The art of the mix

HIGH NOTES

In one of my favourite books, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, the protagonist Rob Fleming decides in desperation to make a mixtape for Laura, the woman he pines for.

"A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do," he says, and illustrates this by way of numerous mixtape-making rules that will ensure maximum impact when heard.

The significance of the act of making a mixtape cannot be undermined. Ever since the emergence of the music cassette, making mixtapes has turned into a major art form.

Emotions, opinions, statements, feelings "" there's nothing that can't be expressed through a mixtape. By choosing songs and music and putting them together as a stream of thought that expresses ideas, a mixtape is probably the closest that a listener can get to creating musical art.

But despite being musically obsessed, I haven't really given the mixtape as much thought as I should have. It took a mix called "Some People" (available free on theavalanches.com) by the genius Australian electronic music group, The Avalanches, for me to wake up to the significance of the music mix.

This 44-minute mix features and juxtaposes samples of tracks of artistes ranging from The Beatles to Salt 'N' Pepa to The Chemical Brothers to the Jackson Sisters (ever head of them?!).

But that's a professional mix and not all personal music mixes can aspire to be as profound. In fact, in some cases the less professional the mix the more appealing it sounds. It's like cooking, where one of its most essential ingredients is the touch of personality that is given by the person who creates it.

In the history of music, mixtapes will always hold a distinguished place. In Europe and the US, they were first used by club DJs who would record their entire programming for the night on them and then sell them for people to buy.

This is what eventually led to the creation of the now popular compilation albums (think the "Now That's What I Call Music" series) Moreover, DJs would use music cassettes to mix different styles of music, paving the way for the emergence of genres like hip-hop and electronic music. But it's the individual who will continue to attach the most value to mixtapes.

Today, as the cassette goes on display in museums across many parts of the world, there are digital music playlists, and mp3 CD mixes that have quickly taken its place. These remain the best way to dedicate music to someone or introduce other people to music that you love or have recently discovered.

In many parts of the world, there exist, "Mix Swapping" groups or "Burning Circles" which commonly take the form of online communities for people interested in music mixes. Members of these communities put together a music mix (often based on a theme) and then send this mix to other members in their community either through the post or online.

The mix is generally accompanied with an artwork and tracklist and sometimes even liner notes. www.artofthemix.com is one such online community, where you will also find a Mix Of The Week.

While the bottomline remains that music mixes is a great way to promote and publicise music that would otherwise go unheard, it doesn't stop music authorities from giving it the speculative eye.

The music industry sees it as an infringement of copyright to be sharing music so widely and considers the selling of mixed/compiled music (or even sharing it for free) to be illegal. But to be fair to the music industry, it's just protecting its own interests by trying to avoid a situation where the whole world turns to sharing music for free.

One way around this situation is by putting up and sharing playlists that would comprise a mixtape. Apple's iTunes has done this rather successfully with their Celebrity Playlists section and eMusic with their Member Playlist section.

I've now come to see music mixes as a sort of musical diary that can work in quite a therapeutic way. They can help you document situations or events in your life and say things that can't be said in so many different ways. At the very least, they can cheer up one dull party. They are the soundtrack to your life.

(craig_fernandes@hotmail.com)