Look, I know we don’t know each other too well. And maybe this is a little forward, but I made you something. It’s a mixtape. Can you dig it?

Now I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. I love to share music but I think the last time I made a playlist for someone was in the 7th grade. And don’t even get me started on all the mixtapes I’ve promised and never delivered (sorry Catherine).

Well, no more. Starting from today, I’m going to start posting mixtapes here on a frequent basis. They’ll feature my favorite songs of the moment, songs that I think you’ll dig too.

This first mixtape features 11 songs that became the soundtrack to my life here in Medellín, Colombia. Let me know what you think. And if you like it, make me a mixtape back.

From Medellín with Love

Download the entire mixtape here.
(Right click and “Save link as…” to download individual songs)

1. Anthem – God of Joy (Dionysus)

Now this song is how you get a morning started. I already loved the original Bag Raiders track but Anthem brings this energetic vibe that gives the song a whole new spin. And yes, he really did drop an Entourage reference and yes, I liked it.

2. Fortune Family – Take Me Away

I’ve never been a huge fan of the chipmunk-style sped-up samples (thanks Kanye), but as soon as the beat drops on this, I’m nodding my head too hard to even care.

The sun was already up, I was barely awake, and my voice had given up on me – but I was still grinning from ear to ear as I hit the “upload” button. It was 6am, February 28th, and I had officially completed my insane 28 Day Song Challenge.

I’ve never made a song before. Never played with Logic Pro. Hell, I even had issues about showing others my creative work. But here we are, 28 days and 28 songs later. It was definitely one of the toughest months in recent memory – trying to move out of an apartment, finish two video projects, letting my health and social life down a hole, all while posting up a song a day. But this has been of my proudest and most rewarding months ever: it threw music back into my life 100%, taught me tons about songwriting and beat production, proved to myself that I still got that willpower, and got me creatively engaged in a way that I haven’t felt in over 8 years!

You can check out all the songs on my Youtube channel and although they’re not all winners, just know that those songs represent a monumental month in my life. And without further ado, let me share some of the things I learned in that month: