Musicto Mixtape Feature

I had the chance to talk with playlisting site Musicto about the Mixtape series I have been putting together for the past few years. Check out the full feature here, and check out an excerpt from the interview below:

We used to make each other mixtapes – no more than 20 songs or 80 minutes of music. We would  spend hours perfecting the order and selection of songs to make the perfect playlist for the right  person. I used to love that, the process of making a compilation for someone you care about,  getting out the sharpies and writing on the plastic case “songs you should love.” I’ve collected so  many mixtapes over the years, CDs friends have burned for me, tapes that my older brothers  used to record from the radio, and I miss that aspect of music sharing, that idea of sharing  powerful feelings and moments with somebody.  

I started making these mixtapes to emulate those mixtapes I used to make for my friends back in  the day. And they’re not aimed at anyone in particular, just a set of songs I think are really good,  worth hearing and checking out. Discovering new music is hard, and I’m trying to make it easy  for everyone. Each one is 20 songs (or 80 minutes), just like an old CD or cassette, and can’t be  any longer. I’m blending hidden gems, classics, and unexpected discoveries. I see it as a way to  introduce people to music they might not encounter otherwise, and also as a way for listeners to  get a sense of who I am as a producer, songwriter, and curator. 

I’m also making these as a response to the 800 song playlists I keep getting sent online. I ask  people for music recommendations and they send me playlists that are a week long. Those might  be good to soundtrack a whole season of your life, if that’s the only thing you listen to, but they  feel like picking through the bins at Goodwill. There may be something for me in there, sure, but it’s going to take a lot of work to find it. On the other hand, these short playlists are precious, and  each song here matters. Finding something you love shouldn’t be so hard here. 

My hope is that these mixtapes become a discovery tool for friends, family, and strangers alike. I  get excited when someone finds a song they love on these playlists. That’s when it stops being  my song and becomes ours – and then it’s something we can share with each other.