Welcome to The Mixtape, our periodic playlist showcasing the musicians of the Fediverse! For this edition, we ran a poll for our followers to determine which theme to go with. It was close, but Space Vibes ultimately won. Sorry, Canned Nostalgia, I was rooting for you. 😞

Anyway, now we have to commit to it. Here’s a list of tracks that feel vaguely space-themed. We highly encourage you to give each track a listen. If you like it, please buy it (where applicable), and give the artist a follow!

“Codex Nimbus” – Jefftheworld

Jefftheworld is a chiptune musician from Toronto. I’ll be honest, when I first heard Codex Nimbus, I thought I was listening to the FTL soundtrack. It’s a bouncy track, with a sense of adventure and travel, which makes it a perfect start for this list.

“Pattern Machine” – Frequency Control Centre

A quiet, calm traversal theme. A cargo ship glides silently across a solar system, on a long journey to a mining quarry on a distant, dusty planet. Sunlight hits an asteroid belt below as the craft sails.

“oyster” – exodrifter

An intriguing cascade of downward patterns and kaleidoscopic spikes. There’s something out there, but the sensors aren’t picking anything up. But, your crewmate thinks he sees something.

“Spaced Out” – Fugue State

A battle. A confrontation. A chase. Two forces are battling for their lives, one of which is attempting to flee. The big guns are coming out. Missiles are locked. But the pursuant never expected their target to be an ace pilot.

“Solemnity” – Default Media Transmitter

The vibe I get from Solemnity is a ship in distress. The engine has shut down, the craft is caught in the orbit of a gas giant, and an unknown ship is flying closer and closer in the distance. It’s up to a team of grim-faced engineers to get things going.

“Gemini Sunrise” – KVR

NASA by way of 80’s Saturday Cartoon Groove. A team of explorers band together, buckle down, and start fixing their broken systems. It’s a lot of sweating, but together, the team might just make it out!

“We Don’t Know What Hit Us” – Julian Heuser

Can you hear it? The enemy armada is planning to strike! Massive, twisted cruisers of thorns and metal roar as thousands of strike jets fly out of the carriers, unleashing havoc on the asteroid colony.

“Join the Circus, You Cowards,” – Cyborg Philharmonic

There’s something ethereal and emotional and deeply affecting in this track. For all of the chunky, robotic, synthetic layers echoing through the melody, there’s something deeply human reaching out of it. This is beautiful.

“Strange Universe” – THALREX

A hero catches the sunrise in their battered ship, floating through the cosmos after an epic battle. Tired, beaten, but still alive, they take a moment to contemplate the beauty of their surroundings.

“The Space Between The Sea and The Sky” – Key 13

While the “space” being talked about is quite a reach, we have a quiet, melancholy coda to close out the playlist. Rain, chimes, seagulls decorate the scenery as soft electronic tones weave in and out, and bubble over. An orchestra kicks in, as an old hero finds their motivation again.

Thanks so much for checking out this Mixtape! All of these tracks can be heard on Radio Free Fedi, an outstanding public service dedicated to exclusively promoting the music and artists of the Fediverse through several continuous live streams.