Los Angeles-based band Divisible, consisting of singer Shola and drummer Albert Sadia, released their debut album Less Than Lion recently, a collection of songs which includes a reinterpretation of Radiohead’s Exit Music [For A Film]) and explores Shola’s journey from the halls of Harvard to a West African reconciliation with her father, who lives in Ghana via a propulsive mixture of rock, electronica, and world music sounds.
Kate Bush / Cloudbusting
When you’re working on a new record, you have to seek out new sources of inspiration. I had never listened to Kate Bush before, even though all my musical heroes referenced her. Now, I can’t believe what I was missing all these years.
Leonard Cohen / If It Be Your Will
There are a few lyricists who I feel are true craftsmen, and Leonard Cohen is probably at the top of that list (Death Cab for Cutie, Morrissey, Prince, Joni Mitchell). He’s like a magician who can summon words and make them obey his every whim. I think this song really speaks to people like me who struggle with religion.
King Sunny Ade / Ja Funmi
This is the music my dad listened to when I was growing up, and on our new record I wanted to capture a little bit of this mood – a dark, seedy celebration.
Peter Gabriel / Cloudless
Is there a more perfect song than this? Lately I’ve been thinking about language a lot, and how the Tower of Babel was supposed to separate all of us. But then sometimes we can understand someone speaking a completely different language – it’s like the human spirit refuses to be separated. I have no idea what they’re saying in this song, but on a very human level I understand what it means.
Antony & The Johnsons / Epilepsy is Dancing
I lost a friend to epilepsy last year, so this song took on a very intense personal meaning for me. I can’t listen to it without crying. Antony seems to have gotten to a place where there is no separation between his emotions and his expression.
Ryan Adams / When the Stars Go Blue
Ryan Adams is my guilty pleasure. I mean, he’s married to Mandy Moore … come on! I think the chords are like D-G-C-Am, but the construction of it is pretty genius. It cycles. It’s so simple, but brilliant. He really crafts a song.
Tori Amos / Pretty Good Year
This was the first Tori Amos song I ever heard. I was in high school, and she single-handedly is the reason I started wanting to be a musician. She made me realize that we each have a unique, important voice. I just wish she hadn’t done all this plastic surgery to her face and put out such hollow records the last few years. Then again, maybe she didn’t change – maybe I did.
TV On The Radio / Dreams
I was at the Interscope office when TV On The Radio got added to KROQ, and the whole radio department went crazy. I felt a little triumphant myself – suddenly black people who were making difficult indie rock had a chance. They still give me hope for Divisible.
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