A Mix-Tape for Gus – Analysis

A Mix-Tape for Gus is a segment for BBC Radio 4 in which composer Emily Levy goes through some mix-tapes that her brother left her before he died. Emily states ‘It’s about his eclectic music collection and how he and I exchanged musical loves from childhood onwards, as he did with all who knew him, and how much this legacy has influenced and inspired me’ (emilylevy.co.uk). 

The tone of this is very soothing and sombre. ‘The average age of the Radio 4 listener is 56 years old and skews towards an older audience.’ (The BBC Radio 4 Audience). This segment fits perfectly with that statistic as it is a very easy listening piece with old school music on it which the older audience are more likely to know. In addition, it is based around mix tapes which is a very nostalgic item for the older audience.

I like that this documentary is soothing to listen to. It is a very delicate subject, so she is speaking softly about it which makes it easy to listen to. I like that she gave memories between songs so that it relays to the audience how dear her brother was to her. The fact that some of Gus’ closest friends were on the segment too talking to her adds life to Gus as they all come together to reflect on him.

I felt that parts of the piece were perhaps a bit quiet which was most likely due to post production. But I feel the focus was more on the music so it didn’t bother me too much, in addition, as I stated before, it is a very relaxed and chilled piece so it almost blended in so, again, didn’t bother me.

References

Emily Levy. (2014). ‘A MIX-TAPE FOR GUS’ MUSIC DOCUMENTARY.Available: http://emilylevy.co.uk/news/mix-tape-gus-music-documentary. Last accessed 10th feb 2018.

BBC . (.). The BBC Radio 4 Audience. Available: https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio/commissioning/R4_44_Minute_Drama_Audience_Pack.pdf. Last accessed 10th feb 2018.