The Only Way Out Is Through
Personal catharsis for the shitstorm we find ourselves in. Nothing uplifting, sorry.
Posted
Welcome
I began making mixtapes as soon as I left home in 1982 and had someone — my sister — to send them to. (These early tapes have since been sighted in the wild but not yet captured in digital form.) In 1993 I started making mixes that were more like products, with fancier labels, and dubbing multiple copies to give to my friends at Xmas. In 1996 I got access to a real live CD burner at work and made my next mixtape a CD … then in 1998 I got a rather crappy multitrack recording program and by painstakingly typing numbers in the Fade dialog box put together my first continuous mix CD. Since 2005 I’ve been using my own handmade app I call Mixup (which was going to be public, but I never got it polished enough to release.)
I love segues and smooth transitions: they express the Surrealists’ ideal of creating art through juxtaposition. They give me a chance to make my own small contributions, adding something to the songs I love by fitting them together into collages. I find it hard to discover music that I like, and I want to share that music with friends. I want to do more with the music than passively consume it. I hope you enjoy what I’ve found and what I’ve done with it, and that you’ll support the artists you discover you like by buying your own copies of their recordings.
—Jens, August 2005, updated August 2020
Latest Mixes
Cirrus Minor
You venture into the wild land at daybreak with a light heart, but there’s something uncanny in the empty vistas, something ancient in the forest. The familiar sounds seem strange, even the birdsong and the buzzing of insects, and though you sing to yourself, you become increasingly spooked as night falls and the darkness overwhelms your small campfire. After a night of eerie dreams, you’re relieved to see the familiar dawn light flood your camp.
Posted
In The Room Downstairs She Sat And Stared
A break-up mix. I’ve never made one of these before. I hope I never do again.
Posted
The Ruined Fortress
I didn’t make an end-of-year mix in 2014, so I’m catching up. With two years of great music to draw on, I’m planning to make two or three mixes – this is the first. Here you’ll find modern classical, ambient, dub-techno, and some ethereal indie. Enjoy.
Posted
Which One’s Pink?
A Pink Floyd inspired mix — music that reminds me of their classic mid-period circa 1970-77. (I’m aware there are bands that sound much more like Floyd than these, but they’re not favorites of mine, and I’m choosing the music here, OK?)
Posted
Dreamland
Another in a long series of birthday mixes for my sister. I asked her for a theme, and she came up with “ambient trip-hop” … so this is my idea of that. Cover photo by Achariya Rezak
Posted
Seoul Power
24 K-Pop super-dynamic hit explosions!
Posted
Everyone Squeaks Gently
Three hours of soft music for a cuddle party or a chill-out room or just a quiet evening at home.
Posted
Breathing Lessons
An introductory overload of gorgeously heart-rending modern-classical/ambient music, made for a friend.
Posted
Ground Fault Interrupt
Tangly and thorny prog/math/metal/hardcore … a sequel to Ground Hum. But I promise there are no Cookie Monster vocals. [Warning: This mix is too long to fit on a CD. Sorry! I couldn’t bear to cut any of the tracks.] Cover photo by Naomi Morlan.
Posted