On No Skip Albums, Songs Wired Into You, and a One of a Kind Cover
From an intimate album launch in Kingston to nights out buzzing to the same song, their picks reflect a listener who lives for the moments music creates.
Tusks and Turntables (@tusksandturntables) moves through the March 27 to 29 prompts like someone who collects moments as much as they collect music. The picks are vivid and specific: a Burna Boy album that soundtracked an entire summer, a collab they know word for word, and an album cover that does more with a gorilla and a jukebox than most do with a full photoshoot.
Every prompt comes with a memory already attached. One asks which album feels like the artist at their peak, and for Tusks and Turntables that's not a theoretical question. They were at the launch concert two days after release, watching a crowd sing back every word to an album they'd barely had time to learn. Another goes after the song that makes you feel understood. It's a song that's followed them everywhere and have not yet let them down. The last one is more unexpected, an album cover with no artist on it, just a gorilla, a jukebox, and an idea that couldn't have come from anywhere else.
Tusks and Turntables approaches all of it like someone who has always needed music to be more than something you put on in the background. The physical media instinct is real, buying that first CD single at eight years old and being amazed it was theirs. But what comes through most is the live side, being in the room, feeling the crowd, the moment when everyone around you already knows every word. That's the thread running through all of it. Music that brings people together and hits the same every time.
Which album feels like the artist at their peak?
With a no skip album and reaching new heights by claiming number 1 in the official UK album charts, Burna was really at his peak. This album was the soundtrack to my summer in 2023. Perfect for playing while driving with the windows down. Two days after the album’s release, I went to the launch concert at an intimate venue in Kingston, London. Everyone was already singing every song back… just 48 hours after it came out.
If someone hasn’t tried the album, I’d recommend ‘Normal,’ ‘Cheat on Me,’ and ‘Big 7’ for party anthems. Then ‘If I’m Lying’ to showcase Burna Boy’s versatility and how good his vocals are.
What’s a song that makes you feel understood?
Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of so many good times. From going out and buzzing hearing it in nightclubs to experiencing it live at the ‘Love, Damini’ tour in Stratford, London, where Burna brought out Dave as a special guest. The crowd went wild! Every time I hear this song, it hits the exact same way. It motivates me and brings people together around me. It’s one of my top two songs of all time, so I know it word for word, probably even better than my ABCs.
Which album cover without the artist on it do you love?
You’re never going to see a gorilla playing music on a jukebox and you will never hear an album like this again. I love the concept of this album cover. Not many artists do not feature themselves on the cover and the idea of a gorilla about to select a song on an old style jukebox is a classic. ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ used to be my wake up song in the morning and it always used to get me in the perfect mood for the day. My favorites songs from the album are ‘Locked Out of Heaven,’ ‘Treasure,’ and ‘When I Was Your Man.’
There's a collector side to Tusks and Turntables, but it only tells half the story. The physical media instinct is real, buying that first CD single at eight years old and being amazed it was theirs. But what comes through most is the live side, being in the room, feeling the crowd, the moment when everyone around you already knows every word. That's what connects all three picks, music that's bigger when everyone's in on it.
A vinyl collector who got the bug early, a CD single at eight years old, and never really recovered. Happiest when the music is loud, the crowd is in on it, and everyone already knows every word.
