SONIC DISH: NOSTALGIA BAKERY x OKTAH
“If this dish were a track, what would it sound like?”
Forget a bake off. We paired DJ + producer Oktah with baker Joey Garland of Nostalgia Bakery to find out what a matcha funfetti cookie might sound like.
Pairing: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Provided.
SDP: Joey, you are one of the most popular vendors at the Troy Farmers Market, regularly selling out of your cookies and savory pastries. How did you come up with this flavor for the cookie?
JG: The matcha funfetti cookie is my way of mixing grown-up vibes with childhood joy. Think earthy matcha meets your favorite birthday treat, with white chocolate and cream cheese chips tossed in for extra fun. The addition of creamy white chocolate and tangy cream cheese chips makes each bite rich and sweet, like a little party in every bite. They’re sweet, colorful, and just the right kind of extra — a perfect little treat-yourself moment before summer says goodbye.
SDP: OK, Oktah. You know the flavor now, so what does this cookie sound like?
Oktah: I picked Tukka Yoot’s Riddim by US3 from the ‘Hand on the Torch’ album. This track was a sleeper on this album totally overshadowed by Cantaloop as the hit single.
The Sound: Inspired fusion of hip-hop and jazz feat. Tukka Yoot’s ragga vocals.
The Style: One of the most distinctive tracks of the 1990s acid jazz scene was Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by US3, a London-based studio group led by former concert promoter and jazz writer Geoff Wilkinson and keyboardist Mel Simpson. It was released in 1993 on the iconic New York jazz label, Blue Note.
The inspo: I was immediately thinking of the nineties and Tukka Yoot’s Riddim by US3. The hand drums and the saxophone along with the fun ragga vocals give this song the energy to align with all the ingredients going on in the cookie. A classic feel-good song from the 90s (I even have doubles of this single on wax, lol.) All the elements in the song go with the elements in the cookie: the hand drums as the earthy matcha and the saxophone runs as the funfetti sprinkles. I can even picture dancing to this with cookie in hand [laughs]. But as a fan of Blue Note, I always found this to be a really interesting group to sign.
MEET OKTAH in our tastemaker interview | @oktahmusic | Livestream: Twitch.tv/oktah
FOLLOW @bakery.nostalgia | Find Joel at the Troy Farmers Market @troymarket Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.