Matador, Burger and ZAP talk about tapes
3 labels discuss the ins and outs of cassettes
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This week CL’s Vibes feature story, Rewind takes a look at the cassette tape resurgence that’s taking place amidst certain indie circles. More and more, cassette tapes are showing up on merch tables, vying for space alongside records and CDs. They are cheap to make, and they’ve become cool and kitschy little art objects, and like vinyl, they possess a distinct sonic quality.
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Chad Radford: Do you think cassette tapes could become a viable commercial format again?
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Gerard Cosloy (of Matador Records): I’m sure someone thought vinyl would never be a viable format again.
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Smaller labels, like Woodsist and Burger Records are fully embracing them. Would Matador consider releasing cassettes again?
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If we thought we could sell enough to justify the hassle/cost of doing so, I don’t see why not. At the moment, it would sort of feel like we were aping Burger or Woodsist.
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What about for a group like Times New Viking who’s sound is tailor-made for it to a degree?
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We’ve talked about it a couple of times but Times New Viking are pretty good at making their own cassettes and selling ‘em on the road. I mean, we’ll see where it goes. There’s no point in our ruling it out, but the moment in which it would’ve been seen as a fun stunt or something reverse-innovative was a year or two ago, not now.