Tabs Out

12.17.19 by Ryan Masteller

I feel like we’re an official mouthpiece for Strategic Tape Reserve at this point, but it’s not unwarranted. The Cologne-based label is one of the most consistently interesting purveyors of fine cassette-taped goods, and receiving a new STR release in the mail is always an exciting moment – some might even refer to such instances as “events.” I would go so far to say that STR currently sits at or near the top of my favorite labels going at the moment. Never a dull moment with these rascals.

The Tuesday Night Machines is somewhat of a label staple – this is the third release by the enigmatic producer that’s come out on the label, following last year’s “Hawaiian Yurt Music” (which I happen to have also loved).* That tape came housed in burlap. This new one – “Roof Tent Rhythms” – is packaged all up in a piece of hand-cut and folded tarp, held together with a glued-on Velcro tab. It’s … unusual. But so was the burlap.

Here’s the why behind the tarp: TNM made these tunes after packing up “a tiny car with a big tent strapped to its roof, 18 carefully selected second-hand music CDs, an old battery-powered Akai MPC 500 sampling workstation and only a vague idea of a destination.” This sounds great, but when you realize that “Roof Tent Rhythms” was crafted exclusively from samples of early STR releases (and “various free online drum sample collections”), it becomes even more of a labor of love. Awesomely, this “downtempo beat tape” perfectly encapsulates the STR an TNM aesthetics, serving as an overarching reminder of the greatness of the artist and the label, as well as other artists on the label (which is essentially just saying “the label” again, but props where props are due).

Unsurprisingly, the tarp the tape is folded up in is “a piece of the very same tarp which kept the rain from running into the camping vehicle on that fateful day in Montenegro, when glow worms ate our cheesecake.” Seems like a battery-powered Akai MPC 500 is perfect for working on tunes in the wilderness (or wherever there isn’t a plug), and apparently glow worms like cheesecake. Who knew? There’s a song dedicated to that even, track 1. So grab your own cheesecake, lean back in your favorite sleeping bag, pop on some headphones, and drift off into the plunderphonic delights of “Roof Tent Rhythms.” Edition of 25.

* TNM also recently self-released a tape called “Waever.” 

12.11.19 by Ryan Masteller

I’m right in the middle of going through the Top 200 tapes of 2019 with Mike, but he must have stepped away from the computer because he’s not responding to me in the chat window. That’s cool, I’ll just take this time to do even more work for him – like write another one of these tape reviews. I mean, let’s face it – somebody’s gotta do it, and it sure ain’t gonna be Dave Doyen. It’s gonna be me.

Already Dead has had a pretty fantastic 2019 if you ask me, and Sum Say’s “Another View” is like a cherry on top of that calendar cake. But in this instance, the cake is also quite moody, as if it were rained on while being hauled from the car to the table, and the whipped frosting has started wilting, and when you cut into it you realize it’s mostly still batter anyway because the oven burnt out halfway through and ISN’T THAT JUST LIKE LIFE, well I bought you this cake, you better eat it. And even if I didn’t just zone out there in a fit of regret and remorse, “Another View” would still be just as moody and you’d still have to get through it.

Because it’s still intensely enjoyable.

Sum Say is gloomy instrumental hip hop, the kind that DJ Shadow does (used to do?), the kind that shows up on Planet Mu, the kind where the static of the samples sounds like a steady rainstorm outside your window. A dank, dreary energy permeates the tape, its languid pace picking up its own steam and making a steady go of it. This is not music for sunny days. This is music you can curl up and drink some tea to. And if you’re like me, that sounds like maybe one of the best things ever, something you’ve waited the whole year for (because it’s perfect for autumn), something you just can’t wait to get yourself in the middle of. I’m exactly like that. Doesn’t matter if the tea cake’s wet or not.

Also, the j-card image is the exact opposite of the mood contained within. A sly prank?

Edition of 100 available from Already Dead.