It’s hot

Summer Playlist: Casely-Hayford – ditch the jerk chicken and go straight for the air horn
By Tempe Nakiska | Fashion | 20 August 2014
This article is part of Playlists – Tunes to live by

We’re rinsing this weather for all its got, asking designers with more than a passing interest in music to share what’s rattling their speakers. This week it’s Casely-Hayford, the East London duo offering up a deep bunch of “favourites” (Charlie) and “rediscoveries” (Joe) that will send you hurtling full throttle into the August Bank Holiday weekend – air horn in hand.

The Casely-Hayford ethos centres around music and the subcultures that surround it, Charlie and Joe’s world a constantly evolving universe of cross-generational zeitgeist references translated for the now. Early in his career Joe dressed the likes of The Clash while simultaneously driving forward his own eponymous line, the studio at which Charlie got his first taste of fashion, apprenticing there before studying at CSM and working in the wings styling The xx and Nas.

So it’s just as much of a no-brainer that Casely-Hayford’s show soundtracks are consistently hot fashion week topic (take SS15’s Led Zeppelin heavy tribute to Dogtown and Z-Boys with a grinding track list peppered with Jimi Hendrix) as it’s a given that an opportunity to pick this family’s musical brains is golden.

“My dad is a massive music head so one day he will be listening to drum and bass and the next it will be post-dubstep or hard house or 90s hip hop […] He’s got an amazing love and knowledge of music, I learn a lot from him,” said Charlie in HERO 11. It’s drum and bass and jungle that rise up here, Joe sharing a handful of “goodies” he’s recently rediscovered, from A Guy Called Gerald to Wagon Christ (the latter reflecting the pair’s mutual fondness for English music and its eccentricities).

Meanwhile, Charlie’s getting geared up for the Notting Hill Carnival, sharing the dancehall bangers he’ll have on rotation in the studio over the next few days. Grab a Red Stripe and get in the headspace.

Caribbean Girls by Mavado, selected by Charlie
“This track is straight summer vibes.”

Party Shot by Popcaan, selected by Charlie
“This was the first ever Popcaan track I came across. I’ve pretty much been into everything else he’s done ever since.”

At The Top by Mavado, selected by Charlie
“I love the energy of this Mavado song.”

Pull Up To Mi Bumper by Konshens & J Capri, selected by Charlie
“This was one of the biggest tunes at carnival last year.”

Shake your Bum by Timaya, selected by Charlie
“Lyrical genius.”

DJ SS Black (V.I.P Mix) by Black feat. Mc Power, selected by Joe
“My first choice in its original form was on an album I bought In 1995 called Form LP 003.
I heard this played the other day and the memories came flooding back.”

Lovely by Wagon Christ (from the 1998 album Tally Ho), selected by Joe
“Next up is the track ‘Lovely’ from Wagon Christ which was an alias used by the artist Luke Vibert. It was released in 1998 and I love the funny English feel of this album.”

Space Love by Leila, from the album Like Weather (1998), selected by Joe
“Leila made some of the best albums of the late 90s/00s. Sadly they were not widely acknowledged. The seminal album Like Weather is definitely worth a listen for any fans of Twigs.”

Sheep by Gonjasufi (from the 2009 album A Sufi and a Killer), selected by Joe
“Gonjasufi just reminds me of sunshine. A mystical figure from the Mojave Desert. Nice and twisted!”

Life Unfolds His Mystery by A Guy Called Gerald (from the 1995 album Black Secret Technology), selected by Joe
“My final track is from A Guy Called Gerald’s awesome album Black Secret Technology. Often referred to as the best Jungle album ever.”

Image courtesy and © Brian David Stephens whose series ‘Notting Hill Soundsystems’, is available as a limited edition zine from Café Royal books. A limited set of screen-prints from the series is available from Tartaruga and an exhibition of the series (screen-printed by Tartaruga) is on show at The Social, London until the end of September




Read Next