Contributor
Sam Wass
Musician (Institut Polaire)

Untitled

Creator: Tom
Date: Around 2003 - 2004

I got to know Tom from Leeds in England through a compulsory pen pal program that my primary school was involved in when I was in year seven.

I was probably the only student in my class that managed to maintain a relationship that exceeded more than two letters with our respective match ups though! Tom and I had a common interest that I didnt share with a lot of my friends in Perth at that age, which was that of our parent's record collections. Bands like AC/DC, Motorhead, INXS, The Rolling Stones and artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, were just a few of the things that we had in common, along with an unhealthy obsession with Rod Stewart during his days with The Faces.

From early days in our friendship we began swapping mix tapes with each other. It started off with bands similar to those mentioned above, but as we got older and started to discover music on our own, our compilations began to form themes and we started introducing each other to music that we may not have been exposed to otherwise. Not a lot of my friends in Perth were interested in doing the same at the time, so it was almost like having a close friend that I hadn't actually met to share all of these new things with!

During the eight years of correspondence I have had with Tom we have established a firm friendship through music and have traded hundreds of home made compilations! This one is particularly significant to me because Tom sent it to me around the same time as I first got my license. My car at the time had a little tape player in it and so I encouraged all of my friends to make me mix tapes that I could play in it while I drove them all around, to and from school or to gigs. The one that Tom made me specifically was my favourite! I played it over and over again, it was the first time I had ever come across the bands of Of Montreal, Holopaw, Deerhoof, Death Cab for Cutie, Songs: Ohia or Windsor for the Derby and they all stuck with me as some of my favourite bands to this day!

Because Tom and I had started writing to each other at the age of twelve and up until now, it feels almost like we have grown up together. We have sent each other cd's and tapes full of songs illustrating each others first relationships, break ups, graduations, acheivements and even recordings and demos of our first bands! My friendship with Tom is a classic example of how people can communicate through music, especially through compilations made for one person from another to tell a certain story. We have never actually met each other face to face, but through our years of bonding over music and mixes, we have formed a strong comradery! A mix tape is worth a thousand words!