Erinnert ihr euch noch an Kassetten? Dieses hoffnungslos romantische analoge Format, das es einem im Handumdrehen ermöglichte der Liebsten, Freunden oder auch Verwandten nicht nur eine Freude zu machen, sondern gleichzeitig auch noch eine musikalische Lehrstunde zu geben, inklusive Coolness-Statement! Was war das schön! Wir huldigen nach wie vor dieser Leidenschaft und stellen euch mit unserer Mixtaping by Strangers-Reihe nicht nur tolle neue Künstler vor, die über ihre Mixtape-Vergangenheit und -Vorlieben berichten, nein, wir lassen sie auch extra für euch eine kleine Liste zusammen stellen, auf dass ihr schwelgt in für euch neuer Musik, musikalische Einflüsse entdeckt und die Leidenschaft zur Mixtape machen, weiter geht! Repeat & Rewind inklusive! Für Tape 18 hat das zwischen London und Berlin pendelnde Dark-Pop-Duo RIVRS die digitale Mixtape-Maschine angeworfen – Push Play!
Have you ever done a mixtape before? If yes – when was the first time and for which person? If not – why not and for which person would you do one?
I made mixtapes for my friends when I was a kid. They would normally be on cassette and the front would be covered in drawings and stickers with a mix of the big pop songs of the time and some more alternative tracks I’d heard my older sister or parents play. Mostly what sticks in my mind are the ones that were given to me. My sister made me a mixtape of loads of 80s music when I was about 11. It was fascinating to me as I’d never heard 80s music before – it sounded big and dramatic with lots of synthesizers. I remember it having ‘Girls on Film’ by Duran Duran and ‘Are Friends Electric?’ by Gary Numan.
Which format would you prefer for your mixtape: Cassette, CD, digital playlist?
I love the idea of having a cassette for the nostalgia but I would have no way of actually playing it! So I would stick with CD as it’s nice having something physical you can keep like a memento. I still have a CD mixtape given to me by Fin (my band mate) when we first met in 2009.
Insider tips that the listener won’t know or mainstream hits?
I like to have a mix of some songs that the listener won’t know and also songs that I love right now whether they’re big or not. I think Tommy Genesis, TALA and Pale Waves are artists that I would tip right now. I also love older music that might be less known to some listeners like Suicide. I also put some classics on: ‘Stay’ by Shakespeares Sister and ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ by LCD Soundsystem.
Sad/emotional or dance/party songs?
This mixtape is definately a mix of both. I also think the best songs are a mixture of the two – something you could cry and dance to at the same time. The last song by Ane Brun was introduced to me by the director of our music video for ‘Friend Lover’, Hannah Marshall. She played it during shooting while I was performing movement to the camera.
Listing songs one after the other or planning a tonal climax?
Definately planning a climax, but I like the mixtape to start with a bang and then get more reflective by the last song.
About the cover: self-painted, a picture stolen from the internet or a simple set-list?
I drew this one and then borrowed some stickers from my sister to get the feel of how I used to make them when I was a kid.
If you could choose an artist/band, who should do a mixtape for you – which one would it be and why?
Definately Peaches – i’d love to know what songs she’d recommend for me and what her current influences are.
