Avenoir — “Plein Soleil”

“Plein Soleil” translates roughly to full sun, which is an interesting place for Avenoir to put a song this comfortable in the shadows. Walls keep crumbling. Words fail to make a sound. The person he wants is simultaneously here and somehow far away. At one point he admits he's never known himself without a distant lover, which is an impressively efficient way to reveal that perhaps we're dealing with more than scheduling difficulties.

Avenoir is Caleb Odidi, a South African-born, Edmonton-raised artist whose music has never been particularly obedient about staying inside R&B. He's talked about pulling from hip-hop, indie, alternative music and unexpected influences, and “Plein Soleil” keeps that curiosity tucked inside something remarkably easy to live with. It doesn't need to dominate the room to change the temperature.

Which is exactly how it found its way onto our Dinner Party playlist. Good guests understand volume. They don't arrive demanding the center seat and immediately start telling a story that requires seventeen minutes of context. They make the room better simply by being in it. “Plein Soleil” can stay for dessert.