Guest mix number 25 marks a quarter of a century (?) of guest mixes. Thankfully though, despite my wording, these aren't actually yearly – that'd be terrible. Awful. Instead, it's the latest in a semi-regular series of mixes kindly and lovingly crafted for this digital vessel, this paltry musical entity, by artists who are kind and loving enough to take the time and consideration to craft a mix. It's always interesting to hear what people do with a mix – the tracks used, the order of those tracks, any theme behind it, how it's mixed, etc. And for the people of the world mixes are invaluable: they become private DJ sets for your own little slice of the world you call home. You cookin? Put on a mix. You searchin online for car insurance? Put on a mix. You just sippin coffee lookin out the window? Put on a mix.
With that said, the 25th arrives courtesy of Liz. Aside from being "a floating soul," she owns and co-produces e-venue / online venue SPF420.com with Chaz Allen. "I would like to think that I'm not on earth a lot," she tells me (via email, when I ask who she is and where she is from), "but I am in a very comfortable part of North Carolina where I rarely leave my house." Spoken like a true floating soul.
I am just a girl, that was forced a name at birth, who believes that the sole purpose on earth is since we were born without a choice, almost into slavery, that we must make the best of our lives and do as many good things for the world as possible.
LIZ
Embarking on a big quest with SPF420, one would imagine that Liz would have to like music – and it certainly is the case: "Music has been with me ever since I was child," she says. "I remember my first music video being U2 - 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'. I love music and it will stay with me until the day I don't fall asleep at night." And apart from being inspired by "the good, the bad, the blood, the sweat, the tears" and Wikipedia articles of a scientific and historic nature, Liz is inspired – in terms of music – by her friends' projects, "even if they're works in progress." The person who most affects her in this way, however, is Skylar Spence. (This, if you didn't know, is the new name of Saint Pepsi because Pepsi didn't like it). "His artistry is incredible, his mind is too beautiful for this world," she tells me.
As for the mix, Liz told me the idea behind it: "basically the theme is Gems Hidden From The Internet, and Then Some," because a decent portion of the tracks are unreleased or not-heard-before-by-public-ears. "These tracks are super important to me because I have worked with (almost) every single artist for SPF420," she says, explaining the mix further, "It's basically just a mix of all my friends and family members, like a little ode to them."
From the bounce of Pocari Sweat (a new side-project of Bear//Face) and ugly mug, to the experimental chimings of 'High Rise' by Blank Body and THIRSTY's huge 'Last Drop' ("who i did the vocal drop for (don't i sound fantastic? hot damn)," Liz reveals), as well as the despairing chill of Yung Sherman's 'Fear' ("one of my favorite songs") and little cloud's very new 'who told u' and its swathes of loveliness, the collection of tracks is based on a foundation of turned up beats swaddled in emotive atmospheres, thick with damaged, decayed yet transcendental electronic sounds.
• Ｔ Ｒ Ａ Ｃ Ｋ Ｌ Ｉ Ｓ Ｔ •
- 00:01-03:45: Lil Jon – Act A Fool (Magic Fades Remix)
- 03:43-07:02: ugly mug - Out Tha Back Of Tha Cutla$$
- 06:55-10:55: Yung Sherman - Fear
- 10:51-15:03: Blank Body - Highrise
- 14:55-18:32: Pocari Sweat - Lovey Dovey 2.5
- 18:30-20:10: THIRSTY - Last Drop
- 19:57-23:46: S.A.M - Instrumental Beat #5
- 23:39-26:42: Taoers - Untitled
- 26:19-28:04: little cloud - who told u
- 28:01-30:57: Abbi Press - Stretched Out (production by Blank Body & drip-133)
- Check out SPF420 = http://spf420.com
- I wrote about the monumental first ever SPF420 IRL live show at SXSW last year.
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