around the world — always
There are lots of reasons why I add a song to my ever-growing Spotify playlist of favourites. Some of them I have heard on the radio in a store, some of them a friend or acquaintance recommended to me, and others I came across on Instagram. But when I put the playlist on shuffle, there are some songs, that never fail to take me back to the moment I first heard them or to a special time when I listened to a particular song.
The first one I vividly connect to a solo travel memory is probably “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons. Every day, I had it playing on my first-ever smartphone while walking to Preston Road Station to head to my English language school in central London. Especially on sunny days, my 17-year-old self felt like nothing could stop me, now that I was living the big city life.
A more recent one is “Todos los dias sale el sol” by Bongo Botrako. Whenever this song comes up in my playlist nowadays, I cannot help but feel the urge to dance and a wave of happiness overcomes me. It immediately takes me back to the streets of Alicante, where we were listening to a cover band playing the tune in the early morning of a San Juan celebration. To me, the song is a reminder of carefree summer days.
Other summer songs are “Drinkee” by Sofi Tukker & anything from Les Touristes. Those songs remind me of the time when I was volunteering at a music festival in Switzerland, together with a childhood friend. Between shifts, we happened to catch the South African duo and the Swiss band respectively, without having ever heard of them before. But for both acts, the energy was so captivating, that I can’t help but smile and sing along loudly whenever they are playing now.
“for lovers who hesitate” by Jannabi is one of the songs a friend recommended. We were having a drink in Battambang, Cambodia on our last travel day together, when I asked Eric for Korean indie rock or retro pop songs. He showed be Jannabi and without understanding any of the lyrics, I immediately liked the vibe. Since then, the song happened to play on multiple occasions that felt significant, like on the plane ride across Japan during which I was contemplating life and choices I had to make.
Another Swiss edition is “W. Nuss vo Bümpliz” by Patent Ochsner. It’s THE song that’s played at 4am at any Swiss-German 25+ party & the one I’ve introduced to people around the world when they ask about Swiss music. So now it reminds me of a road trip in rural Kyoto with a Kei truck, a ski weekend in Nagano where I was singing along to the tune together with a German-Australian guy I had just met, and many nights out with my childhood friends in the countryside around Lucerne.
Some honorable mentions that I already included in other posts:
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- anything from Raim & Irina Kairatovna — festival summer in Almaty
- “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles — camping in France
- “Kifak Inta” by Fairuz — cruising around Expo 2020 Dubai on my red scooter
- “The Nights” by Avicii, “Superheros” by The Script, “Cool Girl” by Tove Lo & “The Heart is a Muscle” by Gang of Youths — dancing the night away at Sziget
- “Atrévet-Te-Te” by Calle 13 — a party bus ride in Ecuador
- “Non Succedera Piu” by Claudia Mori — drinks in a small bar in Naples
- “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony — a beach day in Lima
- “Cariñito” by Los Hijos del Sol — a pool day on a rooftop in Barcelona
- “Coisa mais linda” by Joao Gilberto Quintet — Shisha nights in Dubai
- “Butter” by BTS — driving on the streets of the UAE
- “平凡之路” (Ping Fan Zhi Lu) by Pu Shu (朴树) — sharing Falafel with a Chinese girl in Amman
- “Mama” by Taitosmith — Karaoke on the streets of Luang Prabang
- “September Fields” by Frazey Ford — breakfast shift at the juice bar in the Perhentians
- “J’t’emmène au vent” by Louise Attaque — Setting up the kotatsu in Kusatsu Onsen
- “裏町酒場” (Uramachi Sakaba) Hibari Misora (美空ひばり) — making dinner in Kumihama Bay
- “좋아요를 눌러주세요” by Fishingirls — watching the sunset & drinking Magkeolli at Africa Guesthouse
- “Monkey Magic-Space Monkey” by E-paksa — a spontaneous trip to Damyang from Seoul
- “Palazzo” by Kulwinder – driving to Kashmir
- “Облака” (Oblaka ) by Andrey Gubin – a singing contest at a bonfire in Kazakhstan
thattravelstory 