Drum and bass DJ and singer PONZ shares her perfect weekend playlist full of influences, nostalgia, pretty synths and a Fred favourite.
A perfect weekend for PONZ, when she’s not hopping around the festival circuit, means a slow Saturday morning at her favourite cafe, Mt Albert’s The Little French. “There’s been so much going on in the weekdays that my perfect weekend is nothing extravagant … [but it] also wouldn’t be complete without blocking out a good chunk of time to get in a music hole,” she says.
But while her personal idea of a perfect weekend is one of relaxation, the perfect environment to listen to her music has a little more hype. She sees it in her mind: going on a roadie to a festival with your best mates, and arriving to a long night ahead. “You can roll into some lush liquid drum and bass tracks which become the soundtrack to what is always an absolutely chaotic pre-drinks with the girls,” she says. “Then there’s my dancefloor and more heavy tracks for when you’re deep in the rave.”
She’s been especially busy with the release of her latest single ‘Fantasies’ on Friday, a tune “perfect for a late night drive, getting ready for a night out with friends, or for dancing to at a festival.” During the pre’s, maybe you can pop these songs on and channel PONZ’s perfect weekend too.
Yune Pinku – ‘Blush Cut’
This is one of the tracks that really inspired my latest release, ‘Fantasies’. It’s got this delicate and dreamy feel to it. Not to mention Yune Pinku’s voice is literally like velvet and her lyrics are stunning.
Charlotte Haining and goddard – ‘High Hopes’
If you could bottle up the feeling of being surrounded by your best mates at a festival, it’d sound like this.
ISOxo – ‘How2fly’
Late night drives. City lights. Nostalgia.
Wilkinson and Becky Hill – ‘Here For You’
Without a doubt, this always takes me back to the first time I heard this track. I was at one of the first festivals after the Covid lockdowns in 2020 and there was this indescribable buzz in the air. It was one of those moments where even though there are thousands of people in the crowd, you all feel totally connected.
RAYE – ‘Black Mascara’
What RAYE has done with these lyrics and vocal composition is truly nothing short of a masterpiece. I love her so, so much.
Pirapus and Brody Leigh – ‘LOST WITH U’
The prettiest synths I ever did hear. Nothing more to be said.
Fred again… – ‘Kelly (end of a nightmare)’
Look. I’d be crazy to not include anything from Fred, and this one has been a favourite of mine from him for a long time. The way that the track entirely rebuilds and comes together for this epic release at 3:35 gets me every time.
Hybrid Minds and Brodie – ‘Delete Our Love’
Brodie has one of the coolest voices in drum and bass – she’s got this grit that just sounds so sick.
Skin on Skin and X CLUB – ‘Rise Up’
One of the only 6-minute songs that I’ll actually listen through. There’s just something about the way that the track’s emotion shines through when the drums kick in.
Skrillex, Porter Robinson and Bibi Bourelly – ‘Still Here (with the ones that I came with)’
Confirmed at Listen In 2023 as the world’s best closing song. I don’t make the rules.