Ah. The humble cassette tape. For some it’s been consigned to the history books of defunct formats, for others it’s the medium of choice to provide unique musical artifact keepsakes at reasonable cost without the faff and expense of pressing plants and distribution.
Delve into the world of the cassette release and you’ll be amazed at the music within. Much of it can be extraordinarily ‘low-fi’ as glossy production techniques are pushed aside in favor of dusty, hiss imbued aesthetics—and all the better the sounds are for it too.
Featured below are a few current and past favorite releases we just had to share. It’s testament to the format that virtually all are long sold out of physical copies—but never fear—all are available on digital too and, in some cases, vinyl.
Ñaka Ñaka :: Juan Pestañas (Opal Tapes)
If you’ve yet to discover the wonder of UK based Opal Tapes then here is a great place to start. A fantastic blend of melodic ambient techno with catchy mnemonics drenched in reverb. A distinct early Aphex Twin style of haunted electronics.
AL-90 :: SCR (Reckno)
Another excellent UK based tape label. Brilliant spooked tape wobbled sounds abound. The whole thing feels like it’s been played through an inebriated tape deck that can’t keep steady pace. Tracks bend and warp whilst ghostly vocal samples puncture the wooziness. “We all know the real magic lives in the wonk’ reads the write up. We couldn’t agree more.
Xerox :: ATM (1080p)
A Canadian tape label with an enviable back catalog that’s well worth a dive into. Xerox treads the fractured / broken house path in superb style. Dislocated vocal samples propel a beautiful low tempo fuggy thud throughout. A real Actress feel—in fact if this was Actress it would be lorded as album of the month all over the web.
Patricia :: Body Issues (Opal Tapes)
A release so popular it’s about to head into a second run on vinyl. This Chicago based producer takes the heft of Chi-Town house and splices it with fuzzy subdued late night techno. Huge recommendation.
Topdown Dialect :: Topdown Dialect (/\\Aught)
Splintered vocals buried deep in swathes of hissy micro production and edits—Topdown Dialect sound like a sleeping mind attempting to decipher the aural input of the day. Strange yet highly compelling.
Cloudface :: Untitled (Black Opal)
OK OK—not strictly a cassette release but let’s just keep that between us as you really need to hear this. Staggeringly good 303 flecked excursions into twilight techno—I promise you, cassette or not, you won’t be disappointed.
To discover more tapes check out these excellent columns at The Quietus and Brad Rose’s superb FACT Magazine column.
