Cassette Culture
Brief History
Cassette Culture refers to the trading of home-made audio cassettes, usually of rock or alternative music. The culture was in part an offshoot of the mail art movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In both the United States and United Kingdom, it emerged from the DIY ethic of punk. In the UK cassette culture was at its peak in what is known as the post-punk period, 1978–1984; in the US, activity extended through the late '80s and into the '90s. It was largely postal-based (though there were a few retail outlets, such as Rough Trade in the UK) with the artists selling or more likely exchanging music on compact audio cassettes via a loose network of other artists and fanzine readers.
Several factors made the "cassette" boom occur. Obviously the recording format of the cassette tape was important. More significant, however, was the fact that bands did not need to go into expensive recording studios any longer. Multi-track recording equipment was becoming affordable, portable and of fairly high quality during the early 1980s. One could purchase a "four track" cassette recorder and get a reasonable sound at home.
Mail Art Movement Becomes Email Audio Movement
In November 2010 a new exciting Email Art Movement was signaled by one of mail art's key players, Hal McGee. Volume 1 of the International Email Audio Art Project (a HalTapes label release), consisted of 60 contributions. The Homemade Music Movement has grown from the roots of the Mail Art Movement, and in order to pay due respect and acknowledge to those origins Hal McGee said, "I propose an international EMAIL audio art project in which contributors will send to me a one-minute miniature audio work in mp3 format (plus visual works if desired) attached to an email."
I'm honoured to be included on Volumes 1 and 2 of the International Email Audio Art Project, a project contributed by many of Mail Art and Cassette Culture's long-standing artists, including Lord Litter, Hal McGee, PBK, Gary Pig Gold, and the legendary R.Stevie Moore.
Sean T Wright and the Cassette Culture
I began recording my own songs directly to stereo cassettes in 1974. I then moved on to a higher quality TEAC reel to reel machine. I released my first album CARCASS in 1976. Until the advent of the Compact Disc and later digital downloading, I continued releasing albums and singles on cassette, both as an independent artist, and within the band context. Below are a few examples of my early cassette covers.
CARCASS (1976), BREATHE (1977), HAND THAT FEEDS (1978), and EARTH STORY (1995) are examples of handmade cassette covers by Sean Wright. Every cover is unique and different from the previous one. As an artist, this notion of individualised art appealed greatly to me back then - indeed over 35 years on, it has lost none of its appeal.
Early 1980's cassette covers from the band THE MEDIA (Sean Wright, lead vox and guitar; Bob Allen, bass guitar, and Terry Jordan, drums.) The cassette album SOCIALLY REJECTED (left) was recorded live to stereo cassette. It marked a new way forward, with words created via a typewriter, and the cover art created by a Xeroxed photograph. Master cassette tape (right) cover art from a pro studio recording session, which spawned THE MEDIA'S "Let's Get Wild Tonight/Crying Child" session.