KURATED NO. 200
READERS’ CHOICE 2023
Part Seven
• ALBUM PLAYLISTS
Peter Gabriel: i/o
Jeremy Dutcher: Motewolonuwok
• 23-Song Playlist: Part 4 of 4 / Jan Vochten
Contributor Cynthia Johnston says Peter Gabriel’s Toronto performance was one of the best of the year.
Gabriel was touring in support of his new album i/o. He also lands on contributor Jan Vochten’s playlist.
Contributors
Toronto’s Cynthia Johnston marks two stellar concert highlights from the past year:
1) Peter Gabriel and band presenting his first collection of new material in 21 years with the album i/o and his first tour since 2016. Gabriel delivered inventive and visually stunning 3-hour sets on his European and North American tours in 2023.
2) Indigenous artist Jeremy Dutcher touring behind his second album Motewolonuwok.
And with today’s post we round out the final instalment of Jan Vochten’s four-part playlist which features some notable highlights. They include three sets of duets featuring:
• Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab playing with British-Indian performer Anoushka Shankar
• Iceland’s Björk accompanied by Spain’s Rosalía
• US group Boygenius joining forces with Irish folk duo Ye Vagabonds to sing The Parting Glass in tribute to Sinead O’Connor who died in July.
The 6th Annual Readers’ Choice
Kurated readers share their favourite music of the last year in the annual Readers’ Choice series. Thanks to all of you contributors!
Kurated is a music sharing project.
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Cynthia Johnston
Toronto, ON
Jeremy Dutcher playing Ottawa’s National Arts Centre last fall
BEST CONCERTS OF 2023
• Jeremy Dutcher at Massey Hall, Toronto, December 9, 2023
• Peter Gabriel I/O tour at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Sept. 11, 2023
I don’t have a third that would come even close to rating at the level of musicianship and overall performance of the lead singers and all of their musicians and vocalists.
When I came away from seeing Peter Gabriel, I was certain that the concert couldn’t be topped for 2023. However, albeit entirely different, Jeremy Dutcher truly was also outstanding from every perspective.
That’s my two cents for 2023.
About Cynthia: Cynthia Johnston is a psychotherapist who lives mostly in downtown Toronto, with roughly nine weeks a year in Victoria. Her passions include politics, outdoor adventures, travel, the arts, and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
Jan Vochten
Mortsel, Belgium
Icelandic Björk and Spanish Rosalía duet on the Björk-written and produced song, Oral.
The image is from the song video.
Playlist Part 4 of 4
23 songs on Spotify
PLUS
The Complete 91-Song Playlist
The 23 titles on the final instalment of Jan’s playlist are as eclectic as the rest. This slice has three notable duets:
• Pakistan’s Arooj Aftab playing a duet with British-Indian Anoushka Shankar on the Aftab-written Udhero Na (Please Undo). The duo performed the song at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Aftab became the first Pakistan woman to win a Grammy award at the 2022 presentation for her song Mohabbat.
Shankar has earned nine Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman of Indian origin to perform and present an award at the show.
• Iceland’s Björk accompanied by Spain’s Rosalía play together on the Björk-penned Oral. Proceeds from the song go to the Aegis non-profit organization which is campaigning to ban all open pen fishing in Iceland.
• Boygenius and Ye Vagabonds will donate all proceeds from their duet The Parting Glass to the Aisling Project, an after-school program working with children and young people growing up in a disadvantaged area in Dublin, Ireland, chosen by the Sinéad O’Connor Estate.
About Jan: Jan Vochten, 74, lives in Mortsel, Belgium, has travelled extensively and spent most of his career working in research for VRT – the Flemish-language public broadcaster
