I miss it…

Have you ever made a mixtape for someone?

I used to do this all the time for my friends and family, and, on tape, it was a real labour of love. You had to get just the right songs on both sides so you filled it up without cutting songs short – horrible – or having a massive blank gap at the end. Sometimes you’d end up with an awkward length gap that was too long to leave and too short for a full length song, so your knowledge of secret tracks and short quirky tunes was called upon. I used ‘Her Majesty’ by The Beatles a lot for that.

Things have changed since then. Even when CDs came out it wasn’t the same because it was so much easier and quicker to do. The guesture of burning someone a playlist is not as romantic as painstakingly crafting the perfect compilation tape, where you had to listen to each song and record it bit by bit. It took time, effort and in my case, love. It’s how I got my mum to listen to Catatonia

I miss it.

I know the world has to change, but I miss music being something you hold in your hands and have that physical connection to. .Still, I live in the real world and have to accept, both as a music lover and an artist, that my mixtape making days are over.

Cue violins….

Embracing Change …

I don’t like to complain about the music industry. There are benefits and drawbacks to everything that has happened since my tape making days.

I know not everyone is in to Spotify. As an artist I obviously have mixed feelings about it. Getting royalty reports from Spotify that start £0.00… for something it might have cost me thousands to make is laughable really, but I do have youngsters listening to my music who don’t own a CD player. I do also get paid SOMEthing every time it’s played, (so if you really love me, you can just leave me on repeat at night 🤣), which is way better than YouTube for example, where it’s all just given away absolutely free.

So… I made you a playlist of music I love, that has influenced me. A good mixtape has a theme of some kind – whilst my tastes are eclectic and my recording work varies hugely in genre, this Acoustic Vibe underlies what we do at live shows, and represents a lot of what made me fall in love with music. Know that this has come from my love of making compilation tapes as a way of sharing music I love, and know that when you listen and follow the playlist, you are supporting all the artists on that list. Periodically, I add to the list so there’s always something new on there.

If you’re a Spotify user, head on over to Acoustic Vibes and have a listen. Follow if you like it, share it with someone you think will enjoy it. I hope you will.

Made with love.

DiElle

Share your mixtape memories  …