My fresh new ink. A cassette tape reading “Love is...

My fresh new ink. A cassette tape reading “Love is a Mix Tape” with chewed tape filament linking to my other pieces.

Nowadays the concept of sharing music is just clicks and drags from hard drives to iPods. Where the idea of getting music is just downloading and nabbing it from friends, which is all well and good, but it’s no longer personable.

That’s where this tattoo comes into play. I’m a music fanatic, and I love to share it with everyone, as it’s a passion that I can’t deny. And sharing a part of my soul that is music has always appealed to me so much; and the cassette syncs into this feeling perfectly. Ever since I was a young punk I made tapes for all my friends, each side was well thought out for maximum enjoyment and impact. They were decorated in intricate ways and had a humane edge to it that is lost nowadays with our 1’s and 0’s. It was a token of my gratitude to that person, a simple gesture to know that I thought of them highly and that I cared/loved them. I made mix tapes for everyone, for family members, for girls, for pals, for co-workers, for school friends and for myself. Each mix-tape was unique and perfect in its own way. The tape was like a small section of my soul for each and every person to take with them and have.

It only felt like I really believed this mentality entirely until I received my first mix-tape from my soul mate (I swung from the romantic idea to just full blown love of the cassette), and that was when I fell head over heels for the format I devoted so much of my life to. It really made sense to offer such a gesture.

Sure the audio format of cassette’s is totally inferior to the formats we have nowadays, but the feeling you get from receiving a mix-tape from someone who spent time putting it together is just amazing. A feeling that can’t be matched. Like falling in love, if you will. So, I am choosing not to forget the format that is simple, unique and amazing. Love truly is a mix tape.

Thanks to Mimi at Inner Vision Tattoo Sydney for this sterling work, I hope you enjoyed the tape I made for you.

- Missing Heart?