Welcome to the very first #EUMixtapes, a new series for EU Jacksonville. These weekly music mixes come from Ricky and Morgan, who after years of trading mixes between ourselves, are very excited to have the opportunity to invite some other to join in our exchange. While the term ‘mixtape’ is probably verifiable retro today and that we no longer are trading mixes between each other on burnt CDs with hand drawn CD covers, we still find some magic in a carefully crafted mix done with attention and a true sense of responsibility. This time, we’ll be sharing them through Spotify, but keeping with tradition, we will try to keep the mixes associated to a common theme, although to understand the theme, some creativity will surely be necessary. Also, as all good mixtapes, we have crafted them to be played in order, so we encourage you to turn off your shuffle function for the first (and hopefully not last) listen. We hope you enjoy!

Side 1: The Belgian Mix

To inaugurate our mixtape series, I thought it would only be appropriate to make one that introduced myself a bit, which is why I bring you Mix 1: The Belgian Mixtape. Despite writing for EU jacksonville for over ten years now, in July I decided that one EU in my life was not enough, and now I find myself living and working in Brussels, Belgium, the home of the other EU, the European Union.

So this mix is a curated selection of music from Belgium, best enjoyed with all things Belgian- decadent chocolate, fries with mayonnaise*, and a strong beer (Tripel Westmalle is a personal favorite). Belgium is divided into distinct regions, the French speaking Wallonia and Dutch speaking Flanders, which is why you will hear a mix of English, French and Dutch in this mix. Don’t let that scare you, it’s really better than you think!

*I know that it’s near treason as an American to enjoy mayonnaise on fries, but I would like to remind all Jacksonvillians that Ranch, a widely accepted dip for fries, is basically just mayo with some spices.

– Morgan Henley || Follow Morgan on Twitter

Side 2: The Florida Mix

Over the past eight years I’ve driven to and from Jacksonville and South Florida over 200 times. That’s roughly over 120,000 miles, 1,600 hours, or 67 days in a car. That’s a lot of time to listen to music. Although I currently reside in south Florida, I am back in Jacksonville almost every other week. From the beach to the swamp, Florida is a weird, beautiful place, which makes it a great incubator for all kinds of musicians. There’s punk, hiphop, surf rock, electronic, hardcore, Latin, southern rock, jazz, and anything else you can imagine. Mix 1: The Florida Mixtape is a combination of artists from Jacksonville and south Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach). These are obviously some personal favorites, but I believe these musicians embody the spirit of Florida and reflect the wide range of styles the sunshine state has to offer. This mix won’t last the the whole way down to south Florida from Jacksonville, but it will get you started as introductory course to the state’s music.

– Ricardo Maldonado || aka Rix Rex