Mike Fiz’ Audio Popoff Tag

13 Dec

Posted at 23:51h in archive by

swing season Front

With Christmas and New Year’s right around the corner, what better timing for Mike’s Swing Season Pop Off.

“Remember being a kid and going to all the family reunions? You know, the big reunions that seem to never happen anymore! The ones where both sides of the family would get together. I remember when we would go to my grandparents house on New Year nights. All their brothers and sisters would be there, and back then it was like families of 10-15 (!) with the kids and the grandkids it would end up being some sort of crazy pow wow! 60-70 people in one house, music blasting, people smiling, everyone having have a blast! I remember those days because that was the first time I was exposed to all the classics; Elvis, Jerry lee lewis, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and the list goes on and on. Just like everything that you go through when you’re young, it’s a ‘sponge’ period, like I like to call it, where you absorb everything. The time where without knowing, you are becoming whom you will be later. That period in your life where everything gets registered automatically. Those are the times that come back to haunt you later. As a teen, I was musically closed off to all those classics. I was too occupied in listening to Sick Of It All, and all the other bands on epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords. I remember my uncle pretending to be passed out and playing the Duprees on full blast just too piss us off, that way we would stop listening to NOFX’s ‘I Heard They Suck Live’ tape on loop. We would kind of be into it, but at the same time not really identifying with the music. When I look back on those times I often smile and realize that all those events made it back and look at me now, I’m the one who’s blasting oldies on my turntable at home, pissing off my cats in the process because they don’t seem to enjoy trumpets, or the sax! Those soul/rock/oldie classics have made a crazy uproar lately. Everyone from the vinyl collectors to people editing video parts are using songs that were written over 50 years ago. This is the reason I made this little mix, I’m just going with the flow!
Hope you like it and maybe you’ll discover some new gems, or hear tunes you remember from those family reunions! Blast it on the stereo when you visit your grandparents, maybe you’ll get them to POP OFF! Enjoy!
– Mike

( use the regular download)

02 Nov

Posted at 21:01h in archive by

With daylight saving time ending tonight, what better time to launch Mike Fiz’s night drive mix. We all have a few months of darkness ahead of us, so why not have Mike’s night drive mix blasting to keep us awake. Check out a track list after the jump.

Embassy Night Drive Mix:

The title of this mix has a lot of different meanings to it. One can directly get some sort of idea from the opening track, which is taken from the movie “Drive”. I guess Drive can be in part responsible for this collection of tracks, because the feeling of that movie is sort of mesmerizing, in the sense that throughout the movie a lot of emphasis is put on the mood/feel of things. This gets me to what exactly inspired me to make this mix. In early August, my girlfriend and I took a trip to new York. As usual, we took the night bus and slept through the trip. I can usually sleep from the Canadian boarder to Albany, then Albany to just about hitting the turnpike leading to the Lincoln Tunnel. I always sit on the left side of the bus, just so I can get a glimpse of the Manhattan skyline as the sun rises. Maybe it’s just me but I am always amazed, falling asleep in one of the most depressing towns in New York state, where there is always some sort of fog, and then waking up to see the skyline to what was once the world’s biggest city.

New York is a pretty crazy city. Everyone who’s been knows how crazy it can get, yet when you get there at 5 in the morning, yes… there is still quite a bit of people wandering around, but the city is almost empty. It’s almost like you’re walking around in a forest of concrete. Anyways I’ll get back to the point. This time around I was unable to get a night sleep, so this mix is directly influenced by that night drive. Going in and out of the Appalachian Mountains, in and out of fog, one second we could barely see a foot in front of us then the other the moon was just staring at you, like it was there to give you company. All in all it was a pretty epic drive, that combined with me listening to Shlohmo’s BBC mix on loop is what brought me into putting this together.

I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed that drive

(note: both covers are taken from the disposable camera we had on hand that week)

– Mike

DOWNLOAD NIGHT DRIVE HERE.

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09 Oct

Posted at 19:26h in archive by

“Hello once again! I usually have some sort of story to tell when it comes to everything, I guess I’m some sort of inner nerd or something. I mean, I’m the type of person who will pick a spot because of the colour of the wall etc. Always thinking everything out, maybe it’s some sort of aesthetic OCD that I’m unaware of. Just like my constant quest to find the holy grail of flannel. My mind is as fucked as getting in to downtown Toronto in rush hour! From hating my tattoos one day, to loving them the next, hating my clips then coming back to realize they are not that bad, I’m always in a constant struggle when it comes to stuff I create or decide to do. I’m elaborating on this, because every time I make these mixes, I end up hating them by the end. Is that a good thing? Some may say it is but it’s pretty damn annoying. This is one of these mixes, I’m not too fond of it anymore but hell, I’ll let you guys judge for yourselves by clicking HERE. Enjoy!”
– Mike Fiz

10 Jul

Posted at 00:16h in archive by

From Mike Fiz’ living room to yours, another amazing Audio Popoff.

“Here’s the new mix, it’s mainly hip hop and instrumentals that focus around soul sampling. I guess it’s what Ive been into lately since I keep on buying soul and blues albums for my turntable and I love all that ambient Clams Casino-ish stuff thats been coming out. Anyways, I’m working on another one which is going to be more dark post punk/indie rock. Should be good. I hope you enjoy this one!”
– Mike Fiz

Click HERE to download. Check out the back cover graphic/track list after the jump.

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14 Jun

Posted at 00:01h in archive by
“Summer has officially come to us , no more hibernation and seasonal depression, it’s time to get out and make the most of our life. As seasons change so do musical preferences, so for this round I’ve decided to take a leap out of my usual paradigm. I wanted to play around with some stuff I wouldn’t usually deal with, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of old soul, Motown and a bunch of other oldies. Reason why this mix is not really like what I usually do, I’ve tried to incorperate some old stuff as well as some new tracks, keeping in mind my funk an soul concept, anyways ill cut this short hope you enjoy!!!”
Mike Fiz

05 May

Posted at 00:11h in archive by

“hi everyone! I feel like I’ve been living under a rock for the past couple months! Monday night, after watching the elections, I was actually at a godspeed you, black emperor! concert, seeing the conservatives take over the Majority here in Canada, I kinda felt concerned.  I mean, watching these men ramble on about what they will do and how they will make our future shine, and then once they are in power nothing really happens. I kinda felt like I did that with my music posts on here. I mean im not stealing your money and using it for things that should not be a priority but anyways. Like Steven Harper, I don’t want to go into details about why and stuff, but in my case let’s just say that sometimes life kicks you in the face and it takes a little while to get back up. Anyways, I put together some tracks that are in the mood of this spring here in montreal, slow to start but here to stay! OK, I’ll shut up, here’s the link and the track list”

Read on

22 Feb

Posted at 07:15h in archive by

“For the second instalment of my audio pop off I decided to give you an insight into what I’m actually into these days. Considering that it’s winter, most of us are stuck in subzero temperatures with the only option to ride a packed indoor skatepark or even having no option of riding whatsoever. So we tend to be less active and basically hibernate, thats why this winter I’ve been mostly into dreamy tracks that let you drift off to that place where you’re cruising the streets and sipping a couple brews with friends! Then you look out the window and your Barbecue is under 3 feet of snow…… but thats the harsh reality of things!

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