i think one of the coolest labels ever is burger records. they have lots of great stuff on tape that you've never heard. the quality is really high. i've never been disappointed in any of my purchases. today's offering is two tapes, cleaners from venus {english electric}, and apache {radical sabbatical}.
they showed up really quickly, in a safe bubble wrapped package, with a free sticker and button. with a handwritten little note of thanks. my cost was a measly 12 bucks. it's really fun to get this stuff in your mailbox! mixed in with the bills was this great little gem. it's really fun, i get to searching for stuff online, make an order then go back to life and kind of forget, and boom! it shows up!
the music:
apache is really funny and great. it's kind of a sludge/guitar/metal/pop/punk thing that's well done and has a great vibe. the music isn't quantized so it's really cool to hear the guitar hits and the drum hits kind of swimming around on the "grid" but still hitting at the same time. good live feel. the music itself works really great on tape. sounds good loud. the songs are well done and the playing is cool. it feels like the compression is cranked pretty hard overall which i love, like when a cymbal hits in the stops. this may be when they went to cassette the levels were perhaps nailed pretty good, which is awesome. the cover is well done and funny. recommended.
cleaners from venus. one of my favorite bands. this one seems a little cleaner sonically than some of the earlier tapes, but still sounds like them. i really like their songs and aesthetic and this tape is well done. always great songs, and this one doesn't disappoint. martin newell is a hero. i would get all their tapes you can find.
both of these are numbered editions. apache, i have 14 of 250. and the cleaners i have 76 of 250 total copies. it's so cool to buy things like this. offered cheap enough so i can experiment with unheard music, and in a format i really like. plus since it comes in the limited edition of just a few copies, it feels like i really have something tangible. i realize most folks have no interest in this stuff, but for me it really means something important. it's like me and a few friends have our own private music industry that is way way cooler than than the other one. the songs are better, the media is collectable and plays on my cool old jam boxes. the aesthetic is more interesting. and we can all afford to experiment. on the generating end, and on the fan end. which is an example of my precious win/win concept.
it's really great to find labels that have thematic unity, or aesthetic concept or idea or whatever you call that, whereby the customer/fan can buy other items blind, and discover new things that are worthwhile. this is the way labels used to be when i was a first getting into music. certain labels were always good. i'm all for this set-up. so many of the modern cd companies put out so much stuff that doesn't relate it's impossible to sort through. but if you find a label like this, or sweat lodge guru or some of the others, everything is cool. so you can buy stuff blind and not be disappointed. and at six bucks a pop with a reusable media, you can't lose. hell if i don't like it, i'll just record motorhead over it.
burger records is a great company and both of these tapes will juke.
