Track by Track : 001
Tekayu Harrington
(Image Courtsey of Pavel Khon )
Music is a very important element to us when it comes to wine. We strongly believe that all the senses are required to enjoy wine including the audio sensory element.
Music activates parts of the brain to make you feel joy, energy, sadness, love, nostalgia...The list goes on; In this form, wine also energizes by activating the cells in your brain. Every receptor sparking and creating waves of feelings and emotions as your glass is slowly emptied; Different genres have different effects on the brain similar to the various taste profiles unlocked in your grey matter by wine.
There is undoubtedly an undeniable correlation! 'Track by Track' is our blog series highlighting artists from around the world and within Thailand who are passionate about their musical crafts and continue to push boundaries within their respective styles.
This month we are proud to have Co-Founder of 'Slum Disco' Tek Harrington popping our 'Track by Track' cherry. In order to stay true to the music pairing process, we sent him 3 bottles (listed below) for him to pair with his unique musical tastes.
Let's find out what he thinks!
Tell us a little about your journey so far? How has music shaped your life?
Hey Naturalista, thanks for getting me on board, especially allowing me to pop your cherry! I work in retail property development during the day and I’m a music consultant & DJ during the evening. Basically, I can’t sit still so I have to fill my life with things to do; overfilling may be a better word actually. I moved to the UK when I was 8 and my bedroom was actually my stepfather’s music room. In it was a single Panasonic turntable and a crate of dusty black round things. Once I figured out what it was, the rest is history. Music has become timestamps in my lifetime, for both eventful and non-eventful parts of my life.
I can still remember listening to Take That - Want You Back in the mid-90s shortly after I had just moved to England. At the time, my English was piss-poor and I thought the chorus took a rather ominous meaning with the band singing, “Watch Your Back For Good”, as if they were giving out a dark warning to an ex-girlfriend.
Then there was the first taste of House music as a 13-year-old kid hearing Moloko – Sing It Back for the first time on BBC Radio 1; I didn’t understand house music given the age, but I instantly danced around in my bedroom.
And with any coming-of-age story, there’s always the first heartbreak track; mine was Oasis – Married With Children. It’s definitely a very bitter song to a bitter-sweet breakup with my first ever girlfriend. “Your music’s shite, it keeps me up all night, up all night”, is a line I’ll never forget (and her taste in music WAS awful).
Music’s important to me, it keeps me sane during my busy schedule and allows me snippets of escapism throughout the day.
If you could go back in time, name three artists you would want to meet :
This one’s easy: Prince, Prince and Prince… (maybe Larry Levan as well).
We hear that you are a chef! What is the most underestimated ingredient in food?
My mam had a Thai restaurant when I grew up in the UK so I’ve always been around F&B since I was 12. I later became a chef at 18 in a French brasserie but hung up my apron when I was 25 and transitioned into architecture.
I’m in a luxurious position to view food from a chef’s point of view, but with a normal person’s application. Chefs often times can overlook that normal people simply don’t have the time to make a 48-hour demi glace or have access to 2 ovens so they can simultaneously cook two different items at two different temperatures.
As for the most underestimated ingredient, looking at it from a “normal person” perspective, it’s definitely fresh thyme and rosemary. Don’t buy that dried stuff of which you’ll only use 1 teaspoon and then shove to the back of your pantry to be forgotten about for the next year. If a recipe calls for thyme or rosemary, always go for the fresh stuff (unless explicitly stated dried herbs), and whatever fresh herbs you have left, chop it up with some garlic and add in a block of butter at room temperature and turn it into herb butter which you can keep in the freezer. Then, the next time you’re roasting a chicken breast or pan-frying a sea bass fillet, grab the herb butter and use it from frozen to finish off whatever you’re cooking.
What are the best and worst purchases you have made?
Worst purchase I’ve ever made is the Apple TV Gen 2 I bought in the early 2010’s; a stereotypical over-hyped, under-deliver Apple product.
Best purchase is my fiancé’s engagement ring. The best purchase could have actually been the “Carmen V” boutique rotary DJ mixer from Condessa Electronics, but I didn’t realise weddings don’t come for free, so that mixer is still a pipedream. But otherwise it would have been the best purchase I’ve ever made.
What advice would you give for aspiring artists out there!
Have the balls to do whatever the f**k you want to do and don’t be afraid to go against the grain. Stay loyal to the people who’ve helped you get to where you are and never ever make any room for anyone in your life who’s untrustworthy.
So, which tracks would pair well with the wines we sent you?
GRUBER GRUNER VELTLINER 2016 (LINK)
The Gruner Veltliner is very easy on the palette; it’s very light and easy drinking, but has just the right amount of complexity to keep it interesting. Along with its citrus notes and hints of grapefruit, this wine conjures up an image of watching the sunset at one of Bangkok’s many rooftop bars.
I’d pair Metro Area - Caught Up with this wine. The track is low-slung with soft pads mirroring the wine’s lightness. Every now and again, there’s a slight hardish synth keeping things interesting, providing a little bit of complexity throughout the track, just like the wine. Caught Up is also a decent Sunset Rooftop Bar track.
DOMAINE FONDRECHE BLANC 2015 (LINK)
I found this to be dry but slightly fruity at the same time; I’m a big fan of dry whites. The fruitiness brings a small floral nose as well. I’d definitely drink this with a fish meal with my fiancé, Kelly. As for the track, and keeping with the romantic vibes with a little French touch, there’s only one track: Air – Kelly Watch The Stars
TRAPL CARNUNTUM RED 2015 (LINK)
I’ve saved the best ‘til last, the Carnuntum Red from Johannes Tripl. This wine is intense with lots of herbs and spices. I can also pick out some dark cherries; the wine just doesn’t finish on the tongue at all. The track Linger by Cranberries would have been too obvious a choice, and given the wine’s complexity and full force assault on the palette, I’d have to go with an all-out disco banger for this wine. Sylvester – You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) will go well with the Carnuntum Red. The track has a lot going on, with Sylvester hitting his signature falsetto notes and a driving piano that doesn’t seem to stop. The track hits you full force with unadulterated Disco notes, just like the wine hitting your palette with its dark cherries and spices notes.
