Wired For Sound

“Aside from great tunes, you also need an idea where you’re going. I always start off with a record that has a really nice intro to set the mood and take it from there. It’s the same way I navigate through a set, only with mixtapes you have your whole record collection at your disposal. You can find those tracks on albums that are a little bit more obscure, and you’re free to play what you like without the constraints of the dancefloor. People listen to mixes in all different places; they listen in the car, doing the washing up or at a party. You’re just trying to put together a nice selection, so you can go with those kinds of themes more than you could in a club."

"All mixtapes are good, including the ones your ex-lovers made for you, even if they’re not mixed."

Horse Meat Disco find their songs through hours of digging through crates in vinyl stores. “Because we can’t use a lot of songs on major labels, a good track for the compilation is one that’s licensable, owned by the original recording artist on an independent label.”

Hillard denies they have a specific aesthetic. “The music that we enjoy most was made between maybe 1975 and 1985. It had a way of production that isn’t really there anymore, using amazing musicians, production techniques, and singers.”

Putting the mix together is the final step, separating the professional mixtape from the amateur labour of love. “Beyond song selection, it gets interesting when you’re finding nice places where two songs meet or can blend together. That’s the overriding way I go about doing mixes. It’s always about finding the interim between where two tracks meet and making a third track out of the segue. Anyone can beat-match a song, but getting the harmonies of different sounds, like the rhythm guitar working with the bass line of the other track, is really fun.”

If this is sounding a bit too technical for the mixtape you were planning for your friend, don’t despair. “All mixtapes are good, including the ones your ex-lovers made for you, even if they’re not mixed. As long as it’s come from a place of love and the person that made it is into the records.”