Q (magazine)

How to make the ultimate mix-tape with Q magazine’s Matt Mason

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• published: 13 Oct 2016
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Forget playlists and digital downloads – it’s time to rewind back to the original music sharing ‘format’, as the mix-tape makes a comeback in 2016. So we asked top music journalist Matt Mason from music bible Q to give us his top tips on how to create the perfect mix-tape….listen up…. If you were a kid in the 80s and 90s then it’s likely that you have created around 1,000 (conservative estimate) mix tapes in your listening life-time…. While that might be a slight exaggeration, let’s face it, there was nothing more exciting for music loving teenagers and adults back in the day than pouring your heart out by way of copying your favourite songs onto a blank tape and then giving it to your crush or your best friend. Thanks to the advent of first, the portable CD player and then MP3 players such as the iPod, which celebrates its 15th birthday this year, followed by online music download and streaming sites such as Spotify and iTunes, the mixtape could have died a sad death …. However, thanks to starring roles in movies a few years back such as High Fidelity, which is centred almost entirely on the creation of the perfect mix-tape, and One Day, where Anne Hathaway’s character lovingly creates one for the object of her affections and much more recently cameos in TV shows such as this year’s Netflix smash hit Stranger Things and the comic book adaption of Guardians of the Galaxy, the mixtape appears to be rising up from the ashes – like a playlist championing phoenix. According to new research from technology brand, Bush, Brits feel nostalgic about mixtapes and the technology they used to make them with – including cassette players and the joy of pressing both play and record at the same time. The report goes on to reveal what some of those mixtape memories evoke including recording the weekly chart off of the radio, a gift for a special someone and getting their first car. Others said mixtapes helped them through those angst ridden teenage-break-ups. So while vinyl albums have made a comeback in recent years with true music lovers returning to the original classic format, is it now time for the cassette tape to become our next retro-tech music obsession? And if so, could it be time you brushed up on your mixtape-making skills? Or if you’re too young to remember the excitement of making the perfect playlist and dubbing it onto that pristine blank cassette before presenting it to that special someone – then you might need some help from Q Magazine’s Matt Mason who has put together a masterclass for creating the perfect mixtape.FORMORE INFORMATION VISIT Website: www.argos.co.uk