Sounds of the city: ‘Dear Summer mixtape vol. 2’ features 17 local artists
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Summer in Boston sounds like the splash of water in the Boston Common Frog Pond, the roar of Red Sox fans belting out “Sweet Caroline” and the rush of bike pedals pumping through Franklin Park. On the city of Boston’s “Dear Summer Mixtape Vol. 2,” the season also sounds like the nimble rhythms of jazz, the beats of R&B and the catchy melodies of pop.
This is the second year the City of Boston has produced a mixtape, and volume two features 17 local artists and six local DJs. The artists represent a wide range of musical styles and neighborhoods, with musicians coming from Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury as well as Brighton, Cambridge and the South End. This year’s mix also features a few artists that work farther out, in places like Worcester and New Bedford, but who contribute regularly to the Boston scene.
IMAGE: CITY OF BOSTON
“Boston is a booming art city, and the New England region as a whole is so slept on,” says DJ Knszwrth, based in Dorchester. “It’s fulfilling to have leadership that amplifies the reach of local talent and deepens their roots in a unique way. It’s my new favorite tradition.”
John Borders IV, co-executive producer and the city’s director of tourism, sports and entertainment, spearheaded and produced the project with Chimel “ReaL P” Idiokitas, co-executive producer and curator of the mixtape. This album features a whole new set of artists from last year, with the goal of representing as many different talents as possible.
The mix serves multiple purposes. It provides exposure to local artists, gives the Boston community another way to celebrate local culture and, hopefully, encourages musical talent to stay in the city. Though other cities have put together local-artist playlists, having a fully produced mix, Borders says, is completely unique.
“You can’t look and find another municipality that is leveraging their platform to amplify the voice of local artists the way we are,” says Borders. “This is what our city sounds like.”
John Borders IV, director of tourism, sports and entertainment for the City of Boston. PHOTO: Courtesy City of Boston
The mixtape features artists Amandi Music, CD Rose, Clark D, June Jissle and Heyssis, Blue Light Bandits, Julia Chisholm, Leo the Kind, Najee Janey, Pat Loomis, Uche Malik, Nay $peaks, Caliph, Fabiola Mendez, Jill McCracken, Neemz, Sança and Zola Simone. DJs Cammy V, Knszwrth, L’Duke, Mez, Prince and Guru Sanaal mixed the tape.
The full mix is available on SoundCloud and a playlist of the songs can be found on Spotify and Apple Music.
Borders says some of the songs were preexisting and some were made specifically for this mix. Many of them refer to Boston or locations in the city. You’ll also hear shoutouts from 15 different Boston personalities, from Mayor Wu to former Boston Celtics player Brian Scalabrine and Coach Beefy of the Dorchester Eagles.
New to the project this year will be a large-scale live concert highlighting the artists on the volume 1 and 2 tapes. Currently slated for Sept. 7, with more details to be announced, this free, community-centric concert will bring the local beats out of listeners’ headphones and onto the stage.
Idiokitas says, “My goal as a DJ, producer and contributor to the music scene in Boston has always been to crack the door open for other artists and DJs and let light shine through. I hope that many of them can stay and thrive as creatives here in Boston and garner momentum for projects that they may have in the pipeline.”
