From Me To You, Kelly Finnigan, Cassette

Kelly made you a mixtape. It's an eclectic mix of ideas, recorded and produced at Transistor Sound Studio in Marin County, California. "I want to share what I've been working on," Kelly explained. "It's not a proper album, and it doesn't have the same vibe all throughout. It's a collection of different ideas, which is how I used to share the music I loved with my friends." About half of the songs represent his influence directly from hip-hop, crate digging, record collecting and the art of sampling. The original beat-driven drums and looping melodies provide the backdrop for future emcees to record over. "When I first decided that I wanted to make my own music, it was with drum machines and samplers," Kelly shared. "I've always been inspired by the sounds on hip-hop records. That's where my musical aspirations began." He points to DJ Premier, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, J Dilla, Madlib, The Alchemist, DJ Muggs & Large Professor. Fans of Kelly's previous work know that he's capable of creating the kind of classic records that are often the subject of sampling. "Leave You Alone is a straight-up soul song. I love it as is, but I would love for someone to make a beat out of it," he explained. Thom's Hartbreak is an homage to The Delfonics and Thom Bell, who shaped the Philly soul scene in the late 60's. My Love Is For You sounds like a lost gem from Norman Whiteside. The mixtape also features instrumental versions of his known b-sides Trouble and It's Not That Easy and a soul stirring acoustic version of Impressions of You, which was originally released on Kelly's debut LP The Tales People Tell in 2019. Kelly is working with Colemine Records to release the mixtape exclusively on cassette. "Owning a physical copy of a song and using a specific piece of equipment to hear it - that was a huge part of my musical upbringing. This is a selection of different songs on a tape. It's how I want people to experience it."