As an adult, you catch a lot of slack for complaining about doing menial tasks that make you an adult or mentioning in passing how you’re having a hard time ‘growing up.’ You’re already fucking grown up, deal with it, right? Wrong. The process of growing up and actualizing into the person that you’ve wanted to be is just that, a process, and as a 30-something year old adult who is going back to get my second Masters degree and switch gears a bit, I’m here to say that you don’t have to have all of the answers—literally no one has them and if they do, they paid a really expensive psychic, hypnotist, or therapist. I can’t offer any of those skills or direction, but what I can give you is a playlist to make the art of growing up a bit more palatable.

Sloane- “Grow Up” ft. Paul McDonald

Naturally the first song in the mix is going to be the song that inspired this whole playlist. After a year of exploring pain and pleasure through music, Sloane started developing songs to help everyone that feels out of place to smile and feel more connected. Using synths, samplers, analog synths, guitars and voice pedals, Sloane started making music to cry to while you smile.  He’s worked with some of the greats (Pharrell Williams, Macy Gray, Slash) and worked on tracks for Phantogram, Tinashe, etc.

So what then would you make of Sloane’s own music? It features striking vocals, soft and slightly sad instrumentals, and lyrics that make you wax nostalgic. In other words, it’s perfect.

Bryson Briight – “algo nuevo“

Crafting a brilliant bedroom pop soundscape, Bryson Briight captures the difficulties of existence in the tune “algo nuevo.” Sometimes you need another hit or another drink, in order to figure out what it is that you’re actually in search of. Bryson’s “algo nuevo” (something new) features smooth, trusting vocals and weaves English and Spanish together in a short, but brilliant piece.

San Fermin – “The Hunger”

Playing to similar themes found in “algo nuevo,” San Fermin’s “The Hunger” tells us to imagine what it was like when we were younger. The track is their first single after partnering with Sony Music Masterworks (who, fun fact, I used to work with).

“‘The Hunger’ is the result of a late-night discussion with a female friend about the difficulties of dating in the city,” says San Fermin composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ellis Ludwig-Leone.