Split albums are an integral part of the cassette community. Not only do they make sense logistically — being that the Side A/Side B format lends itself perfectly to the concept — but they also speak to the overall ethos that defines the movement. Yes, the spirit that drives a split is a transcendent one... Continue Reading →
Chances are, if you’re reading this you are most certainly well-acquainted with Orange Milk Records. I assume anyone who’s interested in left-field music is at least aware of their monolithic presence in the cassette dimension — if not dutifully and respectfully obsessed. Yes, for the better part of the last decade, co-owners Seth Graham and... Continue Reading →
Wayne Longer is his given name, but you most likely know him as Adderall Canyonly (one can’t easily forget a moniker like that). His vacillating instrumental soundscapes have been driving listeners onward down nameless neon-lit roads since the genesis of the cassette revival (for those who don’t know, that was around 2010). With releases spanning... Continue Reading →
“Unpopular music on tape” is how the description of Newcastle, United Kingdom label Panurus Productions reads. I’m sure there are plenty of seasoned digital marketers out there who might openly scoff at such a tagline. But, as those of us who are unapologetically immersed in cassette culture know, this sort of phrase most certainly elicits... Continue Reading →
Puzzle Time is a four-way split curated by Nicholas Langley, owner of United Kingdom label Third Kind Records. Complete with tracks from four different artists (Langley himself included) and an actual puzzle designed by Bristol-based illustrator Takora, the album (in the words of Walt Whitman) truly contains multitudes. Bary Center’s opening tracks are pensive and... Continue Reading →
Well-crafted noise music from the Midwest released by a fledgling tape label based out of the Pacific Northwest. That’s what I love about the online cassette community: the magic of unlikely connections, the miracle of epic alliances formed via email and bandwidth. I ordered the first batch of releases (officially referred to as the Cyan... Continue Reading →
Strategic Tape Reserve is a cassette label owned by Eamon Hamill (possibly the most well-spoken lad in the underground music game) -- who operates out of Cologne, West Germany. Though STR's canon is not genre-specific in any way, the complete body of work shares a common theme of explorative home-brewed quality. In an effort to... Continue Reading →
Hausu Mountain is a legendary Chicago-based experimental label (owned and operated by duo Max Allison and Doug Kaplan) that has been churning out quality noises and transmissions since 2012. Unlike many labels, the Hausu dudes go out of their way to restock tapes (for two years after the album release date) when they get low -... Continue Reading →
My best friend once told me about a teacher he had when he was in elementary school. He remembers him to this day for a number of reasons, but mostly because he taught him how to build a birdhouse. “He’s probably dead by now,” he said, “but that birdhouse still feeds birds.” It was years... Continue Reading →
Let’s talk about language. Unless you’re living in an underground bomb shelter with Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, you know that it’s the weapon of choice these days. This is not to say, of course, that this has not always been the case. The power of language dates back to its ancient origins. Language was,... Continue Reading →
Album Reviews, Label Spotlights, and More 