"it's a summer day, not a cloud in sight..."

You know it's summer when your jeans start to glue to your legs, when you have a constant craving for iced coffees and frozen yogurt, when you wonder how life was possible without AC, when you get cranky and sweaty from a mere 10-min walk, and when all you want to do is sleep through stormy rainy days...

Summer's supposed to be all sun and fun, but it just seems to have lost its appeal ever since my school days have passed and summer is no longer attached to word vacation. And in this sticky melting weather, the only things that keeps me excited are the summer playlists and new albums that keep rolling out this time of the year. Nylon's annual Music issue is something that I look forward to every summer; it's like an A-Z guide to up & coming bands and is especially great for discovering emerging indie talents complemented with its usual beautiful fashion editorials (thus making the front man look even more charismatic than he already is). If you have an iPad, go download Nylon's summer playlist for free now! That's 20 freebie new songs to add to your summer selection. One of my personal favorites is the Seattle based six-piece The Head and the Heart, which is part folklore and part pop and totally refreshing (hence also included in my new mix tape below).

 purple*bliss mix tape vol. 3

click here to download

I'm no music expert, but like most people, there's nothing more exciting than having discovered a new band or getting your hands on that much anticipated album from your favorite group. My vol. 3 mix tape features songs from both of the above, and more: new songs from old favorites and simply great songs from all-time favorites. It's mostly chillaxing with a bit of punch thrown in just in case you needed to shake off that summer heat. Me thinks it's perfect for any lazy summer afternoon on the porch as it is for the road trip you're gonna take in your convertible. So sit back, relax and stay cool!




Song List:
French Navy - Camera Obscura
I can Hear Music - The Beach Boys
Call Me Back - The Strokes
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Black Treacle - Arctic Monkeys
Heart of Glass - Blondie
The Air that I Breathe - The Hollies
StayYoung, Go Dancing - Death Cab for Cutie
Lost in my Mind - The Head and the Heart
Safari - Catpeople
Face in the Crowd - Cat’s Eyes
Ghost of this Town - Cavalcade
Battery Kinzie - Fleet Foxes

red and blue

It seems crazy but I had this huge urge to do a mix tape tonight despite my total lack of sleep and inhumane work hours lately. Seems like a few good songs are the only things keeping me sane these days. Then I realized I had some downloading issues with my selected songs and after experiencing some technical difficulties, decided that I should just leave it and get some beauty sleep instead. Or maybe I could just share one song instead of ten.

Mr. Blue is one of my favorite songs but I have never actually seen the music video until today, and it was lovely, and reminded me of the "The Red Balloon", another one of my favorites.

"Mr. Blue... don't hold your head so low that you can't see the sky......"

*all screen caps from Mr. Blue - Catherine Feeny. Click on above images for video.

jet. set. chow (ciao).

purple*bliss mix tape vol. 2

 

 

 click here to download

Finally got my act together and compiled purple*bliss mixed tape vol. 2. This time it's all about travel - a little bit of the "every day is a holiday" mood - taking you on a musical journey around the world from the hectic streets of Tokyo to a quiet stroll in a Parisian park and across the ocean again to the South American festivities; from lounging on the beach on the Cayman Islands to getting lost amongst an Gaudi architecture in Barcelona and finally winding up in the amazing cities of Italy with one of my favorite songs - Beirut's Postcards from Italy.


'Gelato' may seem a bit out of context as this mix tape's name... but personally it symbolizes the freedom and pleasure that traveling gives me - that vacationing on a foreign land is the one time I will truly allow myself to indulge in decadent things I normally restrain myself to ... like gelato...
It could be gelato, or it could be a Swedish massage or a bottle of Cava... whatever it is, hopefully these songs will take you to some place where you can enjoy a bit of indulgence and relaxation from the hectic days before the year's end.

Songs List:
Departure Lounge  - Karminsky Experience
Rio De Amor ~ Feat. Pamela Driggs - Paris Match
Tokio - Doktor Zoil
L'amoureuse - Carla Bruni
Like Castanets - Bishop Allen
Cayman Islands - Kings of Convenience
Barcelona - Giulia y los Tellarini
Horchata - Vampire Weekend
Postcards from Italy - Beirut

Debuting: purple*bliss mix tape vol. 1

purple*bliss is backkkkkkkk!

That's right... after a 3-month hiatus purple*bliss is back in business (aka. the nerd has returned...), and this time around, it's going to be better, bigger, and juicier...! Well, at least that's the goal. When I decided to take a break from this blog back in May, one of the major reasons apart from having a crazy office work schedule, was because I wasn't feeling as inspired anymore. But then eventually, this lack of inspiration, fueled with a bit of corporate allergy, spurred my curiosity to once again discover things that I love, places that I relish, and people who I enjoy. So here I am, hoping to bring some bliss back.

The revamped purple*bliss will be a little different than what it used to be - this time I'm going to focus a lot more on introducing all the cool stuff, the bits and pieces that make me happy, which hopefully will also make anyone reading this feel the same. There will be regular features like the monthly mix tape, brand interviews, closet raids (watch out my well-dressed friends!), travel tips, foodie chats, trend talks, new & noted must-haves, vintage obsessions, and perhaps even guest posts from my co-blog anneviolet.

As my first come-back post I'm debuting my virgin mixed 'tape'! It has been raining so much in Hong Kong this summer that it's easy to let the gloomy weather wreck my mood, so I have chosen some songs that I think are great for rainy summer days... mood lifters that are soothing to the ears.

purple*bliss mix tap vol.1

click here to download

photo credits: mikomiao

Song list:

1.  I Won't Forget - Fern
2.  Sing - She & Him
3.  Playground Love -Air
4.  Lilic - Dahlia
5.  Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
6.  Microphone - Coconut Records
7.  Overload - The Cardigans
8.  Give it Away - Zero 7
9.  You and Me Song - The Wannadies
10. Gold in the Air of Summer - Kings of Convenience
11. Hide and Think - Anonymass
12. La Lay del Retiro - Giulia y los Terallini


Hope you'll enjoy my first attempt to a mix tape and do let me know what you think (note file is mpeg format, so readable by iTunes and Quicktime, but not Windows Media Player)! Special thanks to my awesome sister for letting me use one of her photos for my album artwork.

Let's keep the festive summery spirit going....