Ratatat's Mike Stroud Creates Ultimate Summer Mix -- Exclusive

With summer right around the corner, Ratatat's Mike Stroud was nice enough to compile a 10-song mix tape for Spinner. The compilation is a quick 30 minutes of classic rock, hip-hop and rare grooves that fans would expect from an experienced electro-rock musician. Stroud and partner Evan Mast are no strangers to the mixtape game -- they've self-released the fan favorites 'Ratatat Remix Volume 1' and 'Ratatat Remix Volume 2,' which are hip-hop-oriented mixes that work in a bit of the duo's own music. Since then, Ratatat has been officially commissioned to remix Shout Out Louds, the Knife and Bjork. They've also collaborated with Kid Cudi on his 2009 release, 'Man on the Moon: The End of the Day.'

This exclusive mix starts off with an obscure instrumental called 'I Will Return' from English composer Phil Cordell, who recorded under the name Springwater. "On tour, people told us, 'You sound like this band.' We were like, 'No, we don't,'" Stroud tells Spinner. "But the first time we checked this band, we thought 'we kind of do.' There's tons of layered guitars. It's an instrumental song and it actually went to No. 1 on the radio."

From there, we get the first of two rap offerings, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon's 'The Hilton,' which is followed by the Steve Miller Band classic, 'Serenade.' Other classic tunes include the Kinks' 'Village Green,' classic James Brown soul on 'Try Me' and Queen's 'Dear Friends.' Mixed in with those is the Lawrence, Kan.-based songwriter White Flight, whose song 'Panther' features Ratatat and Syrian musician Omar Souleyman's 'Leh Jani.'

"[Souleyman] managed to release hundreds of different albums," Stroud says. "I bought that record at the Amoeba store in L.A. He plays these super cheap keyboards. We actually ended up getting one of these keyboards because of his influence."

The last song comes from Ratatat's friends the French Kings, who are currently finishing up their debut album. "It's got a crazy vocal style -- really high pitched, sort of Freddie Mercury singing."

Ratatat's new record, 'LP 4,' is out now via XL Recordings. Check out Stroud's mix and the track list below.



1. Springwater -- 'I Will Return'
2. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon -- 'The Hilton'
3. The Steve Miller Band -- 'Serenade'
4. White Flight -- 'Panther'
5. The Kinks -- 'Village Green'
6. James Brown -- 'Try Me'
7. Omar Souleyman -- 'Leh Jani'
8. Slim Thug -- ' Like A Boss'
9. Queen -- ' Dear Friends'
10. The French Kings -- 'French Kings'