Tabs Out #9:
German Army “Tokodede” C26
Edition of 41. Packaged in a hinged metal box with a clear plastic window on the lid. More cosmic tropics from the shadowy German Army unit. Peter Kris and GT simmer many a beat, vocal, and vibe.
Tabs Out #8:
V/A “God’s Power” C46
Edition of 50. Packaged in a silk screen craft box with a vile of “meds”. Pro dubbed tape. We asked people to submit tracks using the ailments on that bat shit crazy sign (pictured on the cover) as their artist name. The best were chosen and voilà.
Tabs Out #7:
Sun Drain “Trapped In Plaster” Cassette
Edition of 31. Packaged in a plaster brick that must be broken to see/hear the tape. Collaboration between Tabs Outers Dave Doyen (Vales/Sound Out Light) and Ian Franklin (Shredderghost). No sample.
Tabs Out #6:
MICROFL▼RSCNCE “V” C32
Edition of 29. Packaged in a hand cut Jcard. Two static chillers from the bi-continental frost factory known as MICROFL▼RSCNCE.
Tabs Out #5:
Aaron Dilloway “Siena” C48
Edition of 29. Packaged in a black Brad Pack with silver screen printing. Raw recordings made inside and outside in Siena Italy, summer of 2012.
Tabs Out #4:
Circuit Rider “Culprit” C26
Edition of 32. Packaged in a standard Norelco case with a silk screened circuit board inside and silk screened shell labels. Collaboration between Lee Noble and Derek Rogers.
Tabs Out #3:
Motion Sickness Of Time Travel “Remixes” C60
Edition of 40. Packaged with coil bound booklet of collage art by Rachel Evans. remixed by Aloonaluna & Christopher Fleeger, Jim Haynes, Cliffsides, Imperial Topaz, Wether, Grant Evans, Hobo Cubes, Mitchell Turner, Villages, Lawrence English, and Olli Aarni.
Tabs Out #2:
Jump Rope “Hemp Breakers” C38
Edition of 26. Packaged in a pull-string sewn pouch with an 18 panel Jcard. In-person collaboration between Josh Millrod (Grasshopper), Jesse DeRosa (Grasshopper/Shingles), Dave Doyen (Vales/Sound Out Light), Mike Haley (Wether/Roped Off). Recorded at The Temple Of Pei.
Tabs Out #1:
Afteroomed “Tall Grass” C22
Edition of 19. Packaged in a hinged wooden box with pasted on, wrap around covers. In-person collaboration between Afterlife (Franklin Teagle & Ryan McGill), Roped Off (Dave Doyen & Mike Haley), and Bedroom (Michael Chau). Recorded at Tabs Out HQ in Wilmington, DE in late 2012.
Tabs Out | Shapes – s/t
Shapes – s/t
10.12.15 by Mike Haley
Square, circle, triangle, hexadecagon. Those are all of the shapes known to humans. At least, that is what we thought…
If finding water on Mars has taught us anything it’s that another discovery is always around the corner. We’ll never truly know all there is to know about our complex existence, but as long as we continue to explore and scrutinize, we will mature mentally. We will learn, understand, and harness. Our mothers and fathers lived out their days comfortable in the fact that there were only four shapes. Every first kiss, broken bone, and dream postponed was done in a world with four shapes. I am here to announce a fifth. A fifth shape that is the luscious indulgence of Niklas Dommaschk’s synthesizer music.
Germany’s Meudiademorte Records packaged up this self-titled cassette slick and sexy like. The double-sided Jcard layout and black on silver cassette shell sticker are mucho posh, and give an inkling as to what world you’re about to enter. A world with a copious score of tolerant, dreamy fantasy-sounds. Shapes’ enticing synth chords ricochet off mirrored walls, finding themselves in calming cycles, relieving the listener’s shoulders of stress with each glide by. As tracks go by, in lengths of just under three minutes and just over ten, the pearly gates open a bit wider. It’s not all a back rub providing glossy elevation. The pleasure does not come without the portentous. A listen to a track like “Troubled Light” and it’s paranoid notes lurking beneath the tonal equivalent of crystallized dew is a reminder that the clouds can turn black. And while it never actually rains, the slight malaise incorporates itself nicely into the overall texture.
I can only assume there is an admiration for the obvious heroes. Niklas Dommaschk surely has a collection that doesn’t shy away from the ilk of Carpenter, Vangelis, Tomita, etc. And while he isn’t reinventing the genre, he isn’t making a replica either. There are 103 of these wonderful self-titled cassette available in all, in two different color schemes. Grab your copy here.