Last week we published the interview we did with Fadi Tabbal. If you did not get the chance to read it, you can do that here. As promised, we present you the follow-up to said interview in the form of mixtape curated by Tabbal himself. We asked him for 20 songs he believes helped shaped his sound and we got 25 instead, with personal notes on why each one is special!

Without further ado, here are the 25 songs songs that left a mark on Fadi Tabbal’s sound. They’re on both YouTube and Spotify.

(Scroll down to read what Tabbal had to say about each song)

1. Acrobat – U2

—First guitar hero I heard that wasn’t a shredder or doing useless solos

2. Careful with that axe Eugene (Ummagumma live) – Pink Floyd

—I used to love them for their progressive rock, like everyone. This was the first free-form/noise track I’d ever heard and liked

3. Paranoid Android – Radiohead

—First time I heard a track with a very close relation between sound and music

4. To bring you my love – PJ Harvey

—First woman rocking I fell in love with

5. Good Vibrations – Beach Boys

—The mix of extreme nostalgia and happiness in the same 4 minutes

6. Guitar Solo #5 – Neil Young (From Dead Man Soundtrack)

—My favorite kind of solo guitar playing

7 & 8. Ny Battery – Sigur Ros & Bachelorette – Bjork

—The sounds in both tracks were completely alien to me when I first heard them

9. Come on! Feel the Illinoise! – Sufjan Stevens

—The skeleton to all my arrangements (also my favorite singer-songwriter)

10. Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite – Beatles

—First time I heard a psychedelic pop song

11. Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating Into Space – Spiritualized

—Bought this by mistake when it came out in 1997 and it blew my mind (and emotions)

12. Piano Phase – Steve Reich

—First introduction to Minimalism, the biggest inspiration in my solo work

13. 1/1 (Music for Airports) – Brian Eno

—First introduction to Ambient music and to Eno, also a huge influence on my solo work

14. Creator, Destroyer – Angel Olsen

—One of my favorite voices ever. It’s also proof that all you need is good lyrics and melodies for a song to work

15. Emily – Joanna Newsom

—Arrangements I wish I wrote but will never be able to

16. Blemish – David Sylvian

—First time I heard a mix of drones and songwriting

17. Who Could Win A Rabbit – Animal Collective

—45 melodies in a 2 minute song without sounding unnatural

18. Souvlaki Space Station – Slowdive

—Ambient music in a rock setting – my basis for a lot of guitar lines

19. Empty House – Air

—The entire Virgin Suicides soundtrack actually. One of my favorites ever. A lesson in storytelling using music

20. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel

—Folk punk and another inspiration for me as an arranger and producer

21. Heroin – The Velvet Underground

—Noise pop is life

22. Here Before – Vashti Bunyan

—Subtlety in arrangements (and beautiful songwriting). Also my introduction to Max Richter (who produced the album)

23. Machine Gun – Portishead

—Voice over minimal electronic with insane results

24. Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind – Yo La Tengo

—The band I wish I was in

25. Katy Song – Red House Painters

—Slow core at its best