by Maleeha Sambur

Spotify Premium has been serving up some spot-on recommendations in our household lately, including this tune by the Lijadu Sisters, which has been the best addition to my music library in a very long while.

A national treasure in their native Nigeria, Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu are identical twin sisters who put out a number of critically acclaimed records between the 60's and 80's, a time when there weren't many female musicians making waves on the male-dominated Nigerian music scene. Singing in both Yoruba and English, their sound has been described as a mix between Afrobeat, Reggae, Jazz, Funk, Disco, and Waka, and "Come on Home" feels warm, instantly familiar, and, well, sisterly -- their voices interact playfully, inseparably, hinting at some secret telepathic twin language.

In 2014, at age 65, the duo re-emerged with an album, saw re-issues of some of their out-of-print albums by Knitting Factory Records, and performed with David Byrne and the Atomic Bomb! Band in a series of tribute concerts celebrating William Onyeabor. Here's hoping we continue to hear more from them.

Also, how amazing are those earrings?

by Maleeha Sambur

With temperatures reaching into the 70s this week, November in New York is feeling more like June, and the effects of this El Niño-driven seasonal regression are being felt not just in my wardrobe, but also in my headphones, as warm weather tunes mingle with my winter standards. One summer remnant in particular - Exuma's "Rushing Through the Crowd" - is still on heavy rotation.

Over the summer, I stumbled, quite by accident, across a 1972 single by the late Bahamian artist. I was working with a swimwear client, and while shooting at her studio, we found ourselves in need of some props. She pulled out a box of discarded records she'd rescued from the sidewalk, from which we plucked a dusty 45 featuring an illustration of Adam and Eve in a tropical Eden on the label. We put it on, and just seconds into its junkanoo/calypso/freak-folk goodness, I was smiling. If you're looking to deny winter's approach for a bit longer, or just in need of a mood-lifter, this should get you shimmying.