Split Tapes

In the first four months of 2009 Tape manufacturer TDK sold one million tapes. While some said the rise was due to in car stereos still using them and old dudes getting their Dire Straits scratched, Steve Sidoli of Telephone Explosion Records coined "lo-fi loyalty", the resurgence in tapes becoming an acceptable medium for 'the kids' to listen through. "You never saw them anywhere, and when you did you thought it was ridiculous" he explained to Resonacity in December last year "Now Jay Reatard could release a tape and people wouldn’t bat an eyelash.” It's true. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) released tapes last year, as did Fucked Up and HEALTH.

Around the same time Wired magazine called the "Good Enough Revolution" - the fact that there's a demand for lo quality technology despite there being fancier options on the market. What used to be though of as "quality" - fidelity, resolution or features - have been usurped by easy to use products or things that can be shared easily.

As Mp3s never really "got fancy" - they pretty much pack the same sounds as the earlier version readjusted upward - listeners are becoming accustomed to the tinny Myspace player sound. It makes tapes, that are often accompanied by a hiss, no great change for younger ears. That's compared to CDs, or even vinyl records (regarded by some or probably all audiophiles as the highest-fi format available).

Not that that's the biggest reason [even though it's easier to carry a tape around than a big square of card and vinyl] for tape's remergence. Simply, we're all broke and tapes are cheap. Especially for new artists. If people want to release records they could do worse than switch to a TDK brand; on average tapes are 50% cheaper to make and easier to ship in larger quantities. With listeners to any one genre spread across the world, it's vital to cut costs by sticking things in lighter, smaller packets.

"Yes, tapes are much cheaper to manufacture" agrees Ben Yates of .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), a new tape label started out of somewhere in London. After releasing A Sunny Day in Glasgow 7" he realised it would be too expensive to carry on releasing vinyl while still having fun, "pressing stuff on tape means I can release much more of what I want and can still afford to go out" he says.

Mirror Universe in Charleston are another label who have realised that going back to tape is a cheap way to get out new artists. They took fans' obsessive needs to collect to a new level with limited tape releases of buzz bands in 2010, bringing out songs by Toro Y Moi, Truman Peyote, Active Child and Washed Out. Split Tapes' first release - a three way collaboration between now Sub Pop signees Male Bonding, the fuck-you pop of Mazes and the rotting roots-punk of Meth Teeth - is out now but they're quickly planning the next with a Rapid Youth/Bipolar Bear split almost due and Pink Priest/Among The Bones later in the month.

Back in the 80s tapes were everywhere - the Now! series to the grungiest garage band - but it's longevity was something commonly associated with punk, rather than any other 'underground' genre. With more blog-styles than ever before, why have these more intricate acts made the leap? Many of them are one man bands, working with multiple instruments, effects and pedals. The only tapes they sample on stage, surely? As Brett Wagg of Campaign for Infinity has pointed out, "the assumption of the matter is, this is punk rock – who cares about quality?" But Split Tapes hopes to release a split between Forest Swords [dubbed back guitars pedals galore] He's not known for stripped back fuzz filled shows. What makes them want to release on tape? Ben has a good idea. "From what I gather they're both really into a lot of guitar music so it doesn't seem to unusual that they're interested in adopting that culture" he says "and becoming a scene label would be self limiting".