaks to the wide range of music we listen to while working in the kitchen. But to be honest, when I’m writing a post or working on stuff for the box (as opposed to when we are actually working in the kitchen), I’ll listen to an even wider range of music including stuff that just doesn’t create the right ambiance for a meal. Kasey: I listen to a lot of Pandora while I work mostly because, unlike Matt, I don’t collect music (I just mooch off of him!) I have a couple of favorite channels, based on some of my favorite artists – The Cults, Florence and the Machine, Beirut, MIA (when I need to wake up!), Sufjan Stevens, Feist, and Bon Iver.
How do you listen? Matthew: My favorite way to listen to music is definitely on our turntable. We have a Pro-ject Debut III turntable with some upgraded components and everything just sounds so warm and alive coming from it. Of course, a large portion of the music submitted to me is submitted digitally and I end up listening to some of that through computer speakers, and when I’m not at home I listen to everything through a pair of good ear buds. Kasey: I love listening to music at home. I love watching my husband pick out records and play them on our turntable. I hate wearing headphones because I don’t like feeling like I can’t hear if someone is trying to talk to me.
Do you have any favorite music providers? Matthew: I have a lot of great sources for discovering new music. It’d take forever to name them all but a few of my favorite small labels are Light In The Attic, Father/Daughter Records, Mexican Summer, City Limits Records, Crash Symbols, Paper Garden Records, Hozac Records, Gold Robot, Fort Lowell Records, and Forest Family Records. Also, there is already a lifetime of great undiscovered music uploaded to Bandcamp—so that is a fantastic place to discover new bands.
Does music influence your work? Matthew: Actually Kasey and I were doing our “Musical Pairings” unofficially even before we created the website because we’ve always believed that music completes a meal. In my opinion, a good meal isn’t just about the taste of the food you are eating, but is also about the overall experience that includes taste, aroma, and sound. So creating the perfect mood for a meal helps put you in the right mindset and helps contribute to the overall sensory experience that makes a meal memorable. Kasey: Music definitely influences my work. I think whatever I am listening to is reflected in my writing. Long, reflective pieces are often written with very mellow music on.
Where do you find music recommendations? Matthew: I discover music from a lot of different sources—friends, other music blogs, record labels, and magazines. For older genres, I normally discover music through web research. I’ll find myself thinking: “Is there such thing as psychedelic cumbia?” Once I discover there is such a genre, I start scouring the web to find examples. Or I’ll read a review of an album that references “pub rock”—but if I have no idea what that refers to, I research it and find examples. With contemporary music, I listen to any music released by the labels I mentioned before, but I also receive a lot of musical submissions from bands, artists and labels and I listen to everything I receive. I also ask almost everyone I meet what they are listening to or if they’ve heard any good records recently. I almost always go out and look up the bands they mention when I get a chance. Kasey: Honestly, I defer to Matt for a lot of music recommendations. When I crave something super commercial and poppy, I turn on the radio. But when it comes to good quality music, I know my husband will never steer me the wrong way.
If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? Matthew: Is it cheating to list our theme song? A band called Dubious Ranger wrote a theme song for Turntable Kitchen called “Love Is The Dish”. Unfortunately the band since broke up, but they did a good job of capturing the essence of what we do: it’s silly, fun and does a great job of capturing the way we marry food and music.
MATTHEW & KASEY’S PLAYLIST
Patterns of Fairytales, The National
East Harlem, Beirut
Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Jay-Z
Broken Date, Com Truise
Lo-Vélo, Evenings
Bernadette, The Four Tops
Western Son, Motel Beds
When The Sun Goes Down, Steffaloo
I Summon You, Spoon
Lonely Star, The Weeknd
Belong, Washed Out
Los Ejes De Me Carreta, Atahualpa Yupanqui
Images: Turntable Kitchen
My two favorite things coming together! HM and TT Kitchen
Someone wrote you a theme song? That. is. awesome.