CP Radio 009

A select curation of tracks for the month of June 2025

Last month, for CP Radio 008, I sourced a poem by the brilliant Persian poet, Rumi, to assist in articulating the greater feeling of the changing of the seasons, more specifically that of the month of May. For CP Radio 009, I turn similarly to the written word, this time from the prolific Virginia Woolf, who, on the topic of happiness, writes:

Happiness is in the quiet, ordinary things. A table, a chair, a book with a paper-knife stuck between the pages. And the petal falling from the rose, and the light flickering as we sit silent.  

A note on happiness to begin this month’s CP Radio editorial feels natural and fitting. In a way akin to that which I wrote about in December, the streets, and the people traversing them, seem to be smiling wider, glistening, sparkling even. As the holiday season brings cheer and spirit, so too does the month of June in the form of warm sun rays that fall like lucky pennies tossed into a water fountain, dancing and glittering as they descend upon the ground, and everything all around. The chorus of early morning bird ballads, dew covered grasses, tulips that bloom and story tell through a varied and diverse array of colors, this is June. I know not all can relate geographically, but the blessing of living in a climate that holds all four seasons lies in these precious moments that some may take for granted, deem them ordinary, but to us are novel and ephemeral indications of the progression of life, natural markers of time.

Little Cranberry Island, ME

Alongside the quiet beauty of June is the building presence of stickier air, especially hot and humid when you miss the 6 Train and are stuck 10 feet underground, a place where air circulation is non-existent and where solace may only be found through the music in your ears. I love the winter because of its ability to enhance gratitude and appreciation for warmer days, but my heart rests in the summer. Enduring a winter on the East Coast is analogous to a sore throat, not painful enough to complain about, certainly an annoyance, but, that for me, is also a positive reminder of the wonder that is good health. So, as we enter June, our music should reflect this concatenation of life, of growth, of gratitude, and of happiness. The air is no longer as naked and weightless as it was in May, but it is my hope that this curation of songs will lend themselves to be a melodic evocation of that levity - the breeze as it flows through your fingers while your hand glides with the rhythm of Home Again by the Menahan Street Band, the chilled salty water and peppery white sand beneath your feet that, once they meet, level out to a dense, soft bed of warmth for your toes to wag and wiggle to the beat of Il volo by Capinera, the fleeting enchantment of a bold, burnt orange sun as it sets, too quickly, and disappears beyond the horizon sprinkling in its trail the melody of Nowhere Near by Yo La Tengo. This is June.

Great Cranberry Island, ME

CP Radio 009 is full of gems like Ancients by RIO KOSTA, the brain child of Mike Del Rio and Kosta Galanopoulos. With vocals reminiscent of Kevin Parker, but different, and melodies evocative of Khruangbin, but again, different. Del Rio and Galanopoulos have crafted a wholly unique, and yet magically nostalgic sound, inspiration for which is found through old films, specifically European score composers, as their art is spurred by creating music they “want to listen to and love”, not driven by trends, but rather by sheer and complete honesty with themselves. The chord progressions, melodies, and prose of the duo are intrinsically representative of a trip to the Caribbean followed by Greece, all the while sipping Malibu Rum tastefully accompanied by ice cream and coconut fried shrimp. Then there’s Khala My Friend by Amanaz, an acronym that stands for "Ask Me About Nice Artistes in Zambia". Amanaz, a Zamrock band from Kitwe, Zambia founded in 1973, only released one album in 1975 called Africa on which Khala My Friend is the fourth track. The song is one of reflection, and love, but there are also elements of longing and despair - not everything can be cheerful all the time - this is the yin and the yang - for without sadness there would be no joy, and without winter there would be no summer. To wrap this up, I will leave you with an honorable mention of Right On by The Roots with a sample from Joanna Newsom’s The Book of Right On. This track is undoubtably my most played of the June curation - I used to listen to an abundance of rap music, an amount that has dwindled in recent years, but every now and then I rediscover songs that tap into a specific period of time within the genre, one ripe with nostalgia that serves as an ode to, in my opinion, a better era of rap characterized by greats like The Game, Craig Mack, Jeru the Damaja, Grand Puba, Shortie No Mass, and so on.

The point is, frankly, what it’s always been - to unabashedly lean into that which we love and share it with those we love, accompanied by thoughtful context for the why behind the what, because the story and hand behind the process is just as important as the work itself.