Secret Mixtape Review: Mix #16 (10-31) is up!

[Jorge]

Open, impactful spaces. I'd call it spacey, but space is too empty

what

[stip]

Okay, this was my favorite mix, most likely. From start to finish, with just a few small quibbles, this was very well done. It had a beautiful flow, and the songs really transported you to some pretty interesting and occasionally dramatic vistas. Not the kind of stuff I normally listen to, since I don't usually sit still and let my mind wander with the music, but I did here, and it was worth it.

[stip]

Open, impactful spaces. I'd call it spacey, but space is too empty

what

listen to the song

[Alex]

stip, i'll tutor you in reading/writing. i'll even do it for free.

[Heathen]

So since the cat is out of the bag...

This isn't quite the mix I originally meant to create. I had these few songs I really wanted to build a mix around but I was never able to find the right companion tracks to make something cohesive. So I deleted it all (some of the songs eventually ended up on my 90s team, to great effect) and went with a different approach altogether. Instead of picking songs I liked and trying to come up with a good flow like I usually do when I make a mix, I wanted the whole sequence to be the main focus here, not the tracks themselves. I had a couple tracks ready and I picked several dozens of others from 2014 albums that I thought might fit the particular aesthetic I had in mind, some of them I hadn't even heard before. I then trimmed it down until I was able to build a late night with headphones kind of mix, one that hopefully would feel like some sort of musical journey, crossing both dark and bright territories along the way, with a bit of a cinematic feeling. I was happy with the result and I'm glad it worked for some of you guys as well. It's interesting to read what these tracks evoke to other people compared to what I had in mind. I certainly didn't expect stip to like it that much (I guess the previous mix really gave me a boost).

Like I explained, the tracklist is a bit irrelevant here but here it is anyway:

Spoiler: show

1. Otto A Totland - 'Open' [from Pinô]
2. Tom Kovacevik - 'Steady Stream Of Course' [from Universe Thin As Skin]
3. Ben Frost - 'Sola Fide' [from A U R O R A]
4. Rebekka Karijord - 'Snö' [from Music for Film and Theatre]
5. Broken Twin - 'In Dreams' [from May] - she's singing in English, Brett
6. Alexander Turnquist - 'House of Insomniacs' [from Flying Fantasy]
7. Erik K Skodvin - 'Black & Bronze' [from Flame]
8. V/Vm - 'Marple Libradome ‘91' [from The Death of Rave (A Partial Flashback)]
9. Shivers - 'Rabid' [from Shivers]
10. The Alvaret Ensemble - 'Hafravatn' [from Skeylja]
11. Imprints - 'White Russian' [from Data Trails]
12. Current 93 (ft. Antony Hegarty) - 'Mourned Winter Then' [from I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell]

[Birds in Hell]

Man, that looks good.

[Lament]

You made stip's favorite mix, Heathen. Congratulations. You have to live with that forever now.

[stip]

I'm sure speeno's will be horrible

[Brett]

Well, next time I listen to this mix, I'm really going to have to pay more attention to that Broken Twin song. I could have sworn she was singing in some Northern European language or something.

[Heathen]

Well, next time I listen to this mix, I'm really going to have to pay more attention to that Broken Twin song. I could have sworn she was singing in some Northern European language or something.

That's understandable. Even knowing it was English and with the lyrics in front of me I could barely make out what she was singing.

[Lament]

So, I promised I'd write down some thoughts on SNC's mix before I moved onto Heathen's. I'll keep them succinct since that discussion seems to have passed. Apologies again, I've been a bit distracted.

The first few times I listened to the mix I felt like the first half was significantly better than the second. I had a feeling that might be from "mix fatigue" so to speak, so I tried listening to the second half on its own a few times. It turns out I was at least partly right. I do still find myself preferring the first half of the mix, but the second half (specifically the last quarter) was better than I initially thought. The Oh Sees song was a bit of a flat start for me. The Eddy Current Suppression Ring song is better, but The Dark Blue song is where things really get going for me. Scotty Says keeps things going nicely. I find myself not having the patience to listen to multiple Courtney Barnett songs in a row, but she works really well for me in the mixes and compilations she pops up on. Stand & Stare is probably my favorite song on the entire mix. It reminds me of a lot of the C86-era stuff I waste good portions of my life listening to. Royal Headache is the artist I didn't know before this that I'm most likely to check out. The Per Purpose song didn't really do anything for me, but the three songs after it were working for me, especially The Columbines' track. On the whole though, a strong first half.

After that though, I found myself getting lost again. Nothing struck me as "bad" per se, and it wasn't even like I felt the need to skip over anything. It was more that nothing really stood out and grabbed me, up until the Owens track. I enjoyed that one, especially the guitar break. The Protomartyr song is definitely the highlight of the second half for me. I hadn't heard that Fall song in years, so that was a cool addition to the mix. Sharon Van Etten is someone I keep meaning to look more into. The Watery Love song was the only blip in quality down the home stretch for me, but I found myself enjoying the Austerity Program track far more than I would have guessed I would.

Nice job, SNC.

[Lament]

Had to do a bit of shuffling to get a mix for this week/period, but it looks like there's one on the way. When it goes up, I'm gonna leave it up for the full ten day period, so if you've got a mix date in the next few months, it'll probably be pushed back a day or two. Just as a reminder again to everyone, if for some reason you can't get a mix in on-time, just let me know (preferably ahead of time) and I'll find someone who can and give you a new date.

[William Bloke]

I still need to review a few of the mixes. Work is killing me right now, and I've been caught up in the tourneys, but I will get there as soon as I can.

I know you are all waiting anxiously for my opinions....

[Lament]

Back on track! Here is Secret Mix #11...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VItz ... sp=sharing

Enjoy! Let me know if you have any issues with the download.

[Lament]

I'm not sure if reviews have slowed down because of the tournaments, but if this one doesn't have some reviews by the end-date, I'm gonna leave it up for a few days longer.

[William Bloke]

Yeah, shit loads going on in life at the mo. Keep this up for a few days more.

Cheers.

[stip]

I'm not sure if reviews have slowed down because of the tournaments, but if this one doesn't have some reviews by the end-date, I'm gonna leave it up for a few days longer.

I'm away and can't listen until this weekend, when I plan to

[ABNorman]

I'm in the midst of interviews and applications nonsense, so may be out until I land a job. Hopefully soon.

[Heathen]

I gave #11 one listen and while I can't really write a proper review for now (if ever) I quite enjoyed it, it was really well done. There were a few artists that I recognized and that made it obvious who the mixmaker was.

[stip]

listening to this now. Posting thoughts later.