So far, our guest mixes were purely digital, but this year we’re taking a different approach after being contacted by Third Kind Records / Nick Langley about the idea of doing an actual mixtape (a mixtape mixtape, if you will). What Nick delivered is a beautiful sounding and equally gorgeous looking tape – yours for just 8$!
We also highly recommend checking out other mixes by Third Kind – one that Nick did for us in 2017 and one he did for Spool’s Out.
Here’s a look at artists participating in the mix:
Sea Grapes
Community Radio Tapes label boss, Luke Janke, releases some of his own music as Sea Grapes, and offers us a quick peek into his songwriting mind on Deadbeat Dad.
The Boulder, Colorado artist strikes me as a humble character who would rather talk about others than himself. These tracks are personal, and there is no posturing or grandstanding – just a guy in a bedroom or basement playing some tunes into a mic, employing acoustic instrumentation with electronic augmentations to create a bright, perky sound. – Houdini Mansions
Suzie
Post-gender cosmic guitar freak. Smooth night-drive sex grooves – soft synths penetrated by angular guitars, hybrid drum workouts, and a voice from beyond what’s real. Love-fi funk jammers. Whatever dude fuckin’ dig it. – No Problem Records bio.
William Carlos Whitten
Bill Whitten is an American songwriter and musician. He was the founding member, principal songwriter and singer/guitarist for St. Johnny. He was also the singer/songwriter/guitarist for Grand Mal. – Wikipedia
Heart Eyes
Colorado label Community Radio Tapes presents us with this beautiful little oddity by Heart Eyes, Whatever it is, Whenever you feel like it is a 6 track tape of glazed bedroom ambience with plenty of emotion.
The tape is quite pleasant with some interesting ideas, though there is a lot of weirdness going on it always remains a comfortable weirdness. The kind that you know won’t harm you. However there is an anxiety to some of the tracks, a looming melancholy that sits really heavy! Do not panic however, it’s a very nice listen and ends on a high note. – Eternity Tree
Hattie Cooke
The last quarter of the music release cycle tends to get dominated by reflection: taking stock of what came out, deciding what were the “best” and “biggest” releases, contextualizing what the heck happened/what changed/what stayed the same, what can be ranked and how, etc (see: this website). Already looking backward, there’s the impulse to stop looking around, no matter how much stuff — particularly good, small stuff — is still walking through the door.
Case in point: English singer/songwriter Hattie Cooke put out a great tape this fall (way back in October — whoops, sorry Hattie) that, as part of my own personal catching up on all I missed, I’ve been listening to a lot. You want a record that’s perfect for fall, or the transition of fall into winter, or really anytime when you can justify spending hours alone by a furnace or driving around through the dead leaves? Here it is, and then some. – Tiny Mix Tapes
Peter Hoggarth
Lo-fi song-crafting of the highest order. Deeply atmospheric tales of love and loss. Everything from honky piano ballads to rocked out 4 track smudge-core.Turkish Delight
Any band that cites influences as sonically diverse as Brian Eno, the Residents, Fred Frith, the Ex, Cecil Taylor, Contortions, Polvo, Dog Faced Hermans, Pharaoh Saunders, Eno, Sonic Youth, Zeena Parkins, and Peter Brötzmann (for starters) is bound to be difficult to pin down, but what’s so surprising — and refreshing — about TD is how adeptly they spun those influences into something uniquely their own. – Warped Reality Magazine
YR GLOW
YR GLOW hails from Florida and the 4 piece band started off as a solo project, however, later congealed in to a fully multi-member band during a fresh start. They say they enjoy “hot licks, chips and salsa, and most importantly friendship”. We assume the latter comes to the top of that list, more often than not. – Come Here Floyd
Sitcom Morals
Stability is a pretty open-ended word, isn’t it? It could apply to one’s financial status. Or it could apply to the structural integrity of a bridge. Whatever. That’s the beauty of such simplicity; it’s kind in that it yields its moldable nature to anyone who desires to interact. To Max Bontrager, the single man behind Sitcom Morals, I think Stability means being able to live a deep, meaningful life while remaining light-hearted on a day-to-day basis. Even more so, I think it means working hard to make ends meet while also taking the time to sit down with a cup of coffee and a ukulele and write good songs.
The Triangle Man
Bizarre outsider folk artist Clinton Smith, dons the persona of Triangle Man to travel to other musical dimensions we mortals can only dream of. Using his geometric metaphysical powers, he asks the universe the tough questions in a wavering, antiquated voice, surrounded by swirling masses of haunting accompaniment. – Houdini Mansions
Linden Pomeroy
Linden is a musician based in Worthing/Brighton, UK. He began writing songs and exploring sounds in 2012.
His sound started out of what could be achieved using just a guitar, and flits between slow-paced minimal songs and thick, expansive guitar drone.