Friday Mixtapes | Anka Martin.

We asked our favourite riders what tunes get them in the mood to slap a turn, get creative or simply put a smile on their face.

Music is a very personal thing, different songs do different things to different folks. We hope that some of our favourite riders’ top tunes get your creative juices flowing, or psyche you up to go rally some trails.

This week’s Friday Mixtapes come to you from Juliana ambassador and adventurer, Anka Martin.

You can check out our Wise Words with Anka here.

Rodriguez – Sugar Man.

I grew up with his music playing in the house. Again, I still know mostly all the words to every song on this album. This was my youth growing up in South Africa. I still love all his music & got to see him live last year in Vancouver, he was amazing.

Bob Marley – Crazy Baldhead.

This was the very fist cassette tape I got from my sister’s Rastafarian boyfriend. I was 11 or 12 years old & Guy was my older brother I never had and I looked up to him like no other. I played this tape to death, winding it up with a pencil, the songs became so drawn out towards the end of it’s life. I still know this whole album off by heart, every single word, but particularly loved the Crazy Baldhead song. Later on he became my brother in law & we still share our love of all things reggae to this day.

Pixies – Where is My Mind.

This song is a perfect summary of my high school years. It was played to death. There were no rules in South Africa growing up during this time. We did exactly what we wanted to do. Unruly as f**k, we had the best times ever. Still love it.

Fat Freddy’s Drop – Wild Wind.

This song holds so many memories & will always be a special song to me. It was a new chapter in my life and was playing all the time when we immigrated to New Zealand. It represented my new country & I felt really proud every time I heard it playing somewhere, especially when travelling abroad, to this day when I hear Fat Freddy it gives me goosebumps… it reminds me of new beginnings.

Chinese Man – Get Up – Live.

I love how this some has so many different vibes to it. It just keeps going & keeps getting better towards the end. Always makes me smile this one as does all of the Chinese Man albums, man, they’re so diverse, so creative, I love these guys.

The Rolling Stones – Paint it Black.

Bad Brains – The Youth are Getting Restless.

This has skateboarding days with Sven written all over it. Underground clubs, mosh pits, teargas, skater punks & shaved heads. Good times, and still love listening to this.

Die Antwoord – Banana Brain.

We know Ninja from back in the day, like 1996, he was already quite weird back then and called himself Wadi. I love what they’ve done & listening to these guys is more nostalgic than anything, it makes me giggle every time that people from all over the world listen to them and most don’t even understand what they’re listening to. It’s awesome, as some of the lyrics are so incredibly gnarly it would be banned from almost everywhere.

They also make me feel proud of my language. Growing up as an Afrikaner was not easy, we were always made fun of by the English and Die Antwoord made Afrikaans as a language “cool” again, so I love them for that. They’ve literally brought a “dying” language back & turned the tables on how it is seen by the new younger generation.