The perfect recipe for the perfect mix

John Cusack was dead-on when he talked about making the perfect mix for the right occasion in… John Cusack was dead-on when he talked about making the perfect mix for the right occasion in the film “High Fidelity” Yet, there are many who have neither seen the movie, nor actually know the time and dedication it takes to build a proper mix.

Often, record labels release compilations of various artists’ work, and those aren’t very good either. It seems that in recent years, the art of making mixes has been “dumbed down” to people just placing random songs on compact discs and handing them out; or in the case of record labels, selling them for profit.

In the past decade, we have seen the rise of CD burners, which has almost made the cassette tape obsolete. It seemed that when the cassette tape was more prevalent, people would spend more time perfecting their mixes. Perhaps, because it took a longer time to take one’s vinyl LPs, tapes and compact discs and record them to tape, more people were interested in how the actual mix “flowed.” These days, pretty much anyone can haphazardly slap 15 or 16 songs together and call it their mix.

The thing that should bother most of you who truly value the uniqueness of mixes, is that these are passed on to other people. Much like the artists who create work to display on canvas, or like musicians who create aurally pleasing compositions, you should make your mixes extremely personal and reflective of not only how you feel about a person, but how you view the world.

So how does one assemble a mix to die for? This can be accomplished with much practice and, of course, passing on your mixes to those seasoned veterans who can judge you for flow, selection and artistic merit. Here’s a simple guideline to get you started. The first track is what will draw the listeners in and make them interested in listening to your mix. If you don’t grab them with this track, you can expect the person to hit the “Next” button every single time they pop in the CD.

A good example of an opener is a delicious track called “4” by Aphex Twin off the Richard D. James album. Of course, you might not want to throw on a track like that for someone who isn’t open to intelligent dance music (a form of electronica derived from drill n’ bass). First impressions mean everything, and you need something brave and unique to captivate the listener. But from there, the upward battle begins. However, you don’t have to try to top each track successively. Mixes tend to be better when you’re not trying to outdo yourself constantly. Finding flow is relatively easy, especially if you somewhat understand music. Say that you have a song that ends on a G note, for example. You would perhaps want to find a track that also fits into the G major/minor scale, if you can have access to any.

While this is just nitpicking, a true professional would consider this an important facet of a mix. But you don’t necessarily have to understand key. Look for other things, such as tempo. Look how fast this song is in comparison to the last one, and work accordingly. You don’t want to have an extremely chill and ambient song play into an insane gabber-hardcore slugfest with a difference of more than 250 beats per minute. And of course, you can also go by the vibe of the tune. For example, don’t go from happy to sad to happy to sad unless you want to look like a schizophrenic. Of course, these aren’t the only emotions to consider, but by now, you probably have a good idea.

Finally, you need a closing track. This song should be your climax, your Valhalla, your nirvana. Instrumental epics (Godspeed You Black Emperor!, anyone?) are an interesting way to close the mix out, but make sure that your last track “flows” with the first (and if you picked a very strong and emotional piece, it should be fine). Why is this important? Because most people will listen to your work on a CD or tape, and most players automatically start over at the end of the disc/side. This constitutes paying attention to flow one final time. If you can master these techniques, your mixes will be absolutely perfect for anyone, friends and family included.

Artists create their music for you to enjoy. If you decide to take bits and pieces of every artist’s work and compile them together, you should take great care in assembling them. The right mix will be one you can listen to without having the urge to constantly skip around. Remember, this is the time to show someone why a particular artist is so important. Use this opportunity to open up friends and family to new music. Happy mixing!

Adam Rauf is a staff writer for The Pitt News. He respects a good mix and hopes you do too.