New Prince record? Internet meltdown. Understandable too given what a return to form ART OFFICIAL AGE is and can we all just take a second to appreciate how stone cold amazing the cover art is. If you thought Prince had fallen off over the years then it’s high time you wrapped your earballs around this thing.
We didn’t think we were qualified enough to curate a Prince playlist worthy of your Friday afternoon so we went to the only possible woman with enough pop credential and weirdness to warrant such a task. Correct. New Zealand’s Australia’s queen of leftfield pop Kimbra. The student of Prince’s school of funk was more than up for the challenge and has put together her ten favourite Prince jams, digging DEEP through his comprehensive back catalogue to bring you a special batch of P-Man Jams.
With Prince being Prince, a lot of his tunes are really hard to track down on the internet (I mean really, who else has a Soundcloud account with 10,000 followers and not a single tune on it?) but we did our best to track down as many as we could from various sites and sources. Click on the highlighted titles for all the fun-k.
Get at it.
KIMBRA’s 10 ESSENTIAL PRINCE JAMS
One of my favorite choruses of all time. I love the momentum of this song and it takes me back to the first time I watched Graffiti Bridge. An interesting moment in my life!
2. Crystal Ball
This was the song that sold me on Prince as the most progressive and boundary pushing artist out there. It’s over 8minutes and an absolutely transporting experience. Just listen to it really loud and get lost in the psychedelia.
3. Musicology
This was actually the first time I really took notice of Prince. I knew of his name but this was the fist song that really connected back in 2004, I fell in love with this record then worked my way back through his catalogue to discover all of the older material. Although this record was never one of his most acclaimed it’ll always hold a special place for me being the doorway into Prince for me.
4. The Cross
One of my all time favorite gospel songs, the lyrics are so moving and the way it builds into such a catharsis toward the end is so powerful.
I’m still a sucker for the new era of Prince songs - it’s not the same hit after hit type records but every now and then a gem slips through and the synths in this song are insane. He went back to a lot of older drum sounds on this record 2010 as well and it has a bit of a Purple Rain throwback feel in a lot of parts.
6. Do Me Baby
Sexiest song ever. Done. Game over.
Total classic and totally amazing. The syncopation in this song is what gets me, the pockets and way the guitar lines weave around the synths. The chorus is such an awesome lift, he always takes it to that place you’re hoping it will go but often in ways you didn’t see coming. We used to cover this song and it was so much fun to play.
My all-time favorite song by Prince. It makes me so emotional. The lyrics are amazing, the beat is so hypnotic, especially with the little sparkly synths, the whole song just cascades around you and the chord changes are genius. It reminds me of Tears for Fears with all the bold lifts and falls then the he accent into the money note at the end. It’s the ultimate pay off.
I love the mood of this song, it’s so sensual and secretive. It has a bit of an eastern, jazz feel too which I love. Proving Prince really is the master of all trades, he can dance between genres with it always feeling like it’s in ‘his world’.
10. Dirty Mind
This song just makes me dance so much. I love how innocent the music feels in contrast with the lyrics. The beautiful juxtaposition in Princes work is what makes it so perfect. The key change into the chorus is so unexpected but takes you to that 'high’ moment in such a satisfying way. He is the master of a groove which could just go on forever and never get old.
Kimbra’s latest album The Golden Echo is out now and is available where all good records are sold | streamed
Same goes for Prince’s not one but two new records - ART OFFICIAL AGE (buy | stream) & PLECTRUMELECTRUM (buy | stream)
