11.4.13: Laser Focus #1

We’re really excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Tiny Mix Tapes for a spin-off show of sorts called Tabs Out: Laser Focus. Each episode will focus (laser focus if you will) on a specific artist or cassette label. The inaugural podcast is up now with San Francisco synth crusher Headboggle.  We talked to him about his Krautrock past, collaborating with his father, and setting up synthesizers on his bed. We also played a sampling of HB cassettes on Baked, Hyperdelic, Excitebike, A Soundesign Recording, and Tusco/Embassy.

You can stream or download episode #1 by clicking here.

Thanks for the submission

We’ll get it all up on the site ASAP. If you’d like to send anything over for us to check out our mailing address is:

Tabs Out
905 North  Jackson Street
Wilmington, DE 19806
USA

Losing a cassette tape is never fun. Statistics show that cassettes missing for more than 72 hours are either dubbed over or never turn up at all. Unless you know the unique 28 digit Cassette Identification Number (CIN) printed on the your missing cassette’s guide roller, you can kiss it goodbye. Until now! The Tabs Out Cassette Locator will have those vanished jams back in your deck before you know it!

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Locate another cassette.

10.24.13: The Magnetist

The Magnetist is a short, but most likely fake, documentary about cassette-obsessed Swede Micke, aka: The Magnetist. As the filmmakers Filibuster put it, Micke’s life “revolves around cassette tapes”. He hosts a monthly all-cassette club night, has a noise project that is based around manipulating tapes, and previously ran a cassette blog.

Though I haven’t seen in confirmed anywhere, there is much talk about this film being a spoof and Micke simply being a character. I can’t say for sure, but the fact that Micke’s last name is never mentioned, nor is the name of his blog (which has conveniently been shut down), ya gotta think that something is fishy. If there are any modern day Woodward and Bernsteins that are up for chasing down a lead, “Micke” is in this video for the band Lover’s song “Luxury”.

Real or not, The Magnetist is a nicely produced and interesting 15 minute look into one dude’s infatuation with the cassette tape. Definitely worth checking out, which you can do below.

10.22.13: Tape Of The Month – October 2013

ARTIST: Holly Waxwing

TITLE: Goldleaf Acrobatics

LABEL: Noumenal Loom

LENGTH: C50 – material repeats on b-side

DUBBED: Home

EDITION: 75

 

 

 

I had a decent idea as to what I was in store for when I opened the package sent from Noumenal Loom and gave the three tapes inside a once over. The first batch from this Montevallo, Alabama (Montevallo, Alabama?) based label were obviously gonna be on a hyper-mellow level. The covers were embellished with 3D, kaleidoscopic glyphs over psych backgrounds – a sure-fire sign of that. I would have liked to run a bath, lit some candles, sparked the ass-end of a j, and enjoy them like his Dudeness meditating to a “Song Of The Whales” tape, but settled for the everyday living room setup. One track into Holly Waxwing’s “Goldleaf Acrobatics” and it was painfully obvious that breaking out the suds and buds would have been the perfect setting for this reclined sound-cruise.

Unless I’ve been mislead by incorrectly tagged Facebook pics, Holly Waxwing is a dude. And unless his parents had some “boy-name-Sue” type deal going down, I’m guessing Holly Waxwing is an assumed name. I could be wrong though, and I’m not judging. Noumenal Loom is Holly’s label and “Goldleaf Acrobatics” is it’s 2nd release. The seven sound collages on this single-sided cassette have to be some of the most relaxing, straight up chill out forever tracks in my house. And I have Hypnobabies CDs around here somewhere. I could easily get to 10 centimeters without even noticing it if Waxwing was jamming in the background, and I’m also a dude. That should speak volumes to this tape’s max-relax ease. The majority of sounds here are sample based. Beats, vocals, guitars, keyboards, odds, and ends manipulate, layered, and corralled with tender and extra-tropical care. When someone is in Jamaica, well not Jamaica-Jamaica, but the carve-outs of Jamaica that white people go to (you know what I mean) they should be able to swim up to a bar and order a Holly Waxwing. It’s that tropical.  In fact, I think I’m going to brand this with the genre name VapoResort. Oh, and I’ll come up with what exactly the drink Holly Waxwing is by the end of this review.

Each cut on “Goldleaf Acrobatics” has it’s own unique flavor while staying under the big tent of instrumental-avant-jazzy-r&bness. The opener, Goloboie (featuring New Orleans hip hop instrumentalist Pug), is a slow tempo dip into the pool. You wanna slip in nice and slow, one toe at a time, while the refreshing goodness goosbumps ya. Around a minute and a half in, when the airy beats surface, you should be neck deep and notice that the pool is full of Zima. Just pull up a flotation device with a cup holder and go with it. The remaining 22 minutes or so of this cassette is going to wash you with sweetly fragile vocals (some by label/life partner Isabel Barnes, credited here as Isleapple), drippy atmospheres (more nude age than new age), and plenty of encouragement to take a break from life for a bit. Fans of listening to New Edition cassettes in a player made out of a Pineapple, one that I’m sure the Professor from Gilligan’s Island could fashion for ya, Or watching a Shirley Temple movie on mushrooms will probably have a good time.

Inside you’ll find an insert with a link to a digital download that includes remixes of each track. I’m not really sure why those weren’t just on the B side instead of side A repeating itself, but I also don’t understand how planes stay in the air. So I have a lot of learning to do. I mean, they are so heavy. It doesn’t make sense. Remixes by Orange Milk’s Seth Graham, the always ridiculous Foodman, LBTV™, who’s also featured on the closing track of the cassette, and more.

The artwork was designed by Brenna Murphy, who’s work I am just now discovering and absolutely in love with. There are stickers on both sides of the clear shell of slightly cloudy blue skies, which are also on both sides of the Jcard. Floating in that sky on the Jcard  are a scattering of these tight, textured labyrinth jams. They are like little embossed, lavender, dual story mazes for robotic mice to run through. And at the end they get some digital cheese. They are floating about all over the place and look smooth as hell. The text on the back flap that lists the tracks has the effect that it’s sort of under the clouds, which is a dope touch. A well executed package all around, definitely goes really nicely with the material.

The other releases in Noumenal Loom’s first batch are from Digital Natives and Gerda Taro, both worth griping as well. Oh, and here is the recipe to make a Holly Waxwing. If you try it please let us know!!

1 ounce Light Rum
1 ounce Dark Rum
.5 ounce Spiced Rum
2 ounces Pineapple Juice
.5 ounce Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 can of Clear Pepsi

Shake, pour over crushed ice, garnish with 10 cherries. Enjoy!!

 

10.17.13: RRR’s Turning 30, Wants To Donate “Humungous” Noise Collection

RRR Records opened up shop in Lowell, MA back on Jan 3, 1984 and will soon be turning 30 years old. Instead of cake, some balloons, maybe a pony ride, owner & operator Ron Lessard (known affectionately throughout the noise world as Emil Beaulieau) wants to celebrate by donating his entire cassette and cdr noise collection! Now, before you get all giddy thinking you’re about to become the proud owner of what Ron calls the “largest collection of noise and noise related activity in the USA”, keep in mind that he hopes the collection heads to a museum or university. He could use some direction getting this philanoisethropic venture going, so if you work at The Library Of Congress AND are into The New Blockaders, get in touch with this man! Contact info is available here.

Here is the original message Ron posted on Facebook:

I’ll keep this post updated with any hot new info!

 

UPDATES:

Ron has begun posting pics from his collection on Facebook.
This is the first one, posted on 10/23. A mystery pic. Anyone know what it is? Ron has an idea but isn’t totally sure. 🙂

Here’s the second pic Ron posted on 10/24. Some old Merzbow tapes.

A third picture posted on 10/25.  Sutcliffe Jugend “We Spit On Their Graves” 10 cassette box set released by Come Organisation in 1982.

Ron posted a bunch of pictures on Sunday 10/27. Here are a few of them.
Velveeta “Guns And Butter” C90 released by Butt Liquor Records in 1991.

A couple tapes from Metgumbnerbone.

Enough Whitehouse to keep ya busy for a long loooooooong time.

Four tapes from Yugoslavian artist Mario Marzidovsek from the 1980’s posted on 10/29.

A stack of Smersh goodness posted on 11/1.

This Stolen Government Binder Clip “Happy Motoring” C60 was posted on 11/4. It was released by Megalomania Cassettes in 1987.

Minds blown… Ladies and germs, the TAPE CUBE! Posted on 11/5.

Three tapes from R. Stevie Moore, released in the early 80’s. Ron posted these on 11/7.

10.16.13: Aquarius Records Is Gunning For Some Cash

San Francisco’s Aquarius Records has been a place to grip underground/weird/DIY music since before I was born. In fact, their website boasts that they are “the store that’s old enough to think it’s funny that we’re selling lots of tapes again”. It’s not news to anyone that times are tough, especially for record stores. In the past decade THOUSANDS of record stores have closed their doors. So why not help one, especially one with quite a notable history, out when possible? That’s right, there is no reason not to. So….

Aquarius is competing for $250K, which is a whole lot of moolah, through something called Mission  Main Street Grants. And all you have to do is click. *Click*. Just like that. *Click* and they’ll be one step closer to pocketing a quarter of a million dollars. To put that into perspective, you could buy something like 30,000 tapes (plus shipping) and probably have enough cash left over for head cleaner.

THIS IS THE LINK TO VOTE FOR AQUARIUS! You have until November 15th.

10.16.13: Jak Tapes –  A Piece Of Himself Left Behind

Whoa.

Dozens of Tumblrs pop up daily, usually a dumping ground for animated gifs or screen shots of Charles In Charge, but it’s rare to come across one as remarkable as Jak Tapes. Jak used to make tons of cassettes. And like anyone who made mixes to jam in their car or sling to a buddy, he made unique covers for them. He passed away and his younger sibling is archiving 214 of Jak’s cassette covers. Not because they have cool or interesting artwork (they do), or because he had a discerning taste in music (he did), but because “they’re a little piece of himself that he left behind.” Below are a few choice picks of Jak’s alternate artwork for albums, mixes, and splits that never actually existed. You can enjoy everything here.

10.13.13: Land Of Decay Closing Shop

Chicago / Baltimore based label Land Of Decay, run by André Foisy and Terence Hannum since 2009, announced that they will be shutting down shop at the end of the month. You can grab some remaining cassettes on sale for $4 – $5 at their Big Cartel page. We played The Subtraction this time last year on Episode #14 of the show, and definitely recommend picking up “The One Who Infests Ships” if you’re into bleak soundscapes.