Cassette Culture

Find The Others

A decade before the widespread adoption of the internet, a group of artists and musicians established an underground network to share their work with kindred spirits via the mail system. Starting our story from a dark, isolated UK in the late 1980's, with mass youth unemployment. We take a journey with some key figures from the Cassette Scene, who provide a firsthand account of the collaborative spirit and sense of discovery that permeated the cassette culture scene. Guests: Martin Franklin/SoundImage Tapes Don Campau/No Pidgeonholes Sandy Nys/Hybryds Richard Talbot/Marconi Union Rob Maycock/Mindscan Tapes Featured Music: "This is Concrete" by The Happy Citizen (A Tender Tension, Pharoah Chromium Sound, 1990) "Untitled" by Vitamin B12 (Premonitions, SoundImage Tapes, 1990) "Piece 6" by The Omega Ensemble (Omega Ensemble) "Sahara" by Richard Talbot (Devices &amp; Desires, SoundImage Tapes 1991) "Premonitions: Underground Cassette Network 1989​-​90" cassette reissue, Infinite Expanse 2024 <a href="https://infiniteexpanse.bandcamp.com/album/premonitions-underground-cassette-network-1989-90">https://infiniteexpanse.bandcamp.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

For two decades during the 80's-90's, the international mail system fostered a network of underground artists, exchanging cassette tapes of music and homemade artwork - all under the radar of main stream media.
Taking the DIY message of Punk as a jumping off point, our travel through the network departs from the bleak 1980's Thatcher-era UK, community radio and fanzines and all points in a journey to a thriving self sustaining culture.  
We track down some key figures in the cassette scene, and follow the web of connections outward from the UK around the world, mapping the impacts and their ongoing effects.
We speak with musicians, label runners, and fanzine writers, who share their experiences of connecting through the mail system and its ongoing effects on their lives.