As thousands more workers adjust to home-based working, the Socially Grown team invites you to boost your spirits with a very useful and unlimited resource; music!
It’s often been reported that UK workers like to listen to music while they work. So here’s a glimpse into the musical tastes of our digital designers, content producers and growth experts. Why not join us and listen to our Socially Grown Spotify playlist!
Ben Parry, Growth Director
Pearl Jam, Alive – Released in 1991, this song is often mistaken for an uplifting anthem however the lyrics have a dark underbelly. During my days masquerading as a 15 year old guitar playing skater kid, Pearl Jam would occupy the Discman for days on end and Alive raises memories of times when life was far less complex.
Arman van Helden, You Don’t Know Me – By 1997, Heavy metal had made room for House. the repetitive yet controlling beats of the club scene ruled the mix CD. Armand van Helden was the undisputed king of late 90’s house music. Bringing NYC swagger to the UK clubs, Van Helden released banger after banger however You Don’t Know Me was the ultimate sing-along classic that had me holding up my arms and shouting at darkened ceilings around the country every Saturday. A vocal for the ages and a must-have on the playlist.
Sarah Matarazzo, Managing Director
The further into self isolation we travel, the more tunes run through my working mind. What once consisted of banter, the kettle boiling or the sound of office chairs rolling across the floor has now been replaced with birds singing and the sound of my own thoughts – scary.
Naturally, I turn to some of my favourite tunes, some are from my childhood years of the 80’s, whereas others are the latest overplayed radio tunes. Nina Simone’s Feeling Good belongs to me from 2013 when I left full time employment as Sales Director and ventured into the realms of building a business full time. Many car journeys consisted of Nina on repeat.
My top two right now would be The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights and Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise because I know every lyric.
Lisa Cooper, Creative Director
Skin, Just Let The Sun – I have been a big fan of Skunk Anansie since their second album, Stoosh, with Hedonism came out in 1996. The only band I have followed since school and thankfully finally saw them live last year. Skin’s solo work is not as well known but I love this track as it has a slightly brighter feel for when you’re working.
Kensington, Riddles – Kensington is a recent find and I think a Spotify suggestion. I love them and this track is particularly interesting, I am a big on the lyrics and songs have to have some meaning for them to stick with me.
Chris Dickins, Marketing Strategist
Cloudchord, Tri Color Pastas – By far, my preferred genre of choice when I need to stay productive is laid back, downtempo electronic music. I’m a big fan of the jazz-hop scene that’s doing amazingly well at the moment. Check out Fantastic Music on Youtube for their regular sets of songs that are perfect to keep you motivated throughout the working day.
White Noise Cinema, Unpersons – I was massively into rock music when I was younger. Recently I’ve loved re-discovering rock bands of my youth, but I particularly like it when a new band pops up on my social feed these days. White Noise Cinema only have a handful of songs out there currently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were headlining festivals in a few years. Remember where you heard them first!
Jackie White, Graphic Designer
In the past when I used to work in a shared office, I would wear my headphones and be in my own happy bubble listening to music; it was a way to block out distractions and help me focus so much better.
These days, working from my home studio, I still couldn’t work without music. I find it is a great motivation, a positive mood booster and most importantly it helps my creative juices flow!
My Spotify playlists are diverse ranging from; pop, rock, r&b, golden oldies and there are some cheesy power ballads thrown in there too. I’m one of those people that shouts ‘I love this song’ without knowing who it is, so you probably wouldn’t want me in your zoom pub quiz for the music round!
There are times when I need some easy listening tracks, where it needs to be lyricless; so I put on some moving classical music from movie soundtracks I can happily play over and over again.
Psychologists have found that your taste in music says a lot about your personality, so here is a window into my soul: River Flows In You by Yiruma and This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole.
Martin Jeffrey, Digital Marketing Specialist
Here Comes the Sun by the The Beatles – I’m not a big Beatles fan, but this song is a great piece about hope which we could all do with now.
I Don’t Feel Like Dancin by Scissor Sisters – If you don’t want to dance, listen to this, you’ll be dancing with its thudding backbeat and 70s disco pastiche.
Generally when I am working I try not to have anything too distracting but something that provides uplifting momentum, so I like Apple’s Classical Playlists, especially Minimalist Classics or sometimes just Meditation Music.
Roger Walker-Arnott, Senior Web Developer
I have quite an eclectic taste in music, but I do tend to lean towards rock, classic rock & indie music. I find old familiar songs much easier to work to as I’ve already heard them a thousand times and they won’t distract. If I hear something new or that I’ve not heard in a while I find myself listening rather than working! So I keep my playlists quite limited when I work.
My two most-played playlists at the moment are the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack & 00’s rock anthems. Top of the list for the Guardians soundtrack for me is The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. It’s a great song, with an even better bassline & guitar solo! My top pick for the 00’s rock anthems will have to be Wolfmother’s Joker & the Thief. Wolfmother weren’t exactly chart-toppers in the ’00s but I love classic rock and they sound just like Led Zeppelin so it was an easy choice!