Long live the 'Mixtape'

What is a 'Mixtape'?

Today, the term 'Mixtape' doesn't mean what it used to. It's often used as a term to describe an album including mashups of other songs or self produced tracks used to market an upcoming artist. However, if you were born before the 90s, a mixtape is something completely different.

A mixtape was something special, something that could take hours to produce and one of the most romantic gifts you could receive as a teenager. Mixtapes were simply a compilation of songs recorded from the radio or another tape. Curating these tapes took skill, particularly in a world where there was no stop or rewind on the radio. Many tape players had no rewind, meaning you would have to flip the tape and fast forward, guessing where the right place would be. Mixtape makers would sit poised next to the radio waiting for their track to come on, ready to hit record, or would spend hours trawling through tapes to find the perfect tracks to add to their mixtape collection. It was an epic task and an art.

Where is the love?

Today creating a playlist of your favourite tracks is easy. With Apple Music and Spotify, you can make the equivalent of a mixtape in minutes. Whilst the sentiment of the songs is still there, that effort, that time and dedication is gone. In making the creation of effectively a digital mixtape easier, we have taken a bit of the love away.

The modern day 'Mixtape'

The spirit of the mixtape lives on in personalised music gifts — from keyrings to plaques engraved with a QR code linking to a playlist of your choice. Scan the code and the playlist plays, turning a wooden keepsake into a gift of music.

If you'd like a personalised gift with a story behind it, browse our romantic gifts collection or see our full range of personalised wooden signs.

Tell us what would be on your perfect 'Mixtape'.

Pete, Cherry Grove Craft