Cassette Store Day returns for 2018

Since 2013, music fans have been coming together to hail the glory of the compact audio cassette in the form of Cassette Store Day, and the annual celebration returns on 13 October with more special events and one-off releases. The cassette format – basically analog magnetic tape wound inside a hardy rectangular plastic box – was all the rage in the 1970s and 80s, but their sales waned in the subsequent decades as digital formats were introduced. But as CSD UK manager Brit Williams notes, the modest cassette tape’s popularity is back on the rise.

“Every few months I get an email from a small label in some far out corner of the world who wants to bring CSD to their country,” Williams says. “The growth of this event still amazes me.” The event began in London in 2013, but there are now events taking place all over the world, from China to Indonesia, Australia to Canada. I don’t even think it has reached its potential yet. There are so many eager labels and musicians who are still discovering it and want to celebrate with us. We have so many plans to make this bigger every year."

The releases this CSD that initially piques our interest is Thunder, Lightning, Strike, the 2004 debut album from Brighton indie favourites The Go! Team; that’s out on Memphis Industries. Among the Scottish releases that have caught our eye are Edinburgh dark alt-rocker Mt. Doubt’s This Must Mean Something Awful, released via Scottish Fiction, and Dundee lo-fi veterans Spare Snare’s Sounds, out on Chute Records. In general, though, it’s an eclectic mix, taking in hip-hop, electronic music and rock.

Over its short history, Cassette Store Day has seen releases from the likes of The White Stripes, Green Day, Ramones, The Flaming Lips and Motörhead. Williams notes, though, that CSD isn't just about famous bands rereleasing old albums on to tape. “What humbles me the most is seeing underground, independent and unrecognised labels and musicians taking a chance and putting themselves out there to be a part of something bigger,” she says. “If that platform is through Cassette Store Day, I can’t think of any better or more welcoming place.”

In Edinburgh you'll find Underground Solu'shn on Cockburn Street and Assai Records on Grindlay Street taking part and stocking CSD wares, while over in Dundee you can celebrate the cassette at Assai's Broughty Ferry store or at This Way Up on Perth Road. Down in London, meanwhile, Cassette Store Day are throwing an official all-day party at The Shacklewell Arms in Dalston, with live music from LA dream-pop garage band Winter (Burger Records), Taipei-bred five-piece Sunset Rollercoaster, London-based multi-national punk quartet Ghost Car and more – plus they're selling 2018 CSD releases at their tape fair. You’ll also find more CSD fun round the corner at Lion Coffee + Records, who’ll be hosting acoustic acts and DJs throughout the day. Entry to The Shacklewell Arms events are free, so just head along and celebrate this retro format – just don’t forget your Walkman.

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Cassette Store Day 2018 Full Release List

Absinth3 – Retropolis Time (Slave Recordings)
Acid Tongue – Ordinary People (Freakout Records)
Barfoot – A Thin Place Between Worlds (Canigou Records)
Casper Heyzeus – Goblin Boy (Ice Cream For Crow)
Der Petunienmann von Metaluna Vier – Magnetbandaufzeichnung (Bellerophon Records)
Don Pierre – In Orbit (Obi Records)
Don't Try – Jesus Was A F*cking Junkie (Buzzhowl Records)
Emile's Telegraphic Transmission Device – Lost In The Ether (I/O Records)
Factory Acts – Are You the Singer? (AnalogueTrash)
Family Selection Box – Confetti (Bingo Records)
Fat Earthers – Three Chords and The Truth EP (Brutalist Records)
Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and Freddy Boy Paraz –  Native Grooves "Groove With The Natives" (Modern Ancient Production/Island Roots On Wax)
Futurecop! – Fairy Tales (TimeSlave Recordings)
Giant Boys – Clap Your Hands EP (Better Looking Twin)
Ghost Car/Los Bitchos – No Love For Me/Panther (Blak Hand Records)
Goteki – Triptych (AnalogueTrash)
Halcyon Dreams –Taschenbediener (Halcyon Dreams)
Hexenkraft – The Abyssal Saga (TimeSlave Recordings)
High/Low & Spun – Split EP (Instereo Records)
Honey Hahs – Dear Someone, Happy Something (Rough Trade Records)
J. Lynch – Extended Play (Armellodie)
James Lloyd Smith – Wild (Kissability)
Keshco – Never Eject (Keshcology)
Krueger – An Age of Riots (Lavender Sweep Records)
Lola Disco – Summer Body (My Pet Flamingo)
Max Blansjaar – Spit It Out! (Beanie Tapes)
MJ Hibbett & The Validators – 20 Golden Grates (Artists Against Success)
Metal Disco – Vade Mecum (Detonic Recordings)
Mt. Doubt – This Must Mean Something Awful (Scottish Fiction)
Ova – Godless (First Light)
Pietro Roffi & Alessandro Stella – Tutto Tango (Continuo Records)
Shukhov – Atavism (Spomenik Tapes)
Shanghai Beach – Recontaminated (AnalogueTrash)
She Makes War – Brace For Impact (My Big Sister Recordings)
SIDCA – Jizz Crate (Sharted Jeggings)
Spare Snare – Sounds (Chute Records)
Spill Gold – Spill Gold (Beacon Sound)
Stefan Bachmeier – The Infernal Machine (Spun Out Of Control)
Street Cleaner – Hardware|Heatwave (TimeSlave Recordings)
Synchro//Start – See You! ファンタジーガール (My Pet Flamingo)
Taurus 1984 – Lost in Time (Lavender Sweep Records)
The Carbon Manual – The Carbon Manual (Lavender Sweep Records)
The Elation – Clickbait (Top6)
The Frixion – Magic (AnalogueTrash)
The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike (Memphis Industries)
The Kennedy Soundtrack – A Tale of 2 Cities (Lavender Sweep Records)
Timeshare 94’ – Malibu Condos v2.0 (My Pet Flamingo)
Various Artists – Continuous Play (Beanie Tapes)
Various Artists – Disintegrated Stem Cells (Disintegration State)
Various Artists – The Finspång Sound Vol.1 – Genesis (92-94) (Kronofonika)
Various Artists – Minimum Records Sampler (Minimum Records)
Various Artists – Flamingo Funk Vol.1 (My Pet Flamingo)
Various Artists – The Music Will Save Us Vol. 1 (Sad Club Records)
Waterfront Dining – In Fall (My Pet Flamingo)
Zombie Picnic – Rise of a New Ideology: Bonus Tracks (Golden Shred Records) (Ireland)

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More information on the event, releases and participating shops can be found at cassettestoredayuk.com
facebook.com/cassettestoreday // twitter.com/cassetteday // instagram.com/cassettestoreday

Watch the Tapes: read our feature celebrating the cassette format's comeback