Staying safe indoors doesn’t mean losing touch with our senses. Here, team RUSSH collate our favourite transportive tunes, films and book recommendations to add to your respective lists. Along with the holidays we’ve been revisiting in our minds.

Jess Blanch

Editor in Chief

My ultimate escapism read is … I’ve always loved A.A Gill’s travel writing and now have many of his books as they inspire to seek places I otherwise wouldn’t.

Play these tracks to take me away … I know it’s lame but I am deeply nostalgic and return to the music that reminds me of a place when I get back there. I listened to Amen Dunes almost exclusively on a trip to Malibu once and every time I go to New York I play the Strokes and Talking Heads because it’s like their albums belong to the city. In Paris I play rap, specifically my ‘Fendi Bag and a Bad attitude’ playlist I’ve just added to the RUSSH Spotify for your listening enjoyment.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … The Barbet Schroeder film More scored by Pink Floyd takes me back to Ibiza, a place I used to visit almost every year. Another time, almost another dimension or so it feels like now.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … Hydra, Greece to live a spartan life by the sea while I work my way through the current changes in the world.

Because … My babies are too young to take on safari to Africa just yet.

Elle Presbury

Market & Beauty Director

My ultimate escapism read is … Let’s be honest. It’s Harry Potter. We are living in a suspended reality right now anyway so may as well escape to a world of witchcraft and wizardry.

Play these tracks to take me away … Stavros, The Finishing; Black Sabbath, Planet Caravan; The Blaze, Territory; HNNY, Cheer Up, My Brother; Massive Attack, Girl I Love You; Maribou State, The Clown.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … Call Me by Your Name. It’s the obvious answer. And for obvious reasons.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … The desert and mountain landscapes of Jordan.

Because … The food, the culture, the landscapes, to be somewhere so totally different and to see different ways of being.

Andréa Tchacos

Deputy Editor

My ultimate escapism book recommendation is … For me, it's always a heavy stack I haven’t read yet. But on a recent trip I enjoyed Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.

Play these tracks to take me away … Sade, Paradise; The Rolling Stones, Heaven; Leonard Cohen, Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye; Washed Out, Feel It All Around.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is …  The Beach. Although, not necessarily in a good way.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … Back to Greece. I’m reminiscing about a boathouse in Milos in particular.

Because …It combined all the elements of isolation I’m actually relishing – thinking space, obligation-free living, cooking every night with wine in hand – with something I miss: the ocean.

Mia Steiber

Digital Content Director

My ultimate escapism read is … I know plenty of people who will eye roll at this, but… The Da Vinci Code. I’ve read it a few times and its descriptions of Paris are just so accurate. Once, I read the first few chapters while I was in the Louvre, just to be able to track and trace the gallery descriptions. The detail is incredible. Whenever I read it, I feel like I can see the tiled floors of the grand gallery right in front of me.

Play these tracks to take me away … Anything by Lana Del Rey. Her imagery-heavy lyrics always manage to transport me to LA. I can almost feel the Venice sand under my feet whenever I listen to Summertime Sadness.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … Vicky Cristina Barcelona. After I saw this movie, I packed up and went to Spain for a month.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … Hawaii. There’s a cafe in Waikiki that does this amazing omelette with blue corn bread, spicy sauce and avocado. I’ve been thinking about it for a week straight.

Because … I’m a solar-powered human and I miss seeing the beaming sun. If I had my way, I’d live outdoors in endless warmth and sun.

Natalie Petrevski

Fashion Editor

My ultimate escapism read is …My astrology books that were gifted by my friends ... am I too cliche?

Play these tracks to take me away …The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Fingertips; Desire, Under Your Spell; Omega, Gyöngyhajú lány; Methyl Ethel, Twilight Driving; Amen Dunes, Lonely Richard.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … Eat, Pray, Love. Was I lame enough at 21 years old to eat at the pizza place in Naples that Julia Roberts did in the film? Yes, yes I was.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … To Macedonia.

Because … I’m supposed to be holidaying there with my family next month, visiting my parents villages and absorbing the culture I was raised in.

Ella Jane

Production Coordinator

My ultimate book recommendation is … Heléne Parmelin’s Picasso Plain, a book inherited from my mom and one that details Parmelin and her husbands time spent at Picasso’s many houses in provence, France intimately and timelessly.

Play these tracks to take me away … Bandolero, Paris Latino; La Femme, Tueur De Fleurs; Billy Ocean, Caribbean Queen.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … If Ellen hadn’t beat me to it, it would have been Call Me By Your Name. in second place, La Piscine. Young Jane Birkin summering anywhere will do it for me.

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … My sister's boyfriend's family home in Southern France.

Because … I’ve spent three years in a row there during the Northern Hemisphere summertime. Aside from my sister living in London and only seeing her twice a year, their place is as rural as it gets. Days are long and languid and filled with trips to get baguettes for breakfast, excursions to the local markets for produce and a drink along the way, and reading by the pool. Stupidly idyllic.

Megan Nolan

Digital Operations Manager

My ultimate escapism read is … On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It is a guilty pleasure from my teenage years and takes me back to a time when everything seemed a little simpler.

Play these tracks to take me away … Island in the Sun by Weezer (for obvious reasons); Higher & Higher by Jackie Wilson because it feels like sunshine and has that past decade feel which helps me forget about my current troubles and, Vacation by Still Woozy because it immediately makes me want to dance.

The film that makes me feel like I’m on holiday is … Blue Crush hands down. The soundtrack alone makes me feel like I’m on vacation. 

If I could travel anywhere right now it would be … South America is currently very high on my list but anywhere adventurous where I can get out and see nature - I miss greenery.

Because … I’ve always had the travel bug but the older I get the more I feel the need to challenge my brain and completely immerse myself in something new.

Listen to the playlist on RUSSH Radio.