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 1970s. Whilst 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.
Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim.
Falling A Records is a British Essex, England-based independent record label, founded in the late 1970s by Barry Lamb and Peter Ashby., born out of the D.I.Y cassette movement. It owned a shop in Clacton-on-Sea which sold new and second hand records, distributed fanzines such as New Crimes, Vague, Vox, Flipside, Juniper beri-beri, Blam!, and D.I.Y magazines/comics including the very first copies of Viz. It also distributed leaflets for various causes such as "anti-apartheid" and "anti-vivisection", music and politics being interlinked at the time.
Spasmodic Caress were an English post punk/new wave band, formed by Peter Masters, that played many gigs along the East Coast in Essex, Ipswich, Colchester and London between 1979 and 1984. They recorded a track for the 4AD Records 12" compilation Presage(s) in 1980 and performed at 4ad sponsored gigs in London with other 4ad artists including Modern English, In Camera and Bauhaus. Another track "Register of Electors" was recorded at the same time and is now included in the download version of Presages. They also released two albums, Hillside '79 and Fragments Of on Falling A Records. Bassist Peter Ashby went on to form The Insane Picnic with Barry Lamb.
Barry Lamb is an English experimental musician.
Thousand Yard Stare are an English band from Slough, Berkshire, England, active during the early 1990s, prior to the Britpop explosion. Supporting popular bands on the indie circuit such as James and Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, the band also released several EPs. Reformed in 2015, the band played a sold-out show at London's Borderline on 6 June, at the Nottingham Rock City Wake-Up Indie Alldayer on 17 October 2015, and at the Shiiine On Weekender festival at Butlins Minehead on 6 November 2015. More dates were scheduled for 2016.
Live at the Witch Trials is the debut studio album by The Fall. It was released on 16 March 1979, through record label Step-Forward. It is not, despite its title, a live album and was recorded in a studio in a single day and mixed by producer Bob Sargeant.
No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections. The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper, and a 2017 article of Drowned in Sound described them as "probably the most underrated band of the last 25 years".
"Vow" is a song by alternative rock band Garbage. It was released as their debut single in early 1995 by Discordant, a label set up by Mushroom Records to launch the group, and Almo Sounds in North America.
"Only Happy When It Rains" is an alternative rock song written and produced by alternative rock band Garbage for their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was recorded at the band's own recording studio, Smart Studios, in Madison, Wisconsin, and became known for its tongue-in-cheek lyrics parodying the typically angst-filled themes of mid-nineties alternative rock.
"Milk" is a song written and produced by American alternative rock band Garbage from their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was released internationally the following year as the album's fifth and final single. Garbage collaborated with English trip hop musician Tricky on a new version of "Milk" for single release. Much media comment was made regarding a rumoured fall-out over the sessions, when it became known that Garbage produced a further mix of "Milk" that only incorporated Tricky's vocals from that session.
Bang Bang Machine were a cult indie band from Evesham, Worcestershire in England. They formed in 1989 and split up in 1996 after record company troubles. After 17 years they re-released their back catalogue on iTunes in 2013.
The discography of the British space rock group Hawkwind spans from their formation in 1969 through to the present day, with consistent output of live and studio albums, EPs and singles. The group have used aliases to release some albums in an attempt to either redefine themselves, as with the 1978 album 25 Years On released under the name Hawklords, or simply to distinguish the piece of work from their usual output, as with White Zone released under the name Psychedelic Warriors.
The Beekeepers were an English rock band from Derby, signed to the Beggars Banquet Records label. Their releases included the mini-album Third Party, Fear and Theft and the single, Do You Behave Like That at Home?
"Lipgloss" is a song by British rock band Pulp, from their 1994 album His 'n' Hers. With lyrics written by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker about the deterioration of social skills that comes with a relationship in the context of a breakup, the song was the first that the band worked on for their new record company, Island Records.
The Early Years are an English rock band from Hackney, London, England, consisting of David Malkinson, Roger Mackin, Brendan Kersey, Philip Raines and Alexander Theakston.
"Take It Easy Chicken" is a song by Chester rock band Mansun first released in 1995. It was the first song that the group ever recorded, and was later re-recorded and released as the lead track of the Two EP, the group's fourth release overall. An instrumental version appears in the PAL version of Gran Turismo 2.
Adem K is an Australian independent rock musician and songwriter. As a founding member of the group Turnstyle, Kerimofski is credited with helping to revive Casio and toy keyboard integration in rock music in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Australia.
Mad Love is the debut extended play by the English alternative rock band Lush. It was released on 26 February 1990 by 4AD. Produced by Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie, Mad Love was composed of four tracks—including a rerecording of "Thoughtforms", a song from Lush's debut mini-album Scar (1989).
Hip Priest and Kamerads is a 1985 compilation album by British rock band The Fall, containing tracks taken from their releases on the Kamera label together with a previously-unreleased live track from the same era. It was subsequently reissued with a further four live tracks added.
