The cassette culture refers to the practices associated with amateur production and distribution of music and sound art on compact cassette that emerged in the mid-1970s. The cassette was used by fine artists and poets for the independent distribution of new work. This article focuses on the independent music scene associated with the cassette that burgeoned internationally in the second half of the 1970s.
Cultural Amnesia (CA) are an English post-punk music group, first active between 1979 and 1983 as participants in the so-called cassette culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK. During this first period the band released three cassette albums: Video Rideo (1981), The Uncle of the Boot (1983) and Sinclair's Luck (1983) on English and German record labels, and contributed to a number of compilation albums. Early on in his career, CA worked with the late Geff Rushton of Coil, who wrote a handful of songs for them and who was an important supporter and enabler due to his contacts as editor of Stabmental magazine, arranging most of their releases and providing constant encouragement. The band has become more widely known since 2000 following release of a number of compilations of their early '80s music in which the members of the group have been fully involved. Since the late '90s the band has also been occasionally active in the recording of new music and there have been a number of releases of new material since the early 2000s.
Picture Frame Seduction (PFS) is a hardcore punk band originally from Haverfordwest, Wales, but later jointly based in Cadiz and Málaga in Spain and London and Bristol in the UK. In their formative years in Wales the band was considered too aggressive in their musical style and attitude to book and were continually ignored by established Welsh venues. The band's influences included their peers of the day, Charged GBH and Discharge. With many other bands of the time, such as The Varukers and Chaos UK, they helped develop the hardcore punk scene in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, recording from 1979 to 1987 on numerous labels.
Rick White is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter. Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, he was a member of indie bands Eric's Trip, Elevator, Perplexus, and The Unintended. White first played music, in a band called "Bloodstain", in 1984, before starting his own band "in 1986", called "T.C.I.B", which later transitioned into the band name, "The Underdogs", which lasted from the summer of 1987, until June 1988. By the summer of 1989, The Underdogs had broken up, and Rick had joined another band, "The Forest", which lasted from the 1989, until June 1990, with a one-off recording session happening in December, 1990. Prior to Eric's Trip, and while in Eric's Trip, White also recorded two solo-produced albums, one in March 1990, and another in August 1991, but both were not released until 2022. Known for lo-fi recording, he has also recorded and produced music for The Sadies, Orange Glass, Joel Plaskett, One Hundred Dollars, Dog Day, HotKid and his former Eric's Trip bandmate Julie Doiron.
Doom are an English hardcore punk band from Birmingham whose first lineup were together from 1987 to 1990. Despite its short existence, the band is considered pivotal in the rise of crust punk, a genre of punk rock that takes influence and elements from extreme metal. They recorded for Peaceville Records and are cited as an early precursor to grindcore. Doom were also a favourite of BBC Radio DJ John Peel.
Michael Sheridan is an Australian guitarist. Having played and recorded with an array of artists his versatility in original music spans the styles of rock, jazz/punk, industrial, metal, and sonic art including glitch & noise. He has released solo works such as Scaleshack,Digital Jamming and collaborations with Nicholas Littlemore and associates. He has been a member of several bands since 1975 including No (1987–1989) with Ollie Olsen and Marie Hoy, which were described as "One of Australias most compelling stage acts incorporating speed metal, hip hop and electro funk". In 1989 he followed Olsen to join Max Q with Michael Hutchence of INXS on vocals.
Sore Throat were a British crust punk band formed in Huddersfield in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well as for launching the careers of several prominent members of the British heavy metal community.
The A Band are a British musical collective formed in Nottingham in the late 1980s. In 2005, The Wire compared the band's importance to that of AMM and SME, and noted their lack of musical training.
Hagar the Womb are an English punk rock band, originally active in the early 1980s and part of the anarcho-punk movement. In hiatus from 1987, members went on to form We Are Going To Eat You and Melt, with vocalist Julie Sorrell. A 2011 compilation of their back catalogue brought members back into contact with each other, and invitations to reform and play gigs and festivals led to Hagar The Womb gigging again from 2012. The band released a new EP in 2016.
The Cassettes are a Washington, D.C.–based "Mystic Country"/Steampunk band formed in 1999.
The Zero Boys are an American hardcore punk quartet from Indianapolis, Indiana fronted by Paul Mahern that debuted in 1980. Other members include bassist Scott Kellogg, drummer Mark Cutsinger and guitarist Dave Lawson. The band was known as one of the few popular hardcore bands from the Midwest, as the scene was mostly dominated by bands from the coasts.
Garry Bradbury was a British-born Australian electronic musician active in Sydney's experimental music scene from 1979 to 2022.
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist and an ambient/experimental musician from the United States. He co-founded the drone and ambient label Root Strata.
Bilders is a New Zealand music group of varying lineups that produced a string of self-recorded 7-inch vinyl releases between 1980 and 1982 leading to Beatin Hearts, the first studio-album from fledgling New Zealand independent record label 'Flying Nun Records'.
Brad Laner is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine, which he founded and led.
Formed in January 1979, the Funboy Five were an English post-punk band from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire and originally had four members, Mick Sinclair, John McRae (keyboards), Bob Brimson (bass) and Robert Radhall (drums).
The Tronics were a London-based band that released records from 1979 to 1984. The band was formed and fronted by musician, songwriter, and music producer Zarjaz Baby, also known as Ziro Baby.
Glorium was a prolific art punk band that was formed in San Antonio, Texas, in 1991. After moving to Austin, Texas, in 1992, the band released several 7-inch records and albums, many on local Austin independent record labels. The band's music is a blend of post-punk, emo, art rock, classic rock, garage rock, progressive rock and noise rock with a strong DIY ethic.
Wingtip Sloat is an indie rock trio formed in the Washington, D.C., suburb Falls Church, Virginia. Active throughout the 1990s, the group comprised Patrick Foster on guitar and vocals, Andy Dubuc on bass, and David Bishop on drums. Throughout their initial decade of activity, the group remained committedly DIY, recording and publishing their music themselves while holding down full-time jobs, earning Wingtip Sloat repute as "hardest working band in America."
Witching Waves are a DIY indie post-punk band from London, England. Drowned in Sound hailed their debut long-player as one of the best albums of 2014. They have released four full-length albums on independent record labels.
