Mixing non-dance genres?

Hey fellas... just interested in opening up a discussion about your preferred ways/techniques for mixing in all the non-dance and non-standard stuff. Whether it be an ambient/beatless interlude in a dance set itself, or whether you're putting together a mix-tape of indie/rock music, experimental oddities, miscellanea, etc. How do you do it?

Lately I've been putting together a lot of mix CD's for friends who perhaps aren't totally 'into' the serious dance/electronic scene... they're more scratching the surface, liking the electronic-inflected indie songs, the easy-going chillwave/r&b stuff, or even perhaps the blissed out ambient/experimental kinda vibe. In putting these mix CD's together I just kinda slam all that stuff at the front as an 'intro', but I think that's pretty weak...

So - how do you mix it up? What styles of mixing/transition do you use with music that can't typically be quantized and beatmatched? Would be interesting to hear how you open your mixing up to the full scope of music!

I've been playing around more with switching bpm, I find finding a nice soft spot with no beats to loop and transition helps, or letting the phrases overlap wrong if there is a beat on the incoming track but the out going track doesn't have one. Sometimes grabbing a loop and shortening it to make the drums build faster while the other song is quietly exiting and I move the tempo up to the proper spot sounds nice. Sometimes just quick cutting. Then again sometimes I fall flat on face and fail. There really isn't right and wrong, just what sounds right with the two tracks.