Musicophilia’s 1st birthday is coming up soon, and by then the blog will feature over 50 mixes! In order to make them easier to find, I’ve created a Visual Mix Index. I’m posting it here as a blog post, but it will be permanently available (and updated) at this page. So if you’ve missed some mixes–go grab them, and I hope you’ll hear new sounds to love. Thanks so much for listening!

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[Musique du Monde]

Musique du Monde is a faux-reissue series focused generally on the music of the 70s, bleeding slightly into the 60s and the 80s. Across the “LPs” from the “label” you’ll find an eclectic but carefully crafted blend of the well known and the unknown, from around the world. On any one “side” you’ll find funk, pure pop, psychedelia, fusion and electric jazz, prog, proto-punk, progressive folk, singer-songwriter, sound library recordings, Euro-funk, art rock, early electronics, musique concrete, and on later-era mixes, disco, proto-electro and a bit of post-punk. The Musique du Monde label never existed–but it should have.

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[Sensory Replication Series]

The ‘Sensory Replication Series‘ mixes are my personal favorites at Musicophilia. My aim is to create a new whole from existing parts, inspired by cinema and binaural field recordings, that hopefully offers a new listening experience even if some of the music is familiar. These are by far my most intricately constructed mixes, weaving together up to half a dozen elements (songs, tracks, and custom-made remixes, versions, and new additional sound) at any given time, spanning decades and cross-pollinating genres, and creating a seamless journey. Headphones recommended.

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[Post-Punk Mixes]

These mixes explore the endlessly innovative, past-gobbling and future-seeking world of “post-punk,” a term so meaning-stretched as to be almost meaningless that you nevertheless know-it-when-you-hear-it. My aim with post-punk mixes is to give the well-loved names their due but to celebrate the unadulterated fecundity of the years 1977-1983 (or so) through equal exploration of the much less well-known names and sounds.

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[One-Offs and Albums]

While Musicophilia tends to concentrate on creating curated series, there’s always room for one-offs, single-artist mixes and other excursions. I’ve also shared a few albums of my own, very tiny music as Soundslike, which might appeal to fans of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Christian Fennesz, or Nick Drake.

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[Guest Mixes]

Musicophilia has had the honor of hosting a number of fantastic guest-mixes put together by talented musicians who also happen to be passionate listeners. These mixes dovetail nicely with the Musicophilia sensibility, but add their own much-appreciated flavors.

<img data-attachment-id="161" data-permalink="https://musicophilia.wordpress.com/?p=161" data-orig-file="" data-orig-size="" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="[]" data-image-title="‘1981’ [Heart Mix] (2005)" data-image-description='<p style="text-align:center;">¶</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-159" title="00_1981-heart_1981_coversmall" src= alt="00_1981-heart_1981_coversmall" width="500" height="500" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">¶</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">‘Heart’ is the fifth compilation from the ‘<a href="https://musicophilia.wordpress.com/tag/1981/" target="_blank">1981′ box set</a>, originally compiled and released 2004-2005 (the previous four can be found <a href="https://musicophilia.wordpress.com/tag/1981/" target="_blank">here</a>, and more information about the project and as a whole and photos of the box are <a href="https://musicophilia.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/1981-feet-mix-2005/" target="_blank">here</a>).  Most of the time, “post-punk” has a spiky connotation, and an artsy reputation; words we would commonly associate with the period/movement/ethos are iconoclastic, political, contrarian, weird, Modernistic, futuristic, maybe even danceable and funky, in a wiry sort of way.  But one idea we might not think of very quickly is “emotional,” unless the brooding, gloomy sub-genre dominates our perception.  But even “gloomy” is almost more of an <em>idea</em> of an emotion than an emotion itself; a pose of sadness, a melodrama that does not particularly convey itself directly to any listener not already striking a similar pose.  This mix, then, was meant to shed a little light on the occurrence of more mature, fully-fledged emotion: the earnest, the hopeful, the broken, exultant, desperate, dreaming, nostalgic, regretful, passionate, uncertain, and sometimes viscerally angry heart of post-punk.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">¶</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Most of the other discs in the set were compiled primarily around particular sonic criteria, so in some ways this is one of the more eclectic of the nine.  Musically there is a tendency toward simplicity, a degree of spareness, an un-punk sense of restraint; but other moments snarl or get a little anthemic, and others are unabashedly poppy.   Among the tracks here are some of my very favorite from 1981: <strong>The Cure</strong>‘s inimitable (would that none had tried) “All Cats Are Grey,” post-Young Marble Giants <strong>the Gist</strong> with “Love At First Sight,” <strong>Gang of Four</strong>‘s Achilles-like tale of “Paralysed,” <strong>OMD</strong>‘s bones-exposed “Romance of the Telescope” (one of the best b-sides of all time), <strong>Raincoats</strong>‘ “Only Loved at Night,” <strong>Talking Heads</strong>‘ biting-or-inspirational “Once In A Lifetime,” and perhaps most haunting, <strong>Japan</strong>‘s “Ghosts” (which, were it not for Laurie Andersons chart-penultimate ‘O Superman,’ would have to be one of the most unlikely singles of all time).   But the <strong>Passions</strong>, <strong>Depeche Mode</strong>, <strong>Elvis Costello</strong>, <strong>Durutti Column</strong>, Buzzcock <strong>Pete Shelley</strong>, <strong>The Sound</strong>, <strong>New Order</strong>, <strong>This Heat</strong>, <strong>Gary Numan</strong>, <strong>Psychedelic Furs</strong>, <strong>MX-80</strong>, <strong>Ultravox</strong>, and the other post-Young Marble Giants act featured here, <strong>The Weekend</strong>, are all represented here by some of their best work, too.  This would have to be the darkhorse contender for best disc in the set, so if you have hesitated to check them all out before, pick up again here and work your way back.  Full tracklist and download link after “more…”.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">¶</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<blockquote>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>1 9 8 1  |  Heart</strong></p>
<p>01  Cure, The – All Cats Are Grey [5:24]<br />
02  Passions – Alice’s Song [3:13]<br />
03  Depeche Mode – Any Second Now (Voices) [2:35]<br />
04  Durutti Column – The Missing Boy [6:38]<br />
05  Costello, Elvis & The Attractions – Gloomy Sunday [3:15]<br />
06  MX-80 – Promise of Love [4:40]<br />
07  Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime (Edit) [3:22]<br />
08  New Order – Doubts Even Here [4:20]<br />
09  Shelley, Pete – It’s Hard Enough Knowing (Edit) [2:50]<br />
10  Sound, The – Winning [4:18]<br />
11  Japan – Ghosts [4:34]<br />
12  This Heat – A New Kind Of Water [5:02]<br />
13  Raincoats – Only Loved At Night [3:30]<br />
14  Gist – Love at First Sight [3:42]<br />
15  Numan, Gary – Dance [2:45]<br />
16  Psychedelic Furs – No Tears [3:16]<br />
17  Gang of Four – Paralysed [3:23]<br />
18  Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Romance Of The Telescope [3:19]<br />
19  Ultravox – Rage In Eden [4:12]<br />
20  Weekend – Nostalgia (Demo) [5:21]</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>[Total Time: 79:30]</p>
</blockquote>
<p style=”text-align:center;”>¶</p>
<p style=”text-align:center;”><a href=”http://www.mediafire.com/?nhzyhqtohg3″ target=”_blank”>Download Here</a></p>
‘ data-medium-file=”” data-large-file=”” class=”size-thumbnail wp-image-161 alignleft” title=”[Guest Mix] – ‘Somniloquies’ (1931-2009) (Mixed by Love, Execution Style)” src=”https://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/folder1.jpg?w=500&h=500″ alt=”[Guest Mix] – ‘Somniloquies’ (1931-2009) (Mixed by Love, Execution Style)”>