Welcome to Mixed Tape Music, the new home base of our free download compilation. After eight thrilling years with almost 550 songs on 43 Mixed Tape editions, 13 volumes of fresh video clips on the Mixed Tape Music Magazine and more than 200 articles on our Mixed Tape blog, we’re still hungry for new music and the persistent advancement of Mixed Tape.

Hence we’ve been operating at full stretch to incorporate Mixed Tape into the mb! Magazine. Today is the day: on the occasion of the official launch of our revamped website we are happy to present the improved appearance and the first entertaining articles. While we are going to stick to the established Mixed Tape merits like exploring and supporting new artists and supplying free download compilations every eight weeks, we are going to improve our range with more in-depth features about interesting music phenomena like loop pedals and endearing underground celebs like the Canadian producer, songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Mocky.

Mocky’s something like an old acquaintance and he’s been a steady companion of Mixed Tape through the last years. He dropped his debut album In Mesopotamia back in 2003. We introduced the Mixed Tape series in 2004 and in the same year our paths crossed for the first time, when Mocky’s song How Will I Know You from his sophomore LP Are + Be was featured on our Mixed Tape 03. While Mocky continued to release two more albums of his own, write and produce songs for artists like Feist, Gonzales, Jamie Lidell, Nikka Costa and many others, Mixed Tape became one of the prime sources for free music of up-and-coming talents, covering a wide variety of genres - from soul and indie to electronica and beyond.

Our Mixed Tape artists have made it to the top of the charts (Wagner Love in Japan, Fat Freddy’s Drop in New Zealand and Bev Lee Harling - as part of the Mediaeval Babes - in the UK), received prestigious awards and nominations, from Latin Grammys to MTV awards, produced songs and remixes for global icons like Nelly Furtado or Destiny’s Child and crafted soundtracks for movies, games and TV spots. Not to mention a steady stream of recording contracts for participating artists, averaging out at one per Mixed Tape!

In 2011 Mocky relocated from his long-time home Berlin to Los Angeles, where he’s currently working on his forthcoming album. When he leaked two songs from that album, we featured him on the Mixed Tape blog. Arising from this feature we got in touch with Mocky and decided to visit him in Los Angeles and dive into the out of the ordinary world of this musical jack of all trades.

Kicking off the day with a decent croissant and coffees at Figaro Bistro in Vermont Avenue we then head to famous Griffith Park with its miles of hiking territory and spectacular views over the city. Mocky, who likes the outdoor space for early morning song writing sessions, is accompanied by camera man Keith Megna (who has worked with Beck, Nikka Costa and Feist) and photographer Dalton Blanco, who will also film Mocky’s new video on the following day. As we climb up to the Observatory, Mocky is effortlessly switching between posing, composing, singing and talking without breaking a sweat - a true entertainer. Next, we are driving over to up and coming but still gritty enough Echo Park via hipsterville Silver Lake to pay a visit to the band Daniel Ahearn & The Jones as they practice in a small apartment that we barely all fit into. This duo is as nice as it is talented. We then move on to Dalton’s house tucked away behind Dodger Stadium. It looks like it is not going to survive the next storm but it is actually a fully functional - and quite charming - home to numerous instruments, young people and a cat or two. In the backyard, we find Hilary Gay aka HER who will join us on our next stop - Mocky’s studio where the two record a new song. Back at Mocky’s place in Los Feliz, the day ends with an impromptu session at the piano as it gets dark and the multi-talented artist morphs into the family man that he incidentally is, too - add that to his list of achievements.

See the result of the day in our video above.