Making Space: The Evolving Mixtape in Romania
A Case Study | MediaEd Insights | Music Education Edition | March 2026
Written by Dr. David Gracon
In spring 2024 I served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar conducting a Media Literacy teaching project at Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania — the famed mountainous region that inspired myriad Dracula mythologies. I was eager to integrate ideas from the media literacy classroom into the local community, especially doing alternative/independent media projects. To me independent music has often been the most innovative and interesting. Independent record labels such as Sub Pop, Merge, Dischord, Kill Rock Stars and Touch and Go have spawned everyone from Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Nirvana and Arcade Fire. To varying degrees independent music is outside the media monopolies and multi-national conglomerates which tends to reproduce cultural sameness. The Evolving Mixtape community event was conceived as a gathering to celebrate these musical margins globally. The Mixtape is currently on its 14th iteration in April 2026. It has always been free and open to the public.
The idea of Evolving Mixtape is simple. On a semi-monthly basis, students and community members alike thoughtfully create 45-minute music playlists via Spotify or YouTube focusing on underground and independent music regardless of genre. We promote the event around the old town center by taping up posters, social media and texting everyone we know to participate. We gather at Champions Sports Bar and communally listen to music playlists that likely otherwise wouldn’t be played in this historic city. Everything from post-punk, black metal, off kilter indie rock, the fringes of hip-hop, electronic, alternative, goth and myriad international music styles covering cultural terrain as broad as Romania, Turkey and Peru — all joyfully blaring onto the Brasov streets.
Evolving Mixtape emerged out of my love of underground music and time spent as a college radio DJ with KWVA 88.1 at the University of Oregon during my doctoral program 2006-2010. KWVA remains as one of the last truly free-form college radio stations as many have gone corporate, meaning student DJs at such stations are forced to play a limited range of tracks, which lacks control and freedom. Other stations have been eliminated by budget cuts. Free-form radio means that one hour you may hear obscure country tunes only played on 45 rpm records; the next its experimental noise making you wonder if the radio frequency is between stations; then a show perhaps featuring all women contemporary punk groups from say, Japan. Or a show featuring local musicians. Why not? The idea of the college free form format is to provide the broadest musical variety possible. The random unexpectedness of the music is very much part of the appeal.
At the same time typical DJ culture can be exclusive and territorial. The inclusive and participatory nature of Evolving Mixtape flips this subcultural script on its head. We openly solicit playlists from anybody, if they adhere to playing underground tracks mostly from independent record labels. People ask to participate, and we make cultural space for them. This playlist format is also more accessible as it requires very little technical skill. We don’t need turntables, mixers and a sound system. Vinyl records in this part of the world are very cost prohibitive and hard to find. Thus, we simply utilize a laptop and speakers already at the bar. If someone doesn’t have the software, we enter their playlist manually, thus rendering the event accessible.
The music at each event is never the same, hence, it is constantly evolving. In the age of the algorithm, I marvel at the fact that for each event this configuration of random music has never been strung together before, ever. I revel making playlists, my moniker is DJ Varenyky (the Ukrainian word for pierogi), which is reminiscent of my former KWVA DJ live on-air days. I string together a current playlist featuring everything from Dry Cleaning, Joyce Manor, Mountain Goats and Converge; much like creating mix cassette tapes for romantic partners back in the day while skillfully creating a flow and logic with the songs.
At a typical DJ event, people often look in the direction of the sound system, watching the performance. As our event is based on playlists streamed from a laptop, where does one look? If not at the Da
vid Lynch or Hayao Miyazaki films looping silently on various TV screens, people look at each other. They chat and have conversations. As society is characterized by social isolation and loneliness, even in Romania, Evolving Mixtape brings people together in novel ways. We have lively conversations about upcoming concerts and festivals, exposing each other to different artists in both English and Romanian or whatever language a group of tourists happen to be speaking that evening. At times there is even dancing. We hosted a lively Halloween party; some folks dressed up in costumes in a country where people typically don’t partake in this ritual. We ensure the event is open to anybody, and we are one of the few openly LGBTQ friendly spaces in this conservative city, where queer couples still don’t feel comfortable holding hands in public. Here, they make playlists of their favorite artists.
On occasion, so-called “real” DJs have performed at Evolving Mixtape spinning vinyl or mixing digital files. However, most of the content has been idiosyncratic playlists constructed by subcultural music lovers who may not even refer to themselves DJs. I am not opposed to “real” DJs mixing music, but my preference is to keep the event open and participatory. Otherwise, we risk being like every other DJ event in town.
Over the years, numerous attendees and playlist makers excitedly claimed Evolving Mixtape is one of the most unique and innovative cultural events in the city. Some nights are packed full, others sparsely attended. Once a group of 20 or so French tourists randomly came in for the evening and had a blast. The events are always fun even if only a handful of people come, which was the case with early events. I also like supporting the local business, Champions Sports Bar, and seeing the owner Lawrence flourish with such programming.
I’d often report the happenings of Evolving Mixtape to my Media Literacy students at the university, where two punky gothy students excitedly contributed playlists. We collectively discussed the ability to create our own independent cultural spaces. To spark the idea that compelling culture can be created from the ground up. We don’t have to wait passively for it to come to us. Culture can be open, participatory, and democratic. Evolving Mixtape can be replicated anywhere in a pub, university gathering space, or public library. One excited playlist maker claimed he was going to bring the idea back to his home in Germany. I loved hearing that. I never envisioned that happening. But I think good ideas travel. And because Evolving Mixtape is based on collaboration, not competition, I was all for this event happening in other places.
By organizing Evolving Mixtape I was reminded once again that music is vast and expansive, much like the sprawling Carpathian Mountains surrounding the city.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolving.mixtape/
Sample Evolving Mixtape Spotify Playlists:
DJ Varenyky (David)
DJ Vlad
DJ Alexis
DJ Orion
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