“Admittedly, the mixtape was a little before my time, but I think it’s fair to say the spirit of the mixtape transcends its initial physical form. When I was old enough to be interested in music other than Disney movie tunes and nursery rhymes, my mom’s friend Tracie would burn CDs with all kinds of music for my brother and me: Elvis, Shania Twain, Johnny Cash, Black Eyed Peas, and more. These mixes opened up new worlds and introduced me to so many genres that I’m grateful to have gained an appreciation for at a young age. 

 It wasn’t long after that until I had my first iPod (a hot pink iPod nano that I wish I never got rid of), and the method of accessing and sharing music would be totally reinvented. But the mixtape lives on. When my partner and I first started going out, I remember sneaking a peek at his Spotify playlists to see a private one full of songs I showed him and feeling so comforted knowing that we understood each other on some unspoken level. The mixtape—and its successor, the playlist—is a testament to music’s ability to connect us, which is why we’ve compiled a mixtape with songs from eight local artists across genres for The Walleye’s annual music issue. 

Mixtapes tell a story; whether you’re curating the perfect mix to sit with your feelings or tell someone how you feel, the music fills in what can be difficult to convey in words. This time around, we’re taking you beyond the pages of this issue to our own playlist (scan the QR code in the cover story) to directly connect you with some of the talent that colours our community. Press play and enjoy! “

 -Sidney Ulakovic