Art of the Mixtape: The Fragment in Itself - Intro+Explain

			INTRODUCTION

This Mixtape is introduced by Charles Bukowski and his very pessimistic, metaphorical view of love:

Love? It's kinda like, you know... I see a fog in the morning when you wake up before the sun comes out... it's just for a little while and then it burns away. [...] Love is a fog... it burns with the first daylight of reality.

This image was driving me nuts and so I began the never ending* odyssey to find this love again. I believe there are times when it is exactly like Bukowski described, but in the end the sun is not the reason our love is disappearing… no, it’s quite the opposite. The whole Mix is somehow cinematically (Film Noir-esque) built around this short intro and the image which Bukowski transplanted in my inner eye. It's not only the search for love and peace in general, but also the very intimate, individual love and of course the fight for meaning. It’s about taking the wrong and right turns, self-reflection, dreaming, escapism mixed together with some philosophical digression, which I hope hits you in the feels.

Side A is more like a DJ-Mix with recent finds and some older classics, whereas the first half of Side B tries to be more traditional Mixtape-esque and shows my softer, dreamier side. I also wanna add that I play a lot with song titles and their intended mood/feeling since some of them are just instrumental compositions, especially on Side B.
I recorded the whole Mix onto Cassette and sent it to the Dimension Crew. On the booklet I also added this short poem by Ian Hamilton, which meanders along with the Mix:

	Awakening
	Your head, so sick, is leaning against mine,
	So sensible. You can't remember
	Why you're here, nor do you recognize
	These helping hands.
	My love,
	The world encircles us. We're losing ground.

In this 2 hours I really try hard to paint you a picture/fragment of my current state of mind with some sort of a fictional story. I wanted to create something that hopefully remains with you for some time and I would love if you give it a try. But hey, I talk way too much. Best of luck to all participants. I had tons of fun doing this and I am sure you had too..


			*FURTHER EXPLANATION [contains Spoilers]

There is probably nothing worse than explaining your own Mixtape, but I’ve reached some kinda nerdy level in the process of considering a concept behind it that I have to explain at least my ending Track (Nietzsche – Das Fragment an sich) to understand this Mixtape as a whole:
							Recommended to read while actually listening to the ending track
						[CONTAINS SPOILERS, but necessary to understand the mixtape as a whole]

The fragmentary is emphasized by the fact that the piece has no end in harmony, and that the double-layer is also missing at the end of each composition. Instead there is "da capo, con malinconia", which means the performer can repeat the piece "ad libitum". Thus the fragment could be repeated into eternity. It loops upon itself, which is also the reason why I choose the Moebius strip on the front cover. It is non-orientable: one cannot distinguish between below and above or between, inside and outside.
The most stunning "Trivia" for me about this piece of music is that the idea of eternal reformation (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft/Also sprach Zarathustra) was expressed artistically long before its philosophical formulation (ca. 11 years). This would indicate how much Nietzsche was an artist, too, he had thought out of the spirit of art. Even tho I am not really deep into classical music; this musical piece with its "Trivia" behind it just amazed me. Obviously, for me there is also the fact that it fits perfectly as a closing Track: It could be repeated endless times, but the tape just ends. So where the medium has its own boundaries, yourself it is, who can fill it with your own individual ending.
So what I want to suggest here is kinda like an open-end, which raises questions like:
Are we prisoned/lost in this endless loop of this fragment? Are we still dreaming? Are we trapped within our own thoughts? Is it a dream, a memory, a mentally self-written story; something I read and then dreamt about?
Who in the end, despite all strain, is strong enough to keep dreaming, living without fear and embracing the future?


P.S. At Dimensions I am sure I would find this love again.. when love becomes the sun and not the fog. That's when I wish to wake up :-)

Much Love,
Simon