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Art&House Listening Sessions

- Soups & Sounds -

Listening sessions are small, intimate gatherings that I am hosting regularly, dedicated to hearing albums in full. We slow down, listen with presence, and allow the music to unfold as a shared experience. Each album comes with a soup, paired to the mood of the music.

13.07.2026 - Listening Session #13

Thank you all for another wonderful Soups & Sounds evening with Burial's Untrue.

This session was a first for us: after twelve editions, we finally had our first guest curator. A huge thank you to Adam for choosing and presenting the album, and for cooking an incredibly tasty mushroom miso soup.

The making of the soup itself felt almost like a ritual. A wide variety of mushrooms soaking, getting chopped and sizzling in the pan, offering a visual feast and incredible smells gradually filling the flat, and people arriving one by one and naturally gathering in the kitchen.

I think this is what I increasingly love about these evenings: people coming together with intention for a shared experience. The joy of getting to know other human beings while surrounded by tastes, smells and sounds. Sharing a pot of soup, sharing a room, and creating a little sense of community, friendliness and peacefulness together.

And then we entered the strange, ghostly world of Untrue.

I loved the incredibly cohesive sound of the album. On one hand, it feels distant and almost out of reach; on the other, its crunchy textures and haunting vocals carry a strange warmth and a fuzzy sense of nostalgia. The music pulls you into a journey filled with darkness, uneasiness and grit, yet somehow also intimacy.

We spoke about Burial's use of vocal samples from R&B songs, often taken from a completely different emotional world: upbeat, romantic, love is in the air. He twists these voices into something almost 180 degrees opposite: fragmented, darker and unsettling.

Personally, Near Dark was the highlight for me and gave me plenty of tingles. The bullet casings hitting the floor, along with so many other tiny sounds were incredibly stimulating for my imagination. Archangel, Endorphin and Raver also received special mentions, but in the end, I think we all agreed that the real magic was in the captivating flow of the album as a whole.

Thank you, Adam, for bringing your sounds, soup and perspective into the series. And thank you all for sharing the evening, including those who couldn't make it but listened to the album in their own time and shared their reflections with me afterwards.

Thank you all for another wonderful Soups & Sounds evening with Ray of Light.

Listening to this album together felt a little like stepping into a time machine, back to the late 90s, to a world that moved slower. A time before mobile phones and constant connectivity, when the internet was only beginning to reshape everyday life, globalization was accelerating cultural exchange between East and West, and electronic music was gradually finding its way into the mainstream, becoming part of the soundtrack of modern life.

Ray of Light arrived exactly at that moment. It marked a profound transformation for Madonna herself, but in many ways, it also helped shape a transformation happening in the world around her.

What stood out to me throughout the evening was the album’s beautiful flow. The electronic sounds often felt like actual rays of light passing through the leaves of a tree: bright, shimmering, full of movement, while carrying deeper undertones of spirituality, introspection, peace, and inward journeys.

Personally, The Power of Goodbye remains my favorite track on the album, though To Have and Not to Hold also revealed itself as a particularly beautiful and underrated moment.

As always, one of my favorite parts of these evenings is seeing such a lovely mixture of familiar faces who regularly join these gatherings, alongside those attending for the first time. It creates a special kind of energy every time.

One thought that stayed with me from our conversations afterwards was how much the evening itself felt like a revival of the 90s. Someone pointed out that it was a time when conversations seemed to flow more naturally, when people spoke more openly and unfiltered. A time when buying CDs was still part of discovering music, when opening an album cover felt like entering an entirely new world, long before information became instantly accessible at the touch of a screen.

For a few hours, it felt like we all stepped back into that shared experience together. Thank you again for bringing your ears, your thoughts, and your presence, and helping make these evenings what they are.

08.06.2026 - Listening Session #11

Thank you all for another beautiful listening evening. I think Scheherazade and Other Stories by Renaissance truly left a strong impression on many of us.

The musical quality throughout the record is extraordinary: the emotional piano passages, Annie Haslam’s breathtaking voice and the incredible orchestral arrangements turned “Song of Scheherazade” into a real fairy tale experience. Many of you also liked “Trip to the Fair”, an especially captivating and atmospheric piece that takes you on a peculiar dreamlike trip. “Ocean Gypsy” remains to be my favorite, beautifully sentimental and delicate.

For those who couldn’t make it: if you ever find the time and space to listen to this album fully from beginning to end, I highly recommend it. It is such a carefully crafted and immersive work of art. It was a huge joy for me to share this album and to fully feel the imagination, emotion, and effort that went into creating something this special.

25.05.2026 - Listening Session #10

I enjoyed the album’s cinematic musicality and sincere, vulnerable lyrics. I also loved how many tracks emerged from futuristic sci-fi sounds and that strange underwater feeling before moving into something deeply emotional and human. We all seemed to agree that almost every song evoked vivid movie-like scenes in our minds.

Movies and A Lot’s Gonna Change were two of my top three tracks from the album, while Wild Time remains my number one overall. Interestingly, during the session itself, Picture Me Better resonated with me in particular.

It’s definitely one of those albums that grows on you over time. Give it another listen in your own space sometime. Maybe with headphones, if you want to fully dive in and rise again.

11.05.2026 - Listening Session #9

This album feels very special to me. It is deeply expressive and emotionally rich, moving through themes like love, longing, heartbreak, healing and self-worth with elegance and honesty. A contemporary soul album that also touches folk, jazz, R&B, and even hints of flamenco and psychedelic textures, all without losing its cohesion.

Each song seemed to bring out something different during the evening. The groovy opening of “Bittersweet”, the playful energy of “Read My Mind”, the deeply sensual “Green Papaya”, the brilliantly catchy “Can’t Fight”, the smoky intimacy of “Paper Thin”, the epic reinterpretation of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes”, the sassy melancholy in “Seven Times”, the slow-burning beauty of “Courage” (with its mysterious sci-fi whistle sounds), and the jazzy & expansive ending of “Sour Flower”.

I also loved hearing everyone’s favorite tracks afterwards. Almost every song on the album received a mention from someone, which says a lot about how consistently strong the record is from beginning to end. If I had to choose personally, “Please Don’t Make Me Cry” would still be my favorite.

Thank you again for bringing your presence, attention, thoughts and emotions into the room. These evenings become much more meaningful because of the people who join them.

27.04.2026 - Listening Session #8

Mirage by Camel. For an album from the 70s, it was quite remarkable how clear the sound was, which gave a fresh, almost timeless quality that many of us picked up on.

The two longer tracks, Nimrodel and Lady Fantasy, felt like true journeys. Shifting in mood, tempo, and direction... Felt like watching a landscape in some distant, imagined world. And then there was Supertwister... with the weightless flute, such a quiet but powerful moment with goosebumps.

For me personally, it was a real joy to share this album. Experiencing it together felt like revealing a small treasure. Some of the textures and sounds leaned into a slightly psychedelic space, showing resemblance to Turkish psychedelic scene of the 70s, making the lentil soup pairing feel right.

Thanks again for bringing your presence, attention, and openness.

13.04.2026 - Listening Session #7

Another special evening with good music and company.

There was a shared appreciation in the room for how clean and beautifully produced this album is (check out the producer, Thomas Dolby). What stood out to everyone was the honesty and vulnerability in the lyrics, but also their humour. This balance seems to be part of what makes this album quietly powerful.

For me, it’s also the unusual song structures, the little twists in each track, the tasteful use of synths, and of course the passionate voice of Paddy McAloon that make it so rewarding to return to. Bonny and When Love Breaks Down remain my personal highlights, with their emotional weight while staying incredibly elegant in their melody and arrangement. Moving the River is another one I like, especially in how it reflects the struggle of keeping creative standards high.

I know I’ll come back to this album again, and I hope you will too, whether on a quiet evening when you are feeling down or when you are simply out for a bit of horsing around.

30.03.2026 - Listening Session #6

Thanks to all who managed to join. As an album that has many different flavours, we moved from genre to genre with each track. When the second half of the album settled in, it set the tone for the night: Like a late-night drive through the city with someone close, where the world softens, time slows down, and you simply exist in that calm and quietly connected moment.

The tracks Lounge and Superheroes remain to be my favourites. I also loved seeing how Country Livin’ (The World I Know) appealed to many of you. For me personally, there was a lot of joy in turning this album (one that I only discovered myself quite recently) into something shared.

16.03.2026 - Listening Session #5

Thanks to those who managed to attend to listen to this wonderful album together. It is great to see these gatherings taking shape, with familiar faces coming back, new ones joining each time and a shared space is forming around music & conversation (and soup).

In Rainbows is an authentic album that has been in my library since a while. Weird Fishes / Arpeggi is still my favorite track, however Jigsaw Falling Into Place had even bigger impact on me yesterday.

09.02.2026 - Listening Session #4

Another wonderful listening session in this series. Bloom diffused beautifully through the room. The soup warmed us up, as we were sinking into layered synths and tremolo guitars that seemed to vibrate through the skin, together with the intimate lyrics.

Personally, Wishes and On the Sea lingered with me long after the album, and it was lovely to see how many of you connected with Other People (pun intended). A moving album, and an even more moving evening. Thank you for being part of it. 

26.01.2026 - Listening Session #3

Thanks to everyone who joined Heaven or Las Vegas listening session. I really enjoy how these evenings are evolving. It feels like we are building a shared space that people can keep returning to.

It was beautiful to watch the shift from trying to decipher the lyrics to simply letting Elizabeth Fraser’s voice wash over the room as pure sound. What I loved most was that everyone seemed to walk away with a different favorite track, a good sign of how balanced and personal this album is.

For me personally, Fifty-Fifty Clown was the song that first made me notice Cocteau Twins years ago. More recently I found myself falling more for Road, River and Rail. And for those who want to dive deeper, Treasure (1984) remains another very special Cocteau Twins album worth spending time with.

12.01.2026 - Listening Session #2

Thanks to all who managed to join on Monday to listen to Mezzanine by Massive Attack. I’m still carrying the atmosphere of the night with me. It meant a lot to see how much openness, curiosity, and presence everyone brought with them.

One small personal note: Group Four remains my favorite track on Mezzanine. I love its tribal undercurrent and the way it slowly builds tension and release. If you feel like revisiting the album, I highly recommend giving that track (or the whole album) another listen with headphones to explore its depths.

15.12.2025 - Listening Session #1

The first listening session of this series felt exactly like what I had hoped for: a cozy group, a shared soup, deep listening, and reflections that went far beyond the album itself. Thanks to everyone who came and helped create such a calm and delightful atmosphere.

Grace revealed itself once again as an incredibly rich and vulnerable album. If you feel like returning to it on your own time, I personally recommend revisiting the song Dream Brother. It stayed with me after the evening, both musically and emotionally.