_Seasonal mixtapes

(winter | spring | summer | autumn)

Making seasonal mixtapes is my personal project for 2026. Between work, my masters and buying a new house, 2025 was one of the busiest and most music-less years I've ever had. I really think that was reflected in my mental health.

Into my 20s, I was really into finding new music, going to shows, and making mixtapes, minidiscs, and CDs. I used to be part of a private Twee Pop torrent tracker, and found so many cool bands that way. I would hear new songs on radio: the CBC (Tom Power's Deep Roots - RIP), the local university station, and lots of web radio. My friends and I would listen to our newest CDs in the car while we drove around bored. Without waxing on with more nostalgia - my ears were a lot more open to new sounds. Finding a new song that I find beautiful is one of my favourite experiences - the feeling of being moved by a piece of art. I haven't felt that much in the past few years.

When I listen to more music, I play more music. Last year I said, a not insignificant number of times, that "playing music is one of my favourite things, and the first thing that falls off my calendar." I'm sure everyone has something like that - a hobby that brings so much joy, but gets lost in the milieu of mature life. I don't want that; I want to start protecting my hobbies as sacred. I want to listen more. I want to actively seek out new inspiration, so that I want to play guitar. I want to jam with my friends.

This year, I'm trying to set the conditions that invite all of this back into my life - and I'm starting with a mixtape.