Playlists

Inspirations:

I started making ‘playlists’ by just putting together mixtapes (originally on minidiscs!) for parties back in the early 00s, but it wasn’t until I got my first iPod in 2003 that I actually began calling them playlists (thanks Apple). I’ve been building them professionally since 2011 while working at Universal Music and got the opportunity to develop the Digster playlist brand in the UK after it had originally launched in Sweden. It began as something of a side project but, eventually, I had built the brand to a decent enough size for it to become my full time job. 

Playlists were increasingly becoming how people discovered new music and the ones I built were growing in popularity - it was a great feeling to know that something I created would help people find music they liked and would also help the artists I loved get their music in front of those people.  

It was a challenge for me when I left the company in 2014: I had to say goodbye to all the playlists that I’d crafted. Some of them had been really personal to me and a huge amount of effort had gone into conceptualising, naming and growing them all - it was kind of like saying goodbye to my children!

That was how my own brand, Slice!, and the playlists I build there became so important to me - they were mine and whatever happened, I wouldn’t have to ever give them away again. It also served as a good advert for my ability to make them for other people and I was picking up more and more professional playlist building gigs.

Growing Slice!’s playlists also meant I could curate around what I liked most and what I’ve always loved most about music: the outlines; things like production, sound design and arrangements. A long time ago, that was ultimately why I ended up studying electronic music production and that ingrained in me a deeper appreciation of music that is made electronically. 

It’s that love of sound design and electronic production in all its forms that most informs the playlists I make for Slice! I’m usually looking for a fresh new sound I haven’t heard a million times before or a fresh twist on an existing one. Once I’ve found a sound that I want to build a playlist around, I really try to maintain that vibe throughout the playlist, with the intention being that if you like one song on each list you should hopefully be able to trust the playlist to keep that vibe going without you having to do anything.

I also really love new music in general. I love watching how trends emerge and then evolve, so most of the Slice! playlists pretty much focus on new releases or on music made in the last couple of years unless, of course, they are themed around a specific time period

Finally,  I grew up in London so I’ve always been extremely fortunate to be surrounded by people from all over the world and I like my playlists to reflect that and be as international as possible. I studied multiple languages growing up and have travelled a lot so I really love throwing in tracks in different languages for that exotic feel :)

Justin