the july review

Hello loves,

Big news this month: the first three songs of my project have been mixed!! ♥️ I was so happy when I sent them off; stems in little packages (I pictured flowers when I wrote that), neatly organised in Dropbox with a deck of mixing notes attached. It feels amazing to complete something, to follow through on what you said you’d do. These songs have absorbed hours and hours of my weekends and evenings, I’m so excited for you to finally have them on streaming, and for you to hear some for the first time!

I had so many lovely days this month — one of my favourites was the solo date I took to Hampstead ladies’ pond and the Hepworth In Colour exhibition. I vlogged it, which I’ll leave below in case you missed it:

Thank you everyone who bought a Studio168 tote! They’re now back to being a founding member exclusive — if you sign up I’ll ship one to anywhere you are in the world ♥️

Bought a little belt to layer with my summer outfits, it was less than £20 and I’m obsessed.

I finally picked up these Nike T90s after buying them in the wrong size and having to exchange for the size above my usual. I have no idea why these aren’t more popular, I think they’re super cool with the stitching and embroidery, especially in this matte colourway, and they’re under £100. But if you’re going to buy, learn from my mistake and size up!!

As you can imagine, I was buzzing when new avatar came out this month. This is perfect night music for me, after dark only. I love everything about Kelela’s vision and the world she builds with every project, the depth of her writing and the sonic choices she makes to tell these stories always speaks to me. The bridge is currently my favourite song (the PinkPantheress dance is mesmerising) but it changes every week. The FOMO I feel when I see clips of the release party… let’s not talk about it.

I love how she brings the ambient and electronic sounds she loves into her work, I watched her NTS Tunescrolling interview and made a note of every song she mentioned so I can listen. It’s fun when people I admire’s taste feels many steps beyond what I’m currently into and I get to stretch mine in that direction — even if I don’t end up liking what I try, it further informs my outlook, it broadens my horizon. All of my favourite creatives do this for me — Paloma Elsesser comes to mind, Solange, the interior designer Charlotte Taylor… I relish being challenged!!

Been listening to a lot of Beard since it’s release a few weeks ago. A warm record, sweet and salty, perfect for this weather.

A final mention is this wild project by Magi Merlin that came out this month — I would call it alt-soul but it’s truly genre-less, you never know where it’s going next and I love that. Another great summer album.

As usual, I updated my Honey playlist with loads of fresh music, so give it a save and dip in when you need 🌊

I had two delicious meals this month; we had dinner at Clara’s with Eik and Georgie, a fairly new restaurant on Bethnal Green Road that lived up to the hype, and then lunch with Jamaica, Holly, Jess and Alex at Ornella in London Fields. Ornella is stunning, everywhere you turn is a painting and it would make an amazing date night. Both places did great small plates (classic East London) — a particular highlight was the tereine with apricots at Clara’s, closely followed by their anchovies.

I also went back to Natura twice after two years of it’s sad, unnecessary absence in my life; firstly after the football which I filmed in my most recent 168 Hours vlog, and then on Friday with Will, Charlie and Matilda after some drinks in Hackney Wick. Natura is my ultimate Italian in London; tiny wooden tables, pasta dishes the size of your face and a shot on the house when you pay — not for me anymore but I’m with everyone in spirit — what’s not to love?

I finally watched Love Story and thought it was great. This series was made for me. I love a romance drama! I love 90’s Calvin Klein! I particularly like this sweater that CBK is wearing — there’s a similar one in Arket at the moment which I tried to buy the moment I saw it, but it’s sold out I’m assuming at least in part because of this scene.

Any recommendations like Love Story would be appreciated! Thanks friends ♥️

As I mentioned before, I made it to Hepworth In Colour at the Courtauld Gallery and I thought it was beautiful. A small but worthwhile exhibition to drop into if you’re in town, it’s worth the detour — plus you get access to the rest of the gallery, there are some iconic works within those walls!!

Let me know what you loved this month 🪷 as I mentioned, any recommendations like Love Story would also be appreciated! Thank you angels ♥️

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