Illustration by Tya (@muthiahhsh) and Emelyne (@realm_of_makia)

When listening to music becomes a chore, spicing it up with the aroma of international coffee beans reignites excitement.

Coffee beans have a robust and sometimes earthy flavour, depending on their source. Music is much like a coffee bean: no one area produces the same type, and everyone has a certain preference. This article will explore the flavours of coffee beans and how certain music can also sound sour, bitter, earthy, but in the best way possible, and from as many different countries as possible. We have curated a playlist that will transition from one note to another with great ease and deliciousness. Dive into the world of International music and find yourself lost with a cold cup of coffee by your side.

Have you started to feel as though your listening experience has become boring and mundane? Has everything started to sound the same? Due to the “playlistification” of music perpetuated by apps such as Spotify that curate playlists based solely on genre, music has begun to feel monotonous. This sucks the joy out of exploring new genres, as you already have a playlist just for you at the ready. To cut through this tedium, we have made the listening experience exciting again, collecting music from where coffee beans originate. This fun and explorative summer playlist will spark your excitement once more and implore you to go on your own melodic journey.

We start our journey off with the most popular type of coffee bean: Arabica. With its distinctly sweet, sometimes flowery taste, this bean originates from Ethiopia and was dispersed around the world via Yemen. Our playlist begins with some Ethiopian reggae by Sami Dan, perfectly setting the mood for a calm and steady summer breeze. The heat picks up as we enter Yemen and are wowed by mesmerising vocals over the Tabla drums. Things are starting to get intense as the Mismar sounds away, charming the listener into dance. The hot summer heat dies down as Fouad Abdulwahed cools the winds by singing to the moon, telling his lover that God brought her to him in “Yeshhad Allah”. 

We take a trip back to Africa, but move left towards the Sub-Saharan and Western hemispheres, exploring the Robusta bean and its origins. This bean is characterised by a more bitter and earthy essence, perfect for espresso shots due to better crema (the frothy layer found after processing the grounds) production than other beans. This bean originates from The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Naza starts us off with some soukous, a Congolese genre of dance music characterised by its polyrhythmic percussion and electric guitars. It is a quintessential “fun in the sun” genre.  However, this bean was not only limited to the DRC, rather, it spread to places such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam. Meanwhile, it is important to recognise the escalating violence and exploitation in Congo. Though we cannot help in foreign policies, we can preserve their rich culture by enjoying their music.

Our final bean, Liberica brings us back from international lands to a more local scene: Malaysia! Liberica is defined by its smokey and almost dark chocolate-like taste. Although originating from Liberia, West Africa, this coffee bean has made its home in Southeast Asia, with it becoming a staple in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Hotdog, a Filipino band, continues our summer with some groovy vibes, professing their love for the capital of the Philippines, “Manila”. Our journey ends off with a love letter from P. Ramlee, begging his lover to wait for a while with him until the rain ceases in “Tunggu Sekejap”.

Take a listen to our international summer playlist and lose yourself in novelle instruments and genres. Never let listening to music become a boring pastime. We hope that it will open you, our lovely reader, to step out of your comfort zone and explore.