Diggin' in the Tapes - Mega Mix Pt. 2 "Freestyle" (circa 1991)

Roman Cortez

Follow Member since Mar. 2012

I finally converted some of my old school mix tapes from the 80's & 90's. This one's circa 1991. I had just bought a Fostex 4-track V-26 recorder (saved up $400 from working at DJ's Clothing at the mall) and this was the first mix I recorded with it. Please note that this was before I realized you didn't have to lay down one long linear track. I found out later that you could record slowly in increments. And I mistakenly recorded everything in either "left/right track only," hence the mono sound with a plethora of hiss. C'mon, I was just 18 years old, so what do you expect?

My major influence at the time was the infamous bay area DJ, Cameron Paul. My friend's cousin would bring back mixes he recorded from San Francisco radio down to the SoCal suburbs. This was my only window to a whole other world. I grew up in Rancho Cucamonga… what did I know about hip hop?

If you were a DJ back in the 80's you'll notice some of the mixes I stole. Yeah, I'll say it. There were so many mix tapes back in the day and I was strongly influenced by all of them, and in the end, I ended up putting my own "spin" on them. Eat it.

Later in life, I discovered that mixing music was just like editing movies (my other passion). It's all about layering and adding the correct element at the right place and right time - Timing's everything. So, see, all those times I ditched high school and sat in my bedroom dj'ing wasn't a waste of time. It actually prepped me for my future. Take that, Mr. Sanchez (my high school teacher who said I'd amount to nothing).

Vinyl forever. Rock on.

-Roman

p.s. I lost about 90% of these records in a fire in 1993. Awesome. =p

4 Comments

1. 

   A moment ago
2. 
   Pro-Style Sound

   RC, thanks for posting. Luv it.

   1 year ago
3. 
   DJM3 Mystical Attractions

   Straight down memory lane...thanks for sharing Roman!

   1 year ago
4. 
   twonnie

   Oh yeah. I remember those. Brought back some great memories!!

   1 year ago
5. 
   ranger78

   hell ya!!!

   1 year ago

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