A Mixtape Interview with Johannes Göthager.

1. What has made you interested in mixtapes?
I suppose what interests me mostly is that it's a mix of music that someone has put their heart into, since there's no real quick way of making a great mixtape. The feeling of exclusivity that you get when someone gives you a mixtape that they've made for you and only you is fantastic.
It works the other way around as well too, I love making mixtapes for friends since it's very challenging to try to figure out where the music tastes of me and the friend i'm making the tape for collides. There's no use making a tape with songs that you don't personally like, those tapes never get any good.
The challenge of creating a concept of the songs you've picked out for the tape is maybe the most interesting to me. I've noticed that in the making of a mixtape you get to know your own record collection much better, you find songs that you've forgotten or find lyrics that you didn't pay much attention to before. The lyrics get really important when you're in search of a concept! 

2. Why do u prefer mixtapes as a medium?
I like mixtapes since not only does it include picking out great music, there's also the making of the artwork on the cassette cover, and the artwork on the cassette itself. There are so many levels of creativity and art in a mixtape. I like that it takes time to make one, that you have to record every song in real time and try to make as smooth transitions from each song in to the next one. And if you want to listen to a cassette, you have to do it in a cassette player. There's no easy way of putting a tape mix into an mp3-player just to make it more accessible. A lot of people might see this as something bad, but i believe that the concept of the mixtape would get totally lost if you didn't have to carry the tape with you when you listen to the music. It also looks extremely cool to have a mixtape sticking out of your back pocket.
In comparison, a cd-mix is much less interesting. You can make one in a minute, compiling 20 random tracks from your computer onto the cd. And you can be pretty sure that the one recieving the mix will just import the songs into their own computer or mp3-player, and the physical product suddenly gets completely unneccesary. 

3. Who would u like to receive a mixtape from and why?
I always like to receive tapes, no matter who makes them... But I guess if I could choose one, I would say that it would be amazing to receive a mixtape from the Residents. It's my favourite band, and I believe that they could make a mixtape concept that would be completely unexpected, much like the music they make. I want to be surprised when I receive a tape. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samlesavage/