The cassette is making a comeback
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Tape revival … Charlie Ellison is one of the organisers of the inaugural Cassette Store Day. Picture: Richard Dobson
Source: News Corp Australia
REWIND the tape, cassettes are making a comeback.
The much-maligned format whose popularity declined sharply in the past decade with the advent of digital downloads is enjoying a nostalgic revamp lead by indie bands and a generation of fans who weren’t even born when the Walkman was the leading music player.
Even the big names are jumping on the retro revival of the cassette with Welsh heavy metal band Bullet For My Valentine issuing a limited run of cassettes for their new album Venom which debuted at No. 1 on the Australian charts this week.
Australia thank you! This is mad RT @ARIA_Official: Venom gives @bfmvofficial their first ever #1 on the #ARIACharts! http://t.co/c8iYTk4WFL
— BFMV (@bfmvofficial) August 22, 2015
Other popular artists including American rockers Green Day and electronic music supremo Skrillex also putting out cassette editions of their Demolicious and Recess releases in the past year.
But the push to reignite some love for the temperamental tapes which would unravel in car stereos and warp on your dashboard is being lead by younger artists who want to offer fans a more tangible experience of their music.
Nostalgia trip … Green Day released their Demolicious album on tape. Picture: News Corp Australia.
Source: News Limited
Tangible asset … Skrillex put out Recess on cassette. Picture: Supplied
Source: Supplied
Sydney label Rice Is Nice, who have enjoyed sold-out success with their recent mixtapes showcasing their favourite artists and up and coming talent, are behind the inaugural Cassette Store Day on October 17.
The international campaign to tout the tape began in the UK three years ago in the wake of the successful Record Store Day which sprang out of America in 2007 in support of struggling independent stores and the vinyl format.
Since then, vinyl has enjoyed a phenomenal hipster-lead resurgence in popularity with sales of records up 127 per cent in Australia alone last year.
Most indie acts and labels doing tape runs are making only small batches of up to 200 copies per release but they are selling out, leading to extra production.
Never out of vogue … Brad Hughes, 14, of Lisarow, has a large collection of Beatles cassettes. Picture:Peter Clark
Source: News Corp Australia
Charlie Ellison, one of the local organisers of Cassette Store Day, said a $ 10 mixtape of local female artists including Terrible Truths and Major Leagues sold out and was even picked up by influential rocker and spoken word artist Henry Rollins for his Los Angeles radio show.
“People have been ordering it from LA and we just got another run made and it’s almost sold out,” Ellison said.
She said the appeal lies in its nostalgia value to older music fans and novelty to younger consumers.
“It’s all about having a tangible product in your hands. You can’t hug an MP3,” she said.
“And it’s easier to look through somebody’s collection and encourages you to listen to a new record from start to finish.”
The mixtape revival also allows small labels to showcase artists people would not have come across if they hadn’t played the cassette and gives fans a sense of value for their money.
They in turn encourage music lovers to show off their own taste and “personality” by creating their own mixtapes.
“So many people when they were younger would make mixtapes for the boy or girl they liked,” she said.
“I am not a musician but the mixtape is a great way for me to showcase what I love and support the bands I think are making really great music.”
DIY label … The Ill’s and their mates are making tapes on their Solitaire Recordings imprint. Picture: Supplied
Source: Supplied
The I’lls are not only a band causing huge buzz out of Melbourne but members Dan Rutman and Hamish Mitchell set up their own Solitaire Recordings to release their music and the work of their mates out of frustration after trying to deal with established labels.
Each of their fledgling artists, including Wabz and Good Morning, have released cassette editions of their singles or EPs.
“You have something to hold, a piece of the band and it makes you feel like you are supporting them,” he said.
Rutman said out of the two retro formats, it was cheaper to produce cassettes than vinyl.
Now 26, he said he had fond memories of a childhood spent listening to and making his own tapes.
And he defends the sound quality, insisting the “warble and hiss” is “extremely nostalgic”.
“It’s so crappy and warbled because your heads might be dirty or the tape is stretched. Good Morning sound pretty good on tape but electronic music would never work on tape,” he said.
He isn’t confident the cassette comeback will reinvigorate sales of Walkmans or boom boxes, suggesting some people buy them as hip home decorations.
“People from the generations who grew up with cassettes ask me why we would bother. But the younger generation think they are cool,” he said.
Bands and stores are encouraged to get involved with Cassette Store Day go register via riceisnice.net
