The University of Bristol's Ultimate Playlist: A fresher's guide

By Will Buckley, Second Year Politics and International Relations

If your Freshers Week goes anything like mine, you’ll move to Bristol from a small town and instantly be overwhelmed by the city’s intense music culture. Your flatmate will claim his mate’s mate has a Boiler Room set coming up (he doesn’t). You’ll meet people who claim they’ve seen secret pop-up Massive Attack shows (they haven’t).

Simply put, you’ll realise that you need to become a music snob, and quickly. This is where the University of Bristol Ultimate Freshers Playlist comes in. Throw this on at pres or afters and you’ll be convincing people in smoking areas that you’re a local scene insider in no time.  

Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack

It was always going to start here. Massive Attack are indispensable Bristol music, the band that typified and furthered the city’s image as a cultural hub. 'Unfinished Sympathy' has the perfect balance between chill instrumentals and a solid, pulsing beat which makes it perfect to play at any point in the night. And – it’s not as obvious a pick as 'Teardrop', so your music snob cred is safe here.  

Gram Rock - IDLES

Punk-Patron-Saints Idles, whether you love them or hate them, have cemented themselves as one of biggest acts out of Bristol in recent years. Why this song? The closing line ‘My boy f*cked Tom Hiddleston’s stylist’ is such a quintessential University of Bristol student namedrop, one can only think it was written after being overheard in the line for Motion.  

Couple Guinness - Selecta J-Man, Sukuward

Anyone who overuses the word ‘dutty’, this one is for you! The first drum and bass track of our playlist’s simple four word chorus of ‘One spliff, couple Guinness’ is enough to get any geography-student-wannabe-DJ’s heart racing, thus making it a Bristol essential.  

You’re Not The Only One I Know  - The Sundays

Though they’re more tenuously Bristol-based than other acts mentioned, The Sundays’ status as alumni, in my view, wholly qualifies them to be on our playlist. Unlike other songs, this one (or any of The Sundays’ work) isn’t exactly a party banger, so don’t play it before heading to SWX. Best enjoyed on the way to the library.  

Sour Times - Portishead

Along with Massive Attack, Portishead pioneered Bristol's trip-hop sound of the 1990s, and their debut album Dummy is a must have on the shelf of any music nerd at all, let alone a Bristolian one. Become a Portishead fan: join us in the wait for new music that’s never coming! 

School Shooter - wych elm

wych elm’s unique edgy shoegaze-y indie sound has made them a staple on the local indie scene. The song’s refrain ‘That boy’s dressed like a school shooter’ perfectly skewers teenage self-seriousness, and the song’s title is enough to make your mum disapprove. Perfect for your third ever day away from home.  

Beautiful Soul  - Katy J Pearson

Country indie breakout Pearson’s 'Beautiful Soul' is in many ways the perfect song for Freshers Week. The week is all about meeting as many people as possible, and after saying ‘oh, wow, biomed? Too hard for me haha’ three hundred times in one evening, this burst of positivity will be needed. Also, the coda of 'Cause you’re a beautiful soul / You’re the beautiful soul’, closely resembles the drunk conversations you’ll have with the strangers in smoking areas you’ll bond with and then never see again. 

Inner City Life - Goldie 

As Amol Rajan says: 'we need Jungle, I’m afraid'. Another entry in the cannon of Bristol songs you just can’t not know. Bonus points if you play this in your headphones while you walk past Turbo Island and knowingly smile at the people there like a fellow traveller, even though you were born and raised in Guildford.  

Hell Is Round The Corner - Tricky

This track by the local hero and Massive Attack member, which samples the same Isaac Hayes track as Portishead’s 'Glory Box', is a perfect afters song. The smooth instrumentals are even more hypnotising when played in somebody’s kitchen at 06:00. Note to freshers: there’s a good chance you’ll end up in somebody’s kitchen at 06:00. 

Down Town - Live - The Primates

Forgotten Bristol Punk act The Primates have only a live album to their name, a recording of a gig at Barton Hill Youth Centre in 1977. In typically weird Bristolian fashion, they play a blistering punk cover of Petula Clark’s 'Downtown'. The song itself isn’t amazing, but it’s a relic of Bristol music scenes gone by, a piece of history of this city you now find yourself in.  

Overall, I hope these ten picks give you a very basic introduction to the Bristol music scene, and help you survive being indie-checked by a bitter Carhartt-covered third year. And if Bristol wasn’t your first pick, if you crank these loud enough you won’t be able to hear yourself think about your Oxbridge rejection. I hope having read this, before you head out to your next (thoroughly underwhelming) Freshers Night, you can safely grab the aux. Enjoy Freshers Week, and welcome to Bristol! 

Which tune is essential for your essential Bristol experience?