Mixing non-dance genres?

[afxz]

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!

[rdale]

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.