Category Archives: Tape

Nonconnah – Unicorn Family

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Hard to describe this album without getting carried away. Nonconnah is husband and wife duo Zach & Denny Corsa who previously recorded as Lost Trail but changed name about the same time they relocated from North Carolina to Tennessee. Long before I moved to America, I’ve been obsessed with the big open spaces there and art that explores it like Twin Peaks, H.P.Lovecraft, WIlliam Least Heat-Moon and classic drone albums like “Stone Circle” by Wood-Land.

Here is something that encapsulates all those visions. A wide open space where huge walls of guitars brush up against drones that sound like signals from the deep woods. There’s fragments of songs, esoteric speeches and an underlying sense of mystery, as well as kindness.

Take the epic post-rock of Godspeed! You Black Emperor then immerse it in rainbows and forests until it starts to spin on the spot like a dervish, joyously. No matter how many times I play it, it never ceases to delight.

“Unicorn Family” is an epic beast, recorded over four years at three different studios as well as in various natural and abandoned locations. Helping out along the way we have the likes of  like Dylan Desmond (Bell Witch), Jad Fair (Half Japanese), Archie Moore (Velocity Girl, Lilys, Black Tambourine), Chris Thompson (Eric’s Trip, Moonsocket), Brian Deck & Ben Massarella (Red Red Meat, Califone, Modest Mouse), Alex Greene (Reigning Sound), Cody Drasser (Afterbirth), Tim Prudhomme (Fuck), Angel Marcloid (Fire-Toolz) and Stuart McLamb (The Love Language).

I know I’m the label guy but would you judge me if I told you it was a masterpiece? Because I am telling you.

100 copies on cassette with printed insert.

Human Greed – Black Hill: Midnight At The Blighted Star (Moonsuite Edition)

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Was Ist Das? has never done a reissue before but we found the perfect place to start. Very proud to be reissuing Human Greed’s classic 2008 album in a new special edition with the previously unreleased companion album ‘Moonsuite’ on the second tape. The plan is to follow this with similar treatment for “Fortress Longing” and “World’s Fair” and then at the end to offer a nice box to put them all in.

With guest appearances from from David TIbet (Current 93), Julia Kent (Anthony and the Johnsons), Clodagh Simonds (Mellow Candle, Fovea Hex) and Fabrizio Palumbo (Larsen).

The music of Human Greed creates a haunted world which owes as much to classical music as it does to the otherworld landscapes of gateway openers like ‘Soliloquy for Lilith’, ‘Astral Disaster’ or even ‘In den Gärten Pharaos’

Reissuing this feels so right as the reason I run this website and this label is because of the strong buzz I get from introducing people to music they love. Its the satisfaction of the match-maker, and I’ve long been evangelical about Human Greed so this was a chance to put my money where my mouth has been so long. Hopefully most of the buyers are new to Human Greed and not just existing fans double-dipping for the “Moonsuite” album.

“Black Hill occupies a realm that is somewhere between the gorgeous drones of Stars of the Lid and the haunting and solemn “Symphony No. 3” by Henryk Górecki… This is powerful stuff and takes a while to fully digest it. The oily darkness that the music conjures up gets deeper and deeper with every listen, a resonant and otherworldly tremor that is at once human and sublime.” Brainwashed

Myriad Valley – Otherworld

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We are honored to bring you the debut release from Myriad Valley.

How to sum this one up? It’s the sort of psychedelic, devotional, folk horror, acoustic drone music that brings to mind The Third Ear Band, Popol Vuh, Natural Snow Buildings, Flying Saucer Attack and the soundtrack to Blood On Satan’s Claw. Usually all at once.

It has that huge, monolithic sound yet at the same time seems devoid of any digital trickery, seemingly assembled from ritualistic folk instruments. It’s a world of mountaintop dawns in remote regions, dark woodland cacophonies and hymns to the sun.

I was so spellbound by the album, I quite deliberately avoided asking the artist for any technical details or credits, and was delighted to see a similar lack of detail on the artwork they provided.

Only 35 tapes made, though its also available in digital

We’re so freaked out about this music that we’ve also commissioned a second album from Myriad Valley.

WAS64

Was Ist Das? Soundsystem – personal mixes

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For the 17th birthday of Was Ist Das? this special release offered five people their own personalized mix tape. Buyers had a selection of themes they could choose from, though personal requests were obliged too. Each tape was a unique mix and dedicated on the front cover to the buyer [buyers names censored above for privacy reasons]

The tapes sold out almost immediately. There may be a return next birthday but due to the amount of time it took before, they’ll be even fewer available!

David Colohan – Small Movies, Ellie, Small Moves + Night, North Paterson

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We decided to revive an old bargain tradition: taking two albums and putting one on each side of a cassette. We only just managed to get away with it (95 minutes is the maximum length most duplication companies will work to, beyond that could compromise the product). Both albums are vast soundtracks to imaginary vistas with healthy doses of Popol Vuh, Vangelis and Harmonia.

When you buy the tape from our Bandcamp, you get an immediate download for one of the albums and you’ll be asked if you’d like a code sending for the other album. I’m just wired that way.

Hopefully shipping by April 9th.

WAS53

Jake Blanchard – Bryophytes

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A shimmering fog of globally infused psychedelia, a demented whirl in the fog of all oceans, this album is just exploded with strange color, just like tape art (also by Jake)

WAS52

Josh Doss – Distant Memories

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We have been quite in awe of Mr.Doss ever since getting the connection via James Jackson Toth. Josh is a exceptionally talented song writer and when he gets together with a band of cohorts, the sparks fly in a classic low-fi rock n roll way.

“Distant Memories” continues that same basement echo, outsider rock n roll session feel of his previous album for Was Ist Das? “Don’t Let Your Time Pass You By”.

You can feel it in the bass-playing, this gutsy rumble (even though two different players do the duties) that blows the dust out of your speakers.

The Lamp – False Memory

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download version cover art

The first album by The Lamp was a limited edition of less than 15 and in accordance with the artist’s wishes, all masters were permanently deleted. For the follow up album, a download has been permitted but both download and tape were only on sale for one day (June 20th 2021). As a result, only four cassette copies are out in the wild.

in accordance with The Lamp’s “leave no trace” policy, no photos of the tapes were taken but this is a mock-up of what they looked like

The first album was simply a DJ set that got out of hand and accidentally became something else, but this is the first deliberate album. Side one a strange, scratchy ritual with weird rumbles and mumbles. Side two a stretched out synth symphony. Both tracks apparently have concepts behind them but the artist declines to share them.

WAS50

The Lamp – Sentimental Journey

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So, I wanted to make a DJ set where I mixed ambient drone music with vocals from some of my fave music that wouldn’t normally get associated with ambient drone. Then I began to think about what if I dubbed something ambient and spectral onto some old cassettes containing dubs of old country LPs that belonged to someone who had left this world? Would we get that phenomenon tapers dreaded the most, ghosts of the old recording coming through?

So what was initially planned as a DJ set evolved more into an entirely sample based album, the mix of drones songs instead replaced with time stretched samples plus some pertinent blends and the aforementioned acapellas. Then dubbed to ten aged tapes.

The sleeves have been customized in different ways: some have collages, some have been painted over, some have unique fake tracklists. Each has its own unique insert.So every copy looks and sounds different.

However, it seemed the tapes, despite their age, were of very high quality and no sound leaked through. So then different masters were made for each tape. Some tapes were allowed to keep their original content for a few seconds. Each one has different levels. Different lengths.

As it seemed like we were playing with sound and time, a further, final idea arrived. I would delete all the masters. No downloads, no repress, no listening again. My only experience of it will be my memories.

WAS48

United Bible Studies – Three Barrows Round

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We’ve had the pleasure of working with David Colohan on three of his solo releases so it’s a real pleasure to have him back with us a 4th time and this time as part of ever fluid United Bible Studies collective for a new cassette release.

Taking inspiration (and field recordings) from a visit to an old roman cemetery, this captures them at their most atmospheric. The band cite MR James’ classic tale “A View From A Hill” but for some reason “Red Shift” by Alan Garner is what plays in my mind as I listen to this. I guess both tales are about a strange coming together of past and present.

That’s precisely what happens on Side A of the tape. All the tracks on Side B are assembled together into one piece like a DJ set directed by psychogeography rather than beats. Side B [tracks 2 to 11 of your free download that comes with you pre-order] are the actual individual tracks.

WAS41