As my friends can attest, I am not the most motivated person when it comes to… almost anything. I tend to leave things until the last second, especially chores around the house! When the motivation comes in an almost divine moment, I will either turn to podcasts (shout out to No Such Thing As A Fish) or a few albums to keep the industrious mood going.

For simple, stationary chores like folding laundry or grooming the kittens I quite like Nick Drake or for the Ghibli Studio fans, the Kazumi Tateishi Trio. Joe Hisaishi’s music always transports me to a happy place, and the reimagination of the works into fun jazz tracks definitely helps me to get on with my work.

But for the distasteful, gross things like bathroom cleaning I need some heavy-duty beats to distract me. Here’s where I pull out the Youngblood Brass Band. Their album centre:level:roar definitely disguises the fact that I’m cleaning the toilet! Other contenders for this role include The Cannonball Adderley Quintet. I do (secretly) love my brass bands.

When I’m running errands out of the house, I have a few albums that are quite suitable for multitasking. Teitur and by extension the Nick Muhly collaboration are great to listen to while shopping for groceries. I also like listening to the Decemberists and Jaga Jazzist while out and about. Finally, to get in the mood prepping for guests coming around for dinner (hopefully soon!) the Buena Vista Social Club is fantastic!

Enjoy!