Cassette Culture

A hard to imagine London of derelict warehouses and ruined public buildings birthed the short, intense life of Snatch Tapes, the late-70s cassette label founded by Philip Sanderson of Storm Bugs. Launched in 1979, Snatch Tapes became a focal point for electronic and experimental musicians pushing beyond conventional song structures and embracing the possibilities of electronics, tape loops and DIY distribution.

Sanderson reflects o...

Emerging from the squats, free gigs and improvised studios of late-70’s Portobello Road, F*ck Off Records operated at the volatile intersection of hippie idealism and punk DIY. Active between 1979 and 1982, the label released copied-to-order cassettes alongside a small number of vinyl EPs and LPs with music by Alternative TV, The 012, Danny & The Dressmakers, Here & Now, The Instant Automatons, The Androids Of Mu and ...

After we spoke with Mark Automaton for our episode on Deleted Records and the Instant Automatons, he kindly shared his recollections of the music and bands presented on the legendary “Deleted Funtime” compilation, released by Deleted Records in 1980.

Originally compiled by Martin “Protag” Naish of the Automatons, and featuring 34 tracks by various outsider musicians and misfits from across the booming casset...

Emerging from the same late-1970s underground that fuelled punk, DIY cassette culture, and European electronic experimentation, we explore the influence of Colin Potter - sound artist, producer, and founder of Integrated Circuit Records (ICR)

From beginnings building crude oscillators and fuzz boxes to university access to an EMS Synthi A, his path reflects a generation discovering sound through curiosity rather than convention.

We...

Underneath the safety pins, television expletives and bondage trousers that came with Punk in 1977, there was a coded message for those ready to hear it. Resolutely independent, the Instant Automatons and their label Deleted Records tuned in from the North of England and got that message of DIY independence, creativity and confidence that followed "Here's Three Chords, Now Form A Band".

We trace the birth of the UK cassette undergr...

The artists who made the template - In Season 2 we’re delving into the very origins of the underground cassette music scene from the late 70s and early 80s, featuring insights from key musicians who revolutionised independent music production.

"We didn't think much of the establishment and capitalism, instead of demonstrating against it, we thought we'd create another world which existed outside of it." Jonathan Barnett of Fu...

From vinyl to cassettes and the occasional... flexi-postcard! Geert-Jan Hobijn reflects on Staalplaat’s origins as a cassette label, and some current releases.

In this special interim episode of Cassette Culture, Martin Franklin and Jerry Kranitz speak with Geert-Jan Hobijn, the legendary founder of Staalplaat - the experimental music label that began in an Amsterdam squat in 1982 and went on to define an era of radical sound...

Music mix by Joshua James Amberson drawing on cassette releases reviewed in issue #3 of the Copy This Cassette zine.

Joshua is publisher of the Basic Paper Airplane zine, and curator of the Antiquated Future store/distro and label. He is based in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Theme music "Hesatative" Jack Hertz

DISCOVER THE VIDEO
You can find videos of cassettes, artefacts and unboxings from the cassette underground on our YouTu...

From the worlds of mini-comix to independent music, D. Blake Werts is the creative force behind the fanzine, Copy This Cassette.

Martin Franklin and co-host Jerry Kranitz sit down with Blake to share the surprising story of how he discovered cassette culture only a few years ago, and how that discovery inspired him to launch a new publication devoted entirely to underground cassette releases.

He explains the philosophy behind Copy ...

3D glasses at the ready, we speak with Richard Allen, editor of psychedelic magazine Freakbeat, founder of Delerium Records, and Michael Dog of Club Dog, Megadog and Planet Dog Records.

Together, they helped define an era of fanzines, home-recorded cassettes, underground parties, and independent music distribution.

This episode, we’re hearing the inside story of a telephone call to Timothy Leary, the artists behind Freakbeat&...

Armed with fanzines, cassette tapes, and a fierce DIY spirit - two teenagers from Herne Bay helped shape the UK’s underground music scene.

In this episode, host Martin Franklin traces the journey of Gary Levermore, founder of Third Mind Records, and Richard “Richo” Johnson, the force behind Grim Humour fanzine and Fourth Dimension Records. From their early days frequenting a local record shop to trading zines and ...

Tales of handmade 'zines and the cassette underground with two key figures: Martin Bowes of the electronic-industrial band Attrition, and Alan Rider of the Adventures In Reality label and fanzine.

We trace their trajectory from the early days, as local Coventry fanzines "Alternative Sounds" and “Adventures In Reality” evolve into bands and cassette labels and build grassroots distribution networks that span the World.

B...

From the provocative performances of Throbbing Gristle at the Lyceum to Einstürzende Neubauten's infamous stage-demolishing concert at the ICA, this episode captures the moment when musical boundaries were not just pushed, but completely obliterated.

The Wild Planet column, written by Dave Henderson started as a cut-out-and-keep centre feature in Sounds, the UK’s biggest music weekly, but soon became a focus for the new ...

Amazing artworks, CDr's and a mystery device. The full unboxing experience of the package sent to us from Belgium by Sandy from the Hybryds.

This is the Bonus version of the recordings which opened Episode 8 "Universe Of The Wyrd: The Cold Spring Story" - just for our curious listeners who want to hear more.

Episode contains these tracks from CD:
"Euthanasia" Rabbits Wear Boots, No Style No Rules
"Why Are you Hear?" Rabbits W...

At the forefront of Industrial and dark electronic music since the 1980s, Cold Spring Records emerged from the cassette underground to become a significant independent record label.

We unpack the story of label founder Justin Mitchell, an underground music dot connector who started in the UK tape trading and mail art networks, and working within  the influential Temple Of Psychic Youth.

Cold Spring stayed close to it’s u...

DIY passion, artistic discovery, and the power of community. This is a story of the kind friendly networking that typified the cassette scene and it shines through in this episode.

We dive into the fascinating history of the ND fanzine and influential label, founded by Daniel Plunkett in Austin, Texas.

ND became a hub for the international mail art and cassette culture scenes, connecting artists from around the world through its fa...

With a pile of scrap metal and a disused railway tunnel nearby, unemployed youths Dave Kirby and Rob Maycock began recording sounds that they’d use as material for their Throbbing Gristle-inspired noise project, Psychopath.

His early meeting with Justin Mitchell of Cold Spring Records led to his music finding a worldwide audience.

Forty years later, on the eve of his international tour we speak with Dave about his early casse...

We share the news of the preservation of the Cassette Culture podcast by the British Library Sound Archive and talk about some upcoming interviews. 

Coming Next: Psychedelia in the Home Counties with Richard Allen of Delerium Records, and Texas' ND fanzine and label with Daniel Plunkett, plus the evolution of experimental/Industrial music with Davie Kirby of Satori.

Our new "Cassette Culture" stickers get unboxed ready for dis...

The Vital fanzine evolved from hand typed, xeroxed pages to pioneering online distribution, and connected artists from the USA and Europe.

We dive into an interview with Frans de Waard, creator of the Dutch fanzine Vital and the Korm Plastics label to talk about his journey of collaboration in the underground cassette scene. Covering his early zine projects like Nul Nul, growing his label network, work with renowned record store an...