Carlos de Brito is one of those guys who knows way too much about pop culture in general - and (electronic) music in particular - than it is actually necessary. And even worse: he does so with an assured sense of style, devoid of any kind of know-it-all attitudes. Damn son of a gun.

I first met him on one of those notorious press trips, which in this particular case brought us to Copenhagen. We soon realized that we actually have a lot more in common than just a nasty hangover from an unnecessarily great deal of rounds of Aalborg and Gammel Dansk: we both like to write about music, and - maybe even more important - love to play (fairly) eclectic sets in the mid-sized clubs of this country. Anyway, for our Monday Mixtape series, he’s going back - way back - in order to celebrate mixtape culture in all its analog glory: two sides, both 45 minutes long, done specifically with 7inches only. Enjoy. And better get your trusted Walkman ready.

01 Intro
02 DJH Grudge - Empty With You [White Label / 2009]
03 Ted Pilsner - Hello My Love [7 Inches Of Love / 2009]
04 Beats International - Invasion Of the State Agents [Go! Discs / 1990]
05 2Day & 2 Moro - Rubber Feet [Omniverse / 2003]
06 Dopegems - It's Your Love [Heavenly Sweetness / 2013]
07 Letta Mbulu - What's Wrong With Groovin' [Jazzman / 1967/2000]
08 El Molito - Nice & Easy [7 Inches Of Love / 2009]
09 Veronika Fischer & Band - Kirschblüte [AMIGA / 1975]
10 Bob Chance - Wild, It's Broken [Emotional Rescue / 1973/2012]
11 Jacqueline Taïeb - Le Coeur Au Bout Des Doigts (SJ Re-Edit) [Pépite / 2012]
12 Luke Million - Arnold [Future Classic / 2011]
13 Slumbor Jack - Disco Dragon [7 Inches Of Love / 2010]
14 Kambo Dub Station - Kambo Super Sound [Sex Tags Amfibia / 2012]

“When I was asked to record a mix far away from the house and techno paths I usually follow, I spontaneously decided to dig inside my small, dusty 7 inch collection. Well, collection is a misleading description here, as I actually don't own many singles -- I'd say around 150 -- with lots of ol' crap from my teenage years. It was a little bit of a challenge. 

The good thing was that the small number of 7 inches I could choose from limited the potential selection for the mix, but still allowed a wide range of styles and eras. Finally, I decided to record 2 x 45 minutes mixes; for those who want to copy it on tape, e.g. for their car stereo. That will unlikely be more than one person, I know...

The downside of the format and why I very rarely play any of them out is that they are quite inconvenient for mixing. The needle jumps constantly when cueing, the 7 inch adapters are nowhere to be found, the length of the songs is rather short, etc... 7 inches are divas and hard to handle.

I never thought about it, but it's truly an ambivalent, therefore interesting format: Totally outdated and impractical on the one hand, but on the other hand -- in times of playlist marketing on streaming portals and the downfall of the album -- the focus on one song (and its accompanying B side) is pretty au courant. And of course, 7 inches are way sexier than ephemeral digital files.

However, it's not about the format, it's about the music. Hope you'll enjoy.“ - Carlos de Brito

01 Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin [10 Records / 1989]
02 Eddie C - Golyak [Red Motorbike / 2013]
03 Ennio Morricone - Tema di Mosè (Crazy Baldheads Remix) [Compost / 2003]
04 Quarteto em Cy - Tudo que voce podia ser [Mr Bongo / 1972/2014]
05 Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit [RCA Victor / 1969] 
06 Ted Pilsner - Bad Spray [7 Inches Of Love / 2009]
07 John Barry - Theme From The Deep (Instrumental) [Casablanca Records / 1977]
08 Chic - Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) [Atlantic / 1977]
09 Footprintz - Rush To The Capsule (Ewan Pearson's New Wave Moon Rave Remix) [Turbo / 2012]
10 The Whitest Boy Alive - 24K [Modular / 2007]
11 José González - Smalltown Boy [Peacefrog / 2007]
12 The Smiths - Asleep [Rough Trade / 1985]
13 Petöfi - Hamburg [Parfüm / 1999]
14 Outro

Image © Anne Lüth