What's on Mike Ladman's Creative Playlist?

Mulatu, Astatke Tezeta (Nostalgia)

A palate cleanser, beautiful, warm and inviting. If I’m having a crazy and stressful day, I close the door to my office, put this on, take a breath and listen. Then I’m ready to get back to the madness of advertising.

A Tribe Called Quest, Dis Generation

I think I’m just now finally taking this album off repeat. The whole record is incredible. It’s an album with a message at just the right time, and the production is so modern but classic all at once. Working on music for the Hillary [Clinton] campaign was the most humbling project of my career, and the timely dropping of this album on the Friday after the election was perfect. It was just what everyone, feeling blue, needed.

Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir, Nobody Knows

I was turned on to this track during our Google Pixel development. The first time I heard it, I got mad I’d gone so long without it. One listen leaves you walking around feeling like you can do anything. Getting it in the Make That Old Under Armour spot might be my favourite placement to date.

Bon Iver, ____45_____

From one of the most sonically interesting albums I’ve heard all year. Beautiful, aggressive and strange. I don’t think this is the best song on the album, but when you listen to literally hundreds or thousands of tracks a day for your job, it’s rare to come across a new, unique sound. Putting a sax through a vocoder is such a simple idea, but the resulting noise is beautifully strange, just like Bon Iver.

O’Flynn, Aloha Ice Jam

This is just a straight-up jam-and-a-half. It’s the kind of track I like to start a DJ set with. It’s instantaneously infectious, and you can’t help but bob your head to this on the first listen. I love the fresh sound created by the worldly groove and real instruments blended with electronic sounds.