Courtney Nichols sat down with Ruckus Roboticus to discuss their latest collaboration: Fruit Of The Boombox. The mixtape, inspired by fruit of all seasons, is an homage to nature’s natural dessert.
One sunny day, I found myself at the Inaugural Fruit Fly Life Backyard BBQ, sipping sweet nectar out of a coconut, and vibin’ to the sounds laid down by Cooper Saver and Tres Dubois. Inspired by the celebration, the fruit, and the good groves – the very essence of FruitFlyLife – an idea came to me…I shall create an ode to fruit in the form of a DJ mix.
What started as a passing idea soon became an obsession, as I passed time at my day job listening to fruit-themed music on the Internet, after which, I would then spend my nights digging through my iTunes library and record collection. To my surprise, the musical cannon that is dedicated to fruit is incredibly vast. Clearly, I would have to weed out the so-so pieces, and pick only the ripest, juiciest specimens…cherry-pick, if you will.
During this harvest I wrestled with the question: what constitutes a fruit song? Is having a fruit mentioned in a song title enough? What if the title mentions fruit yet the song has nothing to do with fruit? (“Raspberry Beret” for example …)
Eventually I would settle on three categories of songs: fruit-inspired songs, songs performed by bands / artists named after fruits, and song titles that reference fruit (even if casually). And above-all else , I would only use RIPE MUSIC.
To my surprise, the musical cannon that is dedicated to fruit is incredibly vast. Clearly, I would have to weed out the so-so pieces, and pick only the ripest, juiciest specimens…cherry-pick, if you will.
The next hurdle to overcome was attempting to sonically connect the dots between a variety of genres, eras, and tempos. During this process, some precious pieces of fruit did not survive: Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s “Lemon Incest”, The Stranglers “Peaches”, Beck’s “Peaches & Cream”, Sparks “Pineapple”, Harry Nilsson’s “Lime In The Coconut”, and on and on the list goes..
Nevertheless, throughout the creative process I remained true to my own aesthetics as a DJ / music lover (only selecting songs worthy of attention), as well as attempting to pick music that captured the spirit of that fateful afternoon – when I was bitten by The Fruit Fly.
So, with that mind – I encourage you to peel a banana, crack a coconut, pop a bottle (of orange juice), and squeeze a lime, while you savor the Fruit…The Fruit Of The Boombox.
Track List:
01. Intro
02. Harry Belafonte – Banana Boat (Day-O)
03. The In Crowd – Mango Walk
04. Herbie Hancock – Watermelon Man
05. Jeannie Reynolds – The Fruit Song
06. Rice & Beans Orchestra – Peel A Banana
07. Van She – Coconuts
08. The Brothers Johnson – Strawberry Letter 23
09. A Tribe Called Quest – Bonita Applebum
10. Mtume – Juicy Fruit
11. Parallel Dance Ensemble – Juices
12. Le Pamplemousse – Le Spank
13. Orange Juice – Rip It Up
14. Kool & The Gang – Fruitman
15. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Don’t Take My Coconuts
16. Bananarama – Cruel Summer
17. Pumpkin Patch – Blueberry Jam
18. Peaches & Munk- You Can’t Run From My Love
19. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Annie I’m Not Your Daddy
20. Mo’ Horizons And The Banana Soundsystem – Banana No Mas
21. Julie London – Watermelon Man
22. Jens Lekman – Sipping On The Sweet Nectar (Ultracity Vocal Dub)
23. The Electric Banana Band – Singe-Linge-Lisco-Disco (Drop Out Orchestra Edit)
24. Peaches & Herb – Funtime
25. Prince – Raspberry Beret (Cr/edit Dirty Martini Version)
26. Lime – You’re My Magician
27. Banana Groovz – Banana Dancer
28. The Swiss – Peach Pit
29. E-Cox – Cantaloupe Street
30. Crazibiza – Banana Pop (Hazzaro Remix)
31. Señor Coconut – Around The World (Ruckus Roboticus Remix)
32. OrgazmiXound – Banana Joe Theme
33. Joao Brasil – L.O.V.E. Banana feat. Lovefoxxx
34. Junior Senior – Shake Your Coconuts (DFA Remix)
35. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – There’s Something Wrong In Paradise (DJ Steef Re-Edit)
36. Ymck – Fruit Song
37. Ween – Bananas And Blow
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