DJ JimQ's Playlist: Spirituality

The theme this month is Spirituality, selected by the Jeddah chapter of CreativeMornings. Musical expression has always been deeply intertwined with spiritual experience, from our most primitive rituals to the elaborate orchestration of contemporary gospel performances. The power of music and the feelings it provokes have always been associated with divinity. There are few art forms that can evoke such emotional reactions with such efficiency. A couple of notes can shift your mood. A simple chord progression can send chills up your spine. Powerful stuff.

So powerful in fact that legend has it, in medieval Europe, the tritone colloquially known as the devil’s interval was banned for fear it could conjure the dark lord himself. The unsettling tritone is used throughout western music to represent the dark and eerie. For the music theorists out there, the interval is a diminished 5th or augmented 4th. In each diatonic scale there is one tritone, for the C major scale, it’s F and B. If you have an instrument beside you, give it a try. Although if you’re at the office, conjuring the devil might be considered NSFW. Fair warning.

“Le Songe de Tartini” is a color lithograph by François-Séraphin Delpech of an illustration by Louis-Léopold Boilly of the legend surrounding the origin of Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Sonata in G minor, B.g5, more familiarly known as the Devil’s Trill Sonata.

The idea of a sound being evil seems a little archaic. However, there is a reason that this particular sound feels ominous to us. Because of the complex frequencies in the sound of the tritone, it feels unresolved or teetering on the edge. The subconscious anticipation can feel uncomfortable and even threatening, though some of you may find it thrilling. If you, like me, are intrigued by darkness, Quartz has a fun article that goes a bit deeper into the devil’s tritone. And of course there are countless musical compositions that rely on the demonic power of the tritone. Some of my favorites are Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” Iron Maiden’s “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” and Nick Cave’s “The Carny.” Think about your favorite ominous song, I bet it uses the devil’s interval.

Church is in session, we’ve got the divinity dialed up and the holy spirit on deck. This month’s theme is spirituality where the righteous reign and the ethereal prevail. These sacred songs of devotion will lead us to auditory nirvana. From Aretha to Madonna, your prayers have been answered. The playlist this month is blessed with a wealth of sacred artists to venerate. I’m truly enjoying the soul-affirming deviance of Beyoncé’s new track “You Won’t Break My Soul.” This is a refreshing new sound from Beyoncé, she taps Big Freedia to lend some contemporary NOLA bounce energy to an otherwise overtly traditional house track. Olivia Newton-John skates us to the promise-land with ”Xanadu.“ The Headhunters, with a little help from the Pointer Sisters, explain why they’re so damn groovy in ”God Made Me Funky.” Sudan Archives takes us to “Confession” and Anderson .Paak paves the way to salvation with “Saviers Road.” This sonic sermon should have you feeling divine.

Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next month with another playlist. If you enjoy these playlists please share them and give me shout on Twitter, I would love to hear from you. And to keep up with these releases, follow me on Spotify.