Somewhere between melancholy and filthy, Mr Mitch is a singular voice in the pressure cooker of instrumental grime that is London’s Boxed. The 26-year-old producer released his heart-rattling debut LP Parallel Memories on Planet Mu last year, and just last week dropped his latest “Peace Edit”, a charged take on Dru Hill’s classic “How Deep Is Your Love?” “I used to listen to that that Dru Hill album a lot when I was younger, but as I relisten to it as an adult, I realise how many of the sentiments I didn’t pick up on,” Mitch tells Dazed over email of his startingly bleak-yet-sexy take on the song. “This applies to a lot of the R&B I listened to growing up; some of the lyrics are extremely vulgar, but it’s easy to miss because of the way it’s presented. I wanted to play with this idea, and blur the lines between sex and emotion.”

Blurring the lines between sex and emotion is basically what this time of year is all about (right?), so we asked Mr Mitch to make us a special anti-Valentine’s Day mix to walk that fine line between R&B’s raunchiest lyrics and grime’s iciest crackles. The Gobstopper Records boss – who says he’s “not as unlucky in love as this mix/my music might suggest” – has titled the mixtape “Better Off Alone,” and says it’s about the gradual onset of heartbreak and the seven stages of grief that follow it. From Jagged Edge telling you “he can’t love you like I can” to Dru Hill insisting “you know that he can’t go down like me”, it’s a whole lot of romantic desperation and spurned ego made strangely beautiful. Happy Valentine’s!

TeeFLii x Mr. Mitch - "24 Hourz x Feel (Rabit Blend)"
E.m.m.a. - "Hearts"
Gundam - "I Like That"
Loom - "Cherry"
Inkke - "5AM Frost"
Deadboy - "It Did Not Feel Right"
Fresh Paul - "Crushup"
Mr. Mitch - "Denial"
Jagged Edge - "He Can't Love U"
Mr. Mitch - "Dru (Peace Edit)"
Squizzle - "How Can She" 
Finn - "Knock Knock"
Mr. Mitch x OG Maco - "Padded x U Guessed It"
Strict Face - "Better Off Alone"