At Mailtape, we sometimes assume we’re a bit old-fashioned, from the generation of Walkmans, those from the 90s, into which we’d put old cassettes, sometimes recorded ourselves. Then came portable CD players (with scratched CDs and those that skipped some parts), and then the first MP3 players. Since then, it’s been a musical orgy. But some of us have kept the spirit of the MP3 player: carefully collecting fabulous tracks, downloading them, and listening to them on our little device, in various contexts, often intimate.
Some of these tracks have stood the test of time. They’re still there, stuck in the player, unable to escape, because they’re too tasty, too precious, too essential… You can’t imagine the joy we feel in bringing them out of obscurity and sharing some of them with you! This is MP3 Nostalgia!
For this episode, Ling, one of our curators, digs deep into his memories.
Growing up in Shanghai, China, Ling received his first SONY MP3 player from his parents on his thirteenth birthday. In the early 2000s, mainstream Chinese music media offered limited exposure to niche sounds, while access to music downloads remained scarce. Yet, somehow, the handful of tracks he managed to load onto that small device would go on to leave a lasting impression, quietly shaping the musical sensibilities that define him as a DJ today.
Curator’s selection
John Adams - The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra)
Ling: ” My earliest introduction to the general idea of western music - not the music genre from western movies, but what Chinese would call any music from western culture in the Asian point of view, was through movie soundtracks. I was a movie fan first before I got into music. For this one, it opened Luca Guadagnino’s Io sono l’amore. I was simply listening to it during the movie and fell in love with its playful yet richly layered orchestral minimalism, without even knowing who John Adams is, or his approaches as a composer, which I became aware of much later on.”
Luis Bacalov - Il Grande Duello (Parte Prima)
Ling: ” Taken from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, another film I adored as a teenager, this track, originally composed for the famous Spaghetti wester film, perfectly accompanies one of my favourite scenes: the animated chapter, The Origin of O-Ren. Speaking of finding a perfect place in a foreign context from the original materials, the eclecticism of many soundtracks that I used to listen to growing up has a big influence of storytelling on my track selections of my DJ sets.”
The Sore Feet Song - Ally Kerr
Ling: ” I watched a lot of animés, so naturally I was equally drawn to their soundtracks. This one opened every episode of Mushishi, a niche animé that blurs boundaries between folklore, nature, and human existence. Hauntingly beautiful stuff. The quiet, meditative yet supernatural atmosphere of the animé made me listen to this title track often when I would walk to school in early mornings… “
Kings Of Convenience, Feist - Know How
Ling: ” I discovered some music blog at some point later in my teenage year (when I lived some emo time of my life) that had a large focus on indie folk stuff, because in those days in China, indie folk had a huge audience. Some hundred of hours of lonely walks on the empty streets in late night Shanghai here. A big shoutout to those anonymous 知音 who shared their resources through uploading all their music to clouds, and made them free to access, pre-streaming age. We are peers wherever you are. Let the music be heard.”
王菲 (Faye Wong) - Eyes On Me
Ling: ” This track had stayed on my MP3 player probably for the longest time - not only because it is Faye Wong’s very few songs recorded in English language, but also because it left an impression on me years before I knew what the song was - when I was only eight, from a DVD that accompanied some random magazine my mom had bought, which complied some music videos. They included this title with some 3D animation which I had no idea at that time that were taken from the PS1 game Final Fantasy VIII. Few years later I came across a cover of the song by Japanese singer Angela Aki, which led me to tracing it back to its origin. It’s a full circle moment.”
王菲 (Faye Wong) - 香奈兒
Ling: ” I have to include a second Faye Wong here - she is such an icon in China in so many ways, even in the whole Southeast Asia. This track is taken from her seventeenth album 寓言(Fable), which took a left turn from her known dream-pop signatures, where she explores more pop/electronic textures. The song has a clear drum & bass influence on the arrangements, which again I had no knowledge about whatsoever, and yet has made another full circle on my music taste these days.”
Dakota Suite - All Your Hopes Gone Cold
Ling: ” Finishing up my memory trip here with a slowcore song from a band that I would listen to over and over again whenever I felt emo (hence the title). The vocalist’s murmuring style makes it hard to understand the lyrics, so I never figured out what the song is really about. Despite the title, the song goes on with a rather hopeful build-up, but only to end disruptively…”
Thank you for tuning in! We are trying out this new format with a recurring theme that allows us to take a nice Sunday walk with our curators, and pay stops at their musical influences. We hope you enjoyed it :)
A big shoutout to Noémie for the beautiful illustration!
Take care, and see you all next week <3
