Watch the Tapes: Cassette Store Day 2017 preview

International Cassette Store Day returns on 14 October, for its fifth year, in record shops across the world. Founded in 2013 by Radio 1 DJ Jen Long along with Steven Rose of Sexbeat Records and Matt Flag of Suplex Cassettes, it's come back, bigger and better, each year since and is now celebrated in UK, USA, China, Japan, France, New Zealand and Australia. The day serves as a platform for independent record shops to showcase their musical offerings on cassette and for record labels and artists to release new material on the vintage format.

To many of us who have made the switch to streaming, or to younger individuals who have never known anything different to digital, the very concept of CSD might seem a little odd. However, the humble cassette is casting off its antique associations and is becoming increasingly popular among new, emerging talent and music fans. In advance of this year’s event, and to discover why the cassette continues to attract new audiences, we speak to CSD's new organiser, and owner of cassette-only label Blak Hand Records, Brit Williams; Niall Strachan of Garden of Elks, who are soon to release their second album, Low Hearts, via cassette; and George Macdonald, owner of Edinburgh record shop Underground Solu’shn.

To kick things off, we ask the simple, but vital, question; is the cassette format really making a comeback? Macdonald is quick to jump in with a comparison to another beloved retro offering: "Like vinyl there has always been a grassroots scene keeping the format alive, so like vinyl you can say they never went away... it's also true that the DIY ethic makes tapes an obvious choice for certain types of music and an easier way to have product in shops... and don't forget the high level of 80s nostalgia that's been prevalent for some time now!"

Garden of Elks' Strachan goes on to clarify that a comeback is not only in the works, but has already come to pass: "I think they have already come back. [It] seemed to have really started around five to six years ago at a local level with bands making their own tapes and this spread quickly to the indies and I guess the majors have jumped all over it now."

Williams sees this switch to analogue as motivated by a sense of nostalgia, but also a desire for the tangibility which such formats afford: "The shift back to physical from digital stems from the nostalgia fascination that the young generation has. Everything's that's old is new again, and cooler than ever, it would seem. As with vinyl, cassettes are fun to hold, fun to collect and the sound quality really isn't that bad anymore. It's the raw sound from the music that drives this analogue craze. Thousands of digital downloads haunt the internet, there's just so much music thrown at us. A cassette makes a statement: you can hold it, look at it, make it your own creative project. It can be so much more than just an album or a single, it can be a piece of art and make a memory."

Strachan also sees the digital versus analogue debate as boiling down to a matter of functionality: "The sound is better [in analogue]. There is more sound on a vinyl or tape than in a digital file. They are imperfect objects just like ourselves. But more than this it's great to have something physical from a band you are into, and knowing that the band has maybe made them? All the better. All the formats can live happily together though. Buy the tape or vinyl, own a wee piece of art and know you have helped out a band. You still get the download code."

And it would seem that the analogue renaissance shows no signs of stopping, at least according to our interviewees. "With more and more companies producing cassettes, we are seeing growth in the selection of tape colours and designs," Williams says, "which allows record labels and bands to expand their creative horizons and have more of a say in making their releases as unique as possible. With this in mind, we see the cassette making more of an impact in the music scene, as it continues to be the cheaper option when buying a new album or single."

Strachan reiterates Williams' positive outlook, stating: "Bands and artists at a DIY/indie level can't survive on streaming royalties so they need to offer something cool for people to buy into. T-shirts do this, as do tapes and vinyl. It is trying to maintain some kind of interaction with a fan and I think most people appreciate that the more isolated we become through technology the more these physical documents fire parts of the brain which aren't being stimulated by digital consumption. I can see tapes maybe decreasing in popularity as no-one really has cassette players do they? But record players are everywhere and seem to be increasing in popularity."

Talking more specifically about CSD itself, Williams recalls its origins in 2013: "When CSD originally began, it caused some internet commotion, with many skeptics claiming it was just another hipster fad. But the reality is, it makes sense. Most of us grew up with cassettes, made mixtapes, received them as gifts, wore them out, fixed one with a pencil! So why not celebrate the longevity of the cassette? It's so affordable for bands to release this way, and plus, they look cool. Yes it's a spin off of Record Store Day, but the meaning changes because CSD is more release and format based, where RSD focuses on bringing the attention back to the record stores and getting people out."

As she goes on to affirm, the event has gone from strength to strength: "Cassette Store Day has grown globally since 2013. In 2014, Burger Records got involved and now run the event in the USA, which has become hugely popular. Japan and China have been contributing, along with countries in Europe. What started as a small event in London, we could have never dreamed would get this much recognition! There are no limitations on releases this year, as online shops will also stock the Cassette Store Day releases, making it easier for fans to access the music if a shop in their city isn't participating. More and more shops are participating, putting DJ events on, workshops, band showcases, radio shows – the list goes on!"

On Scottish shores, Underground Solu’shn have some exciting plans for when 14 Oct comes along. "We’ll be rolling tape all day checking the new releases," Macdonald tells us,"and pushin' play on all the great cassettes we've had in recently."

If you're looking to go further afield, Williams excitedly tells us about some of the other plans across the UK: "We are looking forward to seeing some new shops participating in the UK! NX Records are doing a pop-up shop in London with cassette-only DJ sets and performances from the Nomadic Female DJ Troupe, and others with a tape splicing workshop/cassette based installation. How cool does that sound!?"

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A full list of Cassette Store Day releases, events and participating stores can be found here; Garden of Elks will be releasing their upcoming second album, Low Hearts, on cassette soon (date TBC).