Disco house · Garage
ETERNAL GROOVE 🪩
Late-nineties disco house and garage that still fills a floor — Kings Of Tomorrow, David Morales, Moloko, Armand Van Helden and Boris Dlugosch.
What I listen to while I write. Five tonal lanes — soul and jazz for the long read, morning and mood for the slow start, electronic for the push, hip-hop for the rewrite, and a thread of global rhythms throughout. Updated as the rotation shifts.
Latest playlist
Lōkahi 🌺
Sun-drenched indie pop sliding into French house — Tame Impala and almost monday giving way to Justice, L'Impératrice and Afro house from HUGEL.
Electronic
House, disco and French touch · 9 playlists
Disco house · Garage
Indie pop · French house
Lōkahi 🌺
Sun-drenched indie pop sliding into French house — Tame Impala and almost monday giving way to Justice, L'Impératrice and Afro house from HUGEL.
French touch · Electro
FOREVER ♾️
French touch at full beam — Daft Punk, Justice, Kavinsky, L'Impératrice and Angèle trading neon synths and motorik basslines.
Indie dance · Synth pop
GOLDEN HOUR 🌟
Golden-hour synth pop and indie dance — Blu DeTiger, Merty Shango, Citrus Sun and Enne carrying the shimmer into the evening.
Nu-disco · French house
LOOK 💋
Nu-disco and French house with the filter open — Fred Falke, Breakbot, Madeon, Lemaitre and Yelle.
Progressive house · Electro
CITY ⛩️
Progressive house and electro built for movement — Madeon, Paul Woolford, Martin Solveig, Secondcity and The Knocks.
Nu-disco · Filtered house
NEO DANCE 🪩
Nu-disco and filtered house built for movement — Lenno, Oliver, Tollef and Yelle over clipped guitars and fat synth bass.
Deep house · Melodic house
ESSENTIAL 💚
A hundred deep and melodic house tracks that stay out of the way — Chris Malinchak, Sultan + Shepard, Lenno and Nora Van Elken.
Future house · Electro pop
EVOLUTION ☀️
Bright future house and electro pop — Lenno, La Felix, The Knocks, Kraak & Smaak and Chris Malinchak across a hundred tracks.
Soul & Jazz
Neo soul, nu jazz and slow tempo · 13 playlists
Jazzy hip-hop · Boom bap
THE DATE
Jazz-sampling boom bap for slow evenings — Blu & Exile, Large Professor, 3582 and Scienze trading warm loops and unhurried verses.
Jazz-hop · Boom bap
Groovation 🎷
Golden-era jazz-hop from the Phoniks camp — Awon & Phoniks, Anti Lilly, Dephlow and Tiff the Gift over dusty horns and upright bass.
Alternative R&B · Neo soul
Thrill Seekers 🌀
Alternative R&B and late-night neo soul — Brent Faiyaz, Elujay, J.Robb and Lou Phelps over woozy drums and unhurried basslines.
Disco · Boogie
1975 🪩
Seventies and eighties floor fillers — CHIC, Luther Vandross, The Jacksons, Change and Oliver Cheatham. Strings, claps and basslines that do the work.
Acid jazz · Nu jazz
Back to Life 🛟
Acid jazz and nu jazz with a live band behind it — The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Robert Glasper, Carleen Anderson and Count Basic.
Gospel · Soul
UBUNTU 🍥
Gospel-rooted soul that lifts a room — Kirk Franklin, Aretha Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson, Mica Paris and Avery*Sunshine.
Broken beat · Nu jazz
NEOVIE 🌱
Broken beat and UK nu jazz for slow afternoons — Emma-Jean Thackray, Blue Lab Beats, Galliano and The Brand New Heavies.
British soul · Broken beat
TIMES ⏳
British soul at its warmest — Incognito, Shaun Escoffery, Cherri V and Tortured Soul, with Stevie Wonder in the room.
Modern jazz · R&B
WAVES 🌊
Modern jazz and R&B in conversation — Robert Glasper, August Greene, Common, Karriem Riggins and Brandy.
Soul · Jazz funk
LOVE ❤️
Love songs with real players behind them — 4hero and Marc Mac, Incognito, Imaani, Natalie Duncan and Adi Oasis.
Neo soul · Jazz
SUMMERTIME 🌞
Fifty-five neo soul and jazz cuts for warm evenings — India.Arie, Robert Glasper, Lucy Pearl, Anthony David and Ronny Jordan.
Neo soul · Modern R&B
NEO SOUL 🎶
Seventy-three neo soul and modern R&B cuts — Alex Isley, Yebba, Ego Ella May, Robert Glasper and Blue Lab Beats.
Jazz funk · Neo soul
SPOTLIGHT 🔆
A hundred tracks with the spotlight on the players — Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Omar, Esperanza Spalding and Stevie Wonder.
Hip-Hop
Boom bap, jazz rap and golden-era grooves · 6 playlists
Rap · West coast
ETHEREAL
A hundred tracks of rap across four decades — 2Pac and Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, Ghostface Killah, Nicki Minaj and DJ Muggs.
Rap · Soul · French touch
OBLIVION 💫
A hundred-track crate dig with no genre rule — Dr. Dre and Eminem beside MC Solaar and 113, Charles Aznavour beside DJ Mehdi and Thomas Bangalter.
Hardcore rap · Boom bap
BLAST 💥
Hardcore nineties rap with the volume up — M.O.P., Busta Rhymes, Big L, Westside Connection, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Boom bap · Jazz rap
HIP-HOP 🎤
Eighty-six cuts of nineties boom bap and jazz rap — Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, The Pharcyde and Guru's Jazzmatazz.
Underground · Boom bap
HIP HOP MIXTAPE 📼
Underground boom bap and instrumentals — Apollo Brown, People Under The Stairs, J-Live, One Be Lo, Marcus D and Shing02.
Indie hip-hop · Pop rap
WORKOUT BEATS 💿
Indie hip-hop and pop rap with momentum — Quinn XCII, Kid Quill, EMAN8, gianni & kyle and YONAS.
Morning & Mood
Downtempo, lo-fi and wake-up energy · 10 playlists
Chillwave · Downtempo
SWIM 🏊
Weightless downtempo for a long drive or a slow morning — Zero 7, Les Imprimés and Ciao Ciao Marigold over soft-focus drums.
Trip-hop · Jazz-hop
PARISIAN DESTINY 🗼
Jazz-sampling trip-hop from Proleter, Poldoore, Souleance and The Geek x Vrv. Cinematic, unhurried, built for writing.
Downtempo · Nu jazz
TETRA 🔱
Downtempo and nu jazz to think against — Zero 7, The Cinematic Orchestra, Souleance, Mozez and Ida Nielsen.
Trip-hop · Downtempo
COLOURS 🌈
Trip-hop and downtempo with a soul core — Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Air, Zero 7, The Cinematic Orchestra and Nina Simone reworked.
Lo-fi · Study beats
LO-FI BEATS 🎹
Fifty-two lo-fi hip hop beats for studying and deep work — Idealism, j'san, Joey Pecoraro, Sugi.wa and aimless. No vocals to argue with.
French house · Nu-disco
COOL 🎧
Funky French house and nu-disco on an even keel — Breakbot, Modjo, Fred Falke, Kartell and Chris Malinchak.
Nu jazz · Downtempo
LOTUS 🪷
Soothing nu jazz and downtempo to unwind to — Zero 7, 4hero, The Cinematic Orchestra, Lemon Jelly and Kid Loco.
Soul · Jazz funk
MORNING ☕️
Soul and jazz funk to start the day — Adi Oasis, Durand Jones, Azymuth, Kraak & Smaak and Stevie Wonder.
Uplifting pop
POP WORKOUT 🥤
Sixty-four bright, up-tempo pop tracks to move to — Riley Clemmons, Lauren Daigle, Sarah Reeves, Elle Limebear and Madison.
Jazz rap · Alt R&B
LIFETIME ⏳
Jazz rap and alternative R&B with something to say — Noname, Anderson .Paak, KAYTRANADA, Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest.
Global
Rhythms from everywhere else · 1 playlist
Afrobeat · Wassoulou
WASSULU DON 🦁
West African voices front and centre — Oumou Sangaré, Fatoumata Diawara, Dobet Gnahoré, Sona Jobarteh and Kareyce Fotso, from Wassoulou to kora.
Questions ? Réponses.
How to listen, on what, and where the music comes from.
Do I need a Spotify subscription to listen?
No. Every playlist plays in the embedded player above on a free Spotify account, with ads between tracks. A Premium account removes the ads and allows offline listening, but nothing here is behind a paywall.
Can I listen on Apple Music instead?
Yes — follow the profile at music.apple.com/profile/bxhero. The playlists on this page are the Spotify versions, because Apple Music does not expose individual playlist links publicly. Following the profile is the reliable route on that platform.
What devices do these work on?
Anywhere Spotify runs: iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Apple Watch, Apple TV, CarPlay, Sonos, Google Nest, PlayStation, Xbox, and any browser. The players on this page work on mobile and desktop without an app.
Which playlist should I start with for deep work?
Morning & Mood for focus without distraction — downtempo, nu jazz and lo-fi with little or no vocal to compete with reading. Electronic suits work that needs momentum rather than calm.
How often are the playlists updated?
Regularly, and in place. Following a playlist on Spotify or the profile on either service means new tracks arrive without checking back here.
Can I share or embed these playlists?
Yes. Every card links to the playlist on Spotify, where the share menu provides links and embed codes. They are public playlists, free to share.
Who makes these playlists?
Sebastien Rousseau — as BXHERO on Spotify and Apple Music. They are the playlists used while writing about payments and engineering, not an algorithmic feed.