40 Winks is the instrumental hip-hop group of Padmo’ and Weedy, based out of Antwerp, a port city in northern Belgium. For nearly 20 years, they’ve maintained a low profile but what we do know is that after they met during the late ’90s, and started to DJ together, their attention shifted towards making instrumentals by sampling bossa nova beats, sax riffs, and dusty jazz records. In 2002, they came together as 40 Winks with April to July, a collection of eight of their favorite instrumental loops they’d made until that point. Their drive for the perfect beat strengthened through the noughties, moving through Hit the Hay and ending with 2008’s The Lucid Effect, their first on the mighty Project Mooncircle. Their work is defined by laid-back beats and lounge vibes, built around lo-fi hip-hop rhythms, blues, funk, and jazz.

The Belgian pair’s newest album, Field Recordings, is their first body of material in a decade. After 2011’s It’s The Trip, they continued to make music “here and there” but they never finished an album. “We both got kids around then, so free time became an issue,” Weedy tells XLR8R. But the lockdown situation triggered him to dive into the studio more, and the seeds for the new album began to grow. The pair had always loved recording sounds from their environment so they started to experiment with it more, carrying a field recorder everywhere, and these recordings became the theme of the album, interlaced with live instrumentation like piano, xylophone, guitar, and flute. “Pretty much everything that was laying around in the studio,” we’re told.

Compiled in Belgium over the last few weeks, 40Winks’ XLR8R podcast is the work of Weedy, who also masterminded the album and answered our questions below. It pivots towards the more soothing music that 40 Winks puts out. This is also a part of the music that they’ve dedicated the back end of Field Recordings to, and across this “transcendental mix” they’ve showcased the music that inspires them to make these tracks. There are no drums or beats, so plug your headphones in and close your eyes for 60 minutes of pure, meditative bliss.

01. What have you been up to recently?

Working on my piano skills for a while. The intention was to practise every day.

02. What have you been listening to through lockdown?

Jazz and soul mostly. Ahmad Jamal Trio, Sahib Shihab, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Barbara Lynn, Gwen McCrae, The Impressions. And more Latin now that the sun is out.

03. Where did you record this mix?

Recorded in the studio. Mixing and finalizing in the garden.

04. What setup did you use?

Record player, laptop, Cubase.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?

On side D of the Field Recordings album I’ve recorded some more meditative songs, what we call “mindful harmonics.” This mix is a selection of music that inspired us in making those songs.

06. What can the listener expect with it?

Exactly 60 minutes that might take you on a transcendental trip. No drums, pure harmonic beauty. Preferably taken in with headphones.

07. What’s next on your horizon?

To keep working those piano skills, and slowly building new songs. But let’s not wait a decade this time!

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to hear the podcast offline you will need to subscribe to our Select channel to listen offline, or subscribe to XLR8R+ to download the file. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Full XLR8R+ Members can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Joseph Shabason “Gymnopédie No. 1” feat. Drew Jurecka (Western Vinyl)
02. Natureboy Flako “Silver Forest Spirits” (Materialized Moments)
03. 40 Winks “Deeeep Diiiive” (Project Mooncircle)
04. Susobrino “Despertar” (XXIII)
05. Harvey Mandel “Christo Redentor” (Cleopatra Records)
06. The Beach Boys “Wind Chimes” (Capitol Records)
07. Alabaster DePlume “If You’re Sure You Want To” (International Anthem)
08. Alice Coltrane “Wisdom Eye” (Warner Records)
09. Held By Trees “Next to Silence” (Tweed Jacket Music)
10. Bobby Hutcherson “Now” (Blue Note Records)
11. Kara-Lis Coverdale “Touch Me & Die” (Sacred Phrases)
12. Roberto Musci “Nexus On The Beach” (Music From Memory)
13. Kidkanevil, Daisuke Tanabe “The Other Day We Thought Of Our Friends” (Project Mooncircle)
14. Hans Otte “Wassermannmusik I.” (Amiata Arte)
15. Green-House “Peperomia Seedling” (Leaving Records)
16. 40 Winks “Mindful Harmonics III” (Project Mooncircle)