Final selection from my mixtape collection is “Situationists Vacant”, the title of which was inspired by an exhibition at London’s ICA in 1989.

Echoing the previous mixtapes in this recent series of blogs, the track list is totally instrumental, apart from the exotic countertenor of Wim Mertens, and the wonderful spoken word piece by Quentin Crisp. No doubt he would be apoplectic at today’s youth, playing music on public transport without the use of headphones; at the constant use of tacky backing music in TV “reality” shows; and at the over-driven use of percussive SFX in most blockbuster movies. But I digress….

Mostly recorded in the early- to late-1980s (with a couple of throwbacks to the 1970s and 1960s), this is my kind of mood music, unconcerned with the charts or music categorisation. As well as polymath Brian Eno, there are several minimalists and composers in the modern classical style, plus artists that were loosely connected to the early 80s “quiet is the new loud” ethos – Microdisney, Felt, The Durutti Column and Virginia Astley (all of whom I had the privilege to see in concert). Overall, there are more keyboards than fretboards.

It’s worth noting that my first exposure to some of this music came via a couple of influential compilation albums – “From Brussels With Love” and  “Pillows & Prayers”.

Finally, observant readers will have noticed a few artists have appeared on more than one of these mixtapes (in some cases, the same tracks), which is probably testament to how much I like them. I also realise that I may have breached a mixtape cardinal sin, by sequencing two consecutive tracks by the same artist – I can only think it was because they flowed better that way?

Anyway, enjoy some mellowness:

Side A:

1. Mark Springer – Krix
2. In Embrace – Tickling The Ivories
3. Harold Budd – Children On The Hill
4. Piero Milesi – Modi 2 (Extract)
5. The Durutti Column – Lips That Would Kiss
6. Wim Mertens – Hirose
7. Michael Nyman – In Re Don Giovanni
8. Brian Eno – Through Hollow Hands (For Harold Budd)
9. Soft Machine – A Certain Kind (ending)
10. 10 The Durutti Column – For Belgian Friends
11. Virginia Astley – With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming
12. Virgina Astley – A Summer Long Since Passed
13. Brian Eno – Sparrowfall (3)

Side B:

1. Mark Springer – Slipping In Between
2. Devine & Statton – You’re Almost There
3. The Durutti Column – Prayer
4. Felt – Candles In A Church
5. Felt – Ferdinand Magellan
6. Microdisney – Michael Murphy
7. Microdisney – Patrick Moore Says You Can’t Sleep Here
8. Barry Adamson – Everything Happens To Me
9. The Yardbirds – White Summer
10. Virgina Astley – The Nursery At The Ned Of The World (from Melt The Snow)
11. Brian Eno – Another Green World
12. Penguin Cafe Orchestra – The Sound Of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away And It Doesn’t Matter
13. The Durutti Column – Madeleine
14. Brain Eno – Sparrowfall (1)
15. Quentin Crisp – Stop The Music For A Minute

Next week: A Post-Punk Playlist

Number 3 in this series of recently rediscovered mixtapes is “Dance & Dream”, which I must have compiled in late 1987 or early 1988 (judging by some of the original release dates). It was the era when indie music (especially shoe gaze and dream pop) was starting to cross-pollinate with dance music (notably hip-hop, house and techno) – epitomised by the double A-side single by M|A|R|R|S combining “Pump Up The Volume” and “Anitina”.

This was the dawn of the UK’s Second Summer of Love, Acieeeed House, Madchester and Baggy, before things calmed down again with chill out, trip hop and ambient electronica. Notably, at Glastonbury in June 1987, New Order set a standard of sorts, when they incorporated a huge laser display into their night-time set, and showed that it was possible to use sequencers in a concert setting, cementing their reputation for bringing guitars and electronics together on the dance floor.

By today’s standards, some of the sampling and 12″ remixes might seem a little quaint, but overall I don’t think these records sound too dated – certainly, there’s not many DX7 and Fairlight synth sounds, or over-used Linn Drums.

But three tracks that still sound remarkable are “In My Garden” by Swans, “Haunting” by A.R.Kane and “The Stonecutter” by Flux of Pink Indians. Fabulous stuff.

Get your groove on here:

Side A:

1. Eric B & Rakim – Paid In Full (Seven Minutes of Madness – The Conduct Remix)
2. Spoonie Gee – The Godfather (Remix)
3. M|A|R|R|S – Pump Up The Volume (12″ Remix)
4. The Beatmasters – Rock Da House (Club Mix)
5. Prince – Sign O’ The Times (LP version)
6. King Sun & D Moet – Hey Love (Full Length)
7. Shinehead – Billie Jean/Mama Used To Say (12″ Medley version)
8. Hotline – Rock This House (The Music)

Side B:

1. New Order – Touched By The Hand Of God
2. Sugarcubes – Birthday
3. Cocteau Twins – Love’s Easy Tears
4. Swans – In My Garden
5. Die Haut – Der Karibische Western
6. M|A|R|R|S – Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance) (Remix)
7. A.R.Kane – Haunting
8. Flux Of Pink Indians – The Stonecutter
9. The Durutti Column – What Is It To Me (Woman)
10. New Order – Touched By The Hand Of Dub

Next week: More unearthed mixtapes

Another mixtape I recently re-discovered from the late 1980s was “Driving Away From Home”, compiled for my father who at the time was making a lot of road trips for work. The tape was named after the one-hit wonder by It’s Immaterial. In this case, I chose the demo version, rather than the commercial hit, as I felt it evokes more pathos. There’s also an in-joke as the lyrics mention the M62 motorway, which was a frequent route my father would have driven.

I have no idea whether he ever played it in the car – certainly, it wouldn’t have been his normal choice of listening! But I know he liked instrumental pop music, based on some of the old 45’s in his record collection. (Many of those 7″ singles came from his time doing National Service in Germany in the late 1950s.) And in the late 1960s, his work used to take him to an E.M.I. factory, so on some Friday evenings he would come home with the latest single by The Beatles.

I also recall that as a child, we had a copy of “Telstar” by The Tornados in the house, which got played frequently. Hence Side A predominantly features instrumental tracks, including lots of twangy guitar, with road and travel related songs on Side B.

Like last week’s featured mixtape, there is an overall sense of melancholy. Another connection comes in the form of cover versions of two of the previous songs: “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” (from early in Nick Cave’s cross-over period from outsider to mainstream artist), and “Song To The Siren” (attributed to This Mortal Coil, but to all intents and purposes a Cocteau Twins track).

I’ve also had the privilege of seeing most of these bands and artists in concert – unlike last week’s tape, where Nico was the only one. That isn’t too surprising, given the time difference between the song selections, and the proliferation of dead musicians. But it also reminds me that the 1980s wasn’t all synth pop, New Romantics, grunge and stadium rock.

Some of this music has never made it to the digital age, so Shazam wasn’t always very helpful in identifying the obscurer tracks which I no longer have on vinyl. But why not take this playlist with you on your next road trip!:

Side A:

1. The Durutti Column – Sketch For Summer
2. Felt – Candles In A Church
3. Felt – Ferdinand Magellan
4. The Smiths – Oscillate Wildly
5. The Smiths – The Draize Train
6. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Perfect Blue (Instrumental)
7. The Monochrome Set – Andiamo
8. Yeah Yeah Noh – Penetration
9. Biff Bang Pow! – The Whole World Is Turning Brouchard
10. Virginia Astley – Bell Of New York (from Melt The Snow 12″)
11. Brian Eno – Sparrowfall (1)-(3)
12. The Durutti Column – Prayer
13. Laraaji – Meditation #2 (edited version from “Angels In The Architecture”)

Side B:

1. Echo & The Bunnymen – Bring On The Dancing Horses (12″ version)
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – By The Time I Get To Phoenix
3. The Woodentops – Plenty
4. The Mighty Lemon Drops – Splash #1 (Now I’m Home)
5. The Shop Assistants – Somewhere In China
6. The Go-Betweens – Cattle & Cane
7. It’s Immaterial – Driving Away From Home (4-track demo version)
8. Microdisney – Loftholdingswood
9. This Mortal Coil – Song To The Siren
10. The The – Uncertain Smile
11. Yello – Lost Again

Next week: More unearthed mixtapes

Rummaging through a box of cassettes last week, I came across a mixtape I compiled in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It’s called “No More Songs”, after the Phil Ochs song.

Listening to the tape again after many years, I was reminded of the people, places and events associated with first hearing these songs – working at a second record shop in London where some of these songs were on regular rotation; watching Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”; seeing a clip of Tim Buckley on “The Monkees” TV show; watching Dustin Hoffman (again) in “Midnight Cowboy”; recommendations from knowledgable friends (notably Big Star, Phil Ochs and Nick Drake).

I can hear some common themes across these tracks. Certainly, there is a river of melancholy running through this music, which may have resonated with my mood at that time. The fact that several of these artists had died at a relatively young age (and of course, several more have passed away since) may contribute to that sense of sad reflection. While many of the songs might be deemed folk music, they aren’t the typical “troubadour with acoustic guitar” that inundates the genre – and they certainly aren’t typical blues-based rock either. If anything, the music is more baroque or chamber pop. There’s an absence of guitar solos, and not many drums either. Even though these singers may not be technically perfect (and they don’t indulge in the vocal gymnastics made popular by TV talent shows), they know how to use their voices, which actually makes them sound more authentic and more moving as a result. The power and beauty in these performances comes from artists who know their vocal limitations, and from the resulting display of fragility.

There’s probably a negative reaction to grunge rock reflected in this choice of songs. Not all grunge was bad, but like punk before it, there were so many pale imitators and wannabes that it made sense to seek refuge and relief from the noise and attrition of grunge. (A similar reaction happened after punk, when artists like The Durutti Column, Prefab Sprout, Microdisney, Young Marble Giants and Everything But The Girl heralded a welcome respite from punk, adopting “quiet is the new loud” as a kind of informal manifesto.)

Some of these songs are mainstream, and appeared in the charts at the time of their release in the 1960s and 1970s – otherwise they are lesser-known but enduring classics. A couple were popularised through cover versions, and many of these artists benefitted from critical re-appraisals and renewed audience engagement via retrospectives, reissues and archive releases. In particular, the influential compendium “It’ll End In Tears” (and subsequent volumes) helped to raise awareness around much of this music.

They all still sound wonderful to me. Here is the track list in full – enjoy!:

Side A:

1. Buffalo Springfield: Expecting To Fly
2. The Byrds: Everybody’s Been Burned
3. Glen Campbell: By The Time I Get To Phoenix
4. Nico: Eulogy To Lenny Bruce
5. Tim Buckley: Song To The Siren
6. Simon & Garfunkel: Sounds Of Silence
7. Fred Neil: The Dolphins
8. Nick Drake: Northern Sky
9. Tim Hardin: Lady Came From Baltimore
10. Big Star: Blue Moon

Side B:

1. Big Star: Take Care
2. Glen Campbell: Wichita Lineman
3. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood: Some Velvet Morning
4. Tim Buckley: Morning Glory
5. Fred Neil: Everybody’s Talking
6. Nick Drake: Pink Moon
7. Nico: These Days
8. Tim Hardin: Reason To Believe
9. Big Star: Holocaust
10. Phil Ochs: No More Songs

Next week: More unearthed mixtapes