Look At These Tapes #4
9.13.16 by Tabs Out Crew
Look At These Tapes is a monthly roundup of our favorites in recent cassette artwork and packaging, along with short, stream-of-thought blurbs. Whatever pops into our heads when we look at/hold them. Selections by Jesse DeRosa, Mike Haley, and Scott Scholz.
Art by Seamus Seery
Netflix takes 1,000s of points of data on users when building their original content. Movies have multiple variations of their art in rotation, serving the most appropriate to you based on your watch history in order to immediately evoke a connection. This cover, no doubt, uses similar science majicks in order to insight immediate fury and disdain. A String Tribute to Nickleback for the 'people still write about cassettes?' generation.
Art by Margot Padilla
I knew it! I knew if I stuck in this tape game long enough I would start making some money. Some real hard cash. This collection of singles by Girl Pusher on Deathbomb Arc uses a pink on green, silk screened dollar bill as a cover. The idea and execution is awesome, but even if you aren't into it, you can use it to tip your barista. win / win.
Art by Mark C. Jackman
Oakland stalwart Resipiscent just dropped a seriously wild ride from skozey fetisch, who has supplemented the listening experience with pins and personally-collected "skozeys" from hidden corners of the bay. Melts in your hands and your ears.
Art by Jan Anderzén
I don't usually go for OCards and drips of paint on cassette shells, but peak greatness in that field has been achieved with this Tomutonttu tape on Leaving Records. Jan Anderzén's torturous take on the Queen Of (Diamonds? Hearts? Suffering?) mid-transition into beast form, decked in mandala'd duds, is stunning. The vellum paper makes it a (royal) straight banger. 100 emoji.
Art by Dan Peck
in 1983 Daniel Johnston's frog-alien thing asked "Hi, How Are You?" 23 years later The Gate's dreadlocked amoeba-dile is showing up like "Wait... What? I'm sorry, I'm so high right now." And he didn't come alone. On various gradients hang his crew: Nervous sinking log, drooling fox eating own tie, and duck made up entirely of misshapen private parts. Just give them some water and assure them that they are safe and all will be okay.
Art by Arvo Zylo and Ivonne Simonds-Fals
Arvo Zylo takes a step away from his harsher inclinations on this new double cassette, applying his prodigious editing skills to a batch of classic exotica piano duo albums. The design totally lives up to the music, too, with funky art, layout, patterns and fonts straight out of a space-age bachelor pad.
Art by D. Petri
This 5-way split travels around the world in 120 minutes, and it couldn't look better getting there. Label honcho D. Petri has designed a truly immersive package and artwork that add tons of class to killer sides by Somnoroase Pasarele, Alan Courtis, Crank Sturgeon, and his own Directives project The fifth artist in the split is Rick Lee Leipold's Objet Plastik, a set of amazing clear resin-based art objects the size of a cassette, and we could stare at these for days.
Art by Derek Rush
The pinnacle of pre-9/11 app tech was almost certainly 'Snake II' on the Nokia 3310 (aka The Brick). You lost countless hours teetering on motion sickness in the back of your parents beat-to-shit car keeping that ever-growing monochrome snake out of it's own goddamn way, all the while the craters of the interstate shook your core. Long before Apple introduced iPods or 'dropped calls', the 3310 urged you to break the cycle, and fruitlessly try to avoid the inevitable Ouroboros of your own mortality.
Art by Fletcher Pratt
The artwork for Map Collection's self-titled cassette on Midori looks like the holy grail of obscure, low budget sci-fi VHS tapes from the Goodwill bins. If you say that you wouldn't want to watch a blood thirsty cyborg kitty cat roam around an illuminated grid trying to get it's maps back, you are either a liar or a fool or both. The imagery and colors on this one eclipse cheesiness and I love it.
Art by Nick Bisceglia
November is growing nearer and with it, the election cycle approaches max-inzanity. HEC's inaugural batch presents some hoffman-lens-level insight into true nature of political landscape with this non-toxic reptilian candidate.
Art by Liz Pavlovic
So dubbed out even the cannabis leaves are straight melting into the couch, man. Hold on to your doritos, it's gonna be one helluva trip.
Art by Seamus Seery
Netflix takes 1,000s of points of data on users when building their original content. Movies have multiple variations of their art in rotation, serving the most appropriate to you based on your watch history in order to immediately evoke a connection. This cover, no doubt, uses similar science majicks in order to insight immediate fury and disdain. A String Tribute to Nickleback for the 'people still write about cassettes?' generation.
Art by Margot Padilla
I knew it! I knew if I stuck in this tape game long enough I would start making some money. Some real hard cash. This collection of singles by Girl Pusher on Deathbomb Arc uses a pink on green, silk screened dollar bill as a cover. The idea and execution is awesome, but even if you aren't into it, you can use it to tip your barista. win / win.
Art by Mark C. Jackman
Oakland stalwart Resipiscent just dropped a seriously wild ride from skozey fetisch, who has supplemented the listening experience with pins and personally-collected "skozeys" from hidden corners of the bay. Melts in your hands and your ears.
Art by Jan Anderzén
I don't usually go for OCards and drips of paint on cassette shells, but peak greatness in that field has been achieved with this Tomutonttu tape on Leaving Records. Jan Anderzén's torturous take on the Queen Of (Diamonds? Hearts? Suffering?) mid-transition into beast form, decked in mandala'd duds, is stunning. The vellum paper makes it a (royal) straight banger. 100 emoji.
Art by Dan Peck
in 1983 Daniel Johnston's frog-alien thing asked "Hi, How Are You?" 23 years later The Gate's dreadlocked amoeba-dile is showing up like "Wait... What? I'm sorry, I'm so high right now." And he didn't come alone. On various gradients hang his crew: Nervous sinking log, drooling fox eating own tie, and duck made up entirely of misshapen private parts. Just give them some water and assure them that they are safe and all will be okay.
Art by Arvo Zylo and Ivonne Simonds-Fals
Arvo Zylo takes a step away from his harsher inclinations on this new double cassette, applying his prodigious editing skills to a batch of classic exotica piano duo albums. The design totally lives up to the music, too, with funky art, layout, patterns and fonts straight out of a space-age bachelor pad.
Art by D. Petri
This 5-way split travels around the world in 120 minutes, and it couldn't look better getting there. Label honcho D. Petri has designed a truly immersive package and artwork that add tons of class to killer sides by Somnoroase Pasarele, Alan Courtis, Crank Sturgeon, and his own Directives project The fifth artist in the split is Rick Lee Leipold's Objet Plastik, a set of amazing clear resin-based art objects the size of a cassette, and we could stare at these for days.
Art by Derek Rush
The pinnacle of pre-9/11 app tech was almost certainly 'Snake II' on the Nokia 3310 (aka The Brick). You lost countless hours teetering on motion sickness in the back of your parents beat-to-shit car keeping that ever-growing monochrome snake out of it's own goddamn way, all the while the craters of the interstate shook your core. Long before Apple introduced iPods or 'dropped calls', the 3310 urged you to break the cycle, and fruitlessly try to avoid the inevitable Ouroboros of your own mortality.
Art by Fletcher Pratt
The artwork for Map Collection's self-titled cassette on Midori looks like the holy grail of obscure, low budget sci-fi VHS tapes from the Goodwill bins. If you say that you wouldn't want to watch a blood thirsty cyborg kitty cat roam around an illuminated grid trying to get it's maps back, you are either a liar or a fool or both. The imagery and colors on this one eclipse cheesiness and I love it.
Art by Nick Bisceglia
November is growing nearer and with it, the election cycle approaches max-inzanity. HEC's inaugural batch presents some hoffman-lens-level insight into true nature of political landscape with this non-toxic reptilian candidate.
Art by Liz Pavlovic
So dubbed out even the cannabis leaves are straight melting into the couch, man. Hold on to your doritos, it's gonna be one helluva trip.