Cassette Culture Podcast

The stories of the global underground movement that shaped experimental music and culture, told by the artists that were there…

For two decades the international mail system fostered a network of underground artists, exchanging cassette tapes of music and homemade artwork – all under the radar of mainstream media. Taking the DIY message of Punk as a jumping off point, we travel through the network to find the creators of the fanzines, the music, the labels and events.

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Recent Episodes

Under the Westway: 1979 Portobello Punks

Emerging from the squats, free gigs and improvised studios of late-70’s Portobello Road, F*ck Off Records operated at the volatile intersection of hippie idealism and punk DIY. Active between 1979 and 1982, the label released copied-to-order cassettes alongside a small…

Deleted Funtime Rewind

After we spoke with Mark Automaton for our episode on Deleted Records and the Instant Automatons, he kindly shared his recollections of the music and bands presented on the legendary “Deleted Funtime” compilation, released by Deleted Records in 1980. Originally…

Integrated Circuits: Colin Potter, ICR and the Cassette Network

Emerging from the same late-1970s underground that fuelled punk, DIY cassette culture, and European electronic experimentation, we explore the influence of Colin Potter – sound artist, producer, and founder of Integrated Circuit Records (ICR) From beginnings building crude oscillators and…

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Jonathan Barnett shares the 1979 Danny & The Dressmakers "39 Golden Grates" cassette, F.O. Records badges, "200 Cancellations" and the original contract written on toilet paper. Recorded under the Westway, London October 2025 Listen to the Cassette Culture podcast episode: https://youtu.be/aaPwbqB9WCE?si=1paB8-L9PC1_N1ap ==== WWW: https://www.cassetteculturepodcast.com/ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cassette-culture/id1780079136?mt=2&ls=1 POCKET CASTS: https://pca.st/4374tdpg
A Proper-Job F.O. Records Artifact - Danny & The Dressmakers cassette tape
==== WWW: https://www.cassetteculturepodcast.com/ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cassette-culture/id1780079136?mt=2&ls=1 POCKET CASTS: https://pca.st/4374tdpg
A Proper-Job F.O.Records Artifact - Danny & The Dressmakers 1979 #punk #cassette #diymusic
Emerging from the squats, free gigs and improvised studios of late-70’s Portobello Road, F*ck Off Records operated at the volatile intersection of hippie idealism and punk DIY. Active between 1979 and 1982, the label released copied-to-order cassettes alongside a small number of vinyl EPs and LPs with music by Alternative TV, The 012, Danny & The Dressmakers, Here & Now, The Instant Automatons, The Androids Of Mu and their many collaborators. Founded by Kif Kif Le Batteur and Jonathan Barnett in a period when Portobello was dense with creative possibility: vacant houses, squatted venues, free festivals and heaps of talent. We join Jonathan Barnett to trace the roots of the label through the influences of Sniffin’ Glue and Mark Perry to Here & Now’s free-music ethos and open minded approach to supporting others. Central to the label’s emergence was Street Level Studios, a low-cost recording space that allowed bands to record without compromise, and the cassette as a format that made duplication, circulation and autonomy possible. 00:00-01:48 Heading To Portabello Road 01:49-02:26 "The Ballad Of F*uk Off Records" The Sell Outs 02:27-03:49 Jonathan Barnett Joins Here & Now 03:50-04:15 Planet Gong 04:16-05:03 Virgin HQ Occupation 05:04-05:45 "Terrified Of Dogs" ATV 05:46-08:42 In Contact with Mark Perry 08:43-09:37 Kif Kif and F.O. Records 09:38-12:00 "Pretty Nun" Androids Of Mu 12:00-13:48 Mark Automaton Meets F.O. 13:49-15:55 Danny & The Dressmakers 15:56-17:12 The Idiot Ballroom & Meanwhile Gardens 17:13-18:19 Weird Noise Tapes 18:20-21:23 "Total Disregard For Greenwich Theatre" ATV 21:24-24:17 "Fish From Tahiti" The 012 24:18-25:18 "Asbestos Lead Asbestos" WDE Hosted by Martin Franklin. Theme music “This Is Concrete” by The Happy Citizen KIF KIF We would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of Keith Dobson aka Kif Kif Le Batteur, who passed away in July 2025. His influence runs through the whole scene that we document in Cassette Culture, and joins many dots in my own life. We are proud to be able to tell at least a small part of his story and so sorry that we just missed him. (https://www.eatsdrinksandleaves.com/rip-keith-dobson-1956-2025/) LINKS Portobello Film Festival (https://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/) “Floating Anarchy” Here & Now documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsg8cMdYtuM) Good article on the late-70’s Punk/DIY scene by Bob Stanley: Birth Of The Uncool (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/mar/31/popandrock1) VIDEO You can find videos of some of the amazing fanzines and cassette releases that drop through our letterbox on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@CassetteCulturePodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@CassetteCulturePodcast) IN THIS EPISODE VOICES Martin Franklin Jonathan Barnett Keith Dobson, aka Kif Kif Le Batteur Mark Automaton MUSIC “The Ballad of F*ck Off Records” The 012, Weird Noise EP (F*ck Off Records 1980) “Allez Alibaba” Planet Gong, Floating Anarchy 1977 (Charly Records 1978) “Terrified of Dogs” Alternative TV, Back To Sing For Free Again Soon compilation (F*ck Off Records 1979) “Pretty Nun” Androids of Mu, F*ck Off Demo Tape (F*ck Off Records 1979) “Too Big” The Instant Automatons “Drop Dead” / “Don’t Make Another Bass Guitar, Mr Rickenbacker” Danny and the Dressmakers, Back To Sing For Free Again Soon compilation (F*ck Off Records 1979) “Total Disregard for Greenwich Theatre” ATV/The Good Missionaries, Scars On Sunday (F*ck Off Records 1980) Fish From Tahiti — The 012, Weird Sampler (F*ck Off Records 1981) Asbestos Lead Asbestos — World Domination Enterprises, Let’s Play Domination (Product Inc 1984) FIND US https://cassetteculturepodcast.com (https://cassetteculturepodcast.com/) SUPPORTERS Help us keep Cassette Culture alive! This podcast is enabled by generous supporters who gift a small monthly contribution toward the costs of researching, producing and publishing each episode. You can become one of them at: https://cassetteculturepodcast.bandcamp.com/subscribe   Cassette Culture is produced by Martin Franklin for East Coast Studio (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au/) )
Under the Westway: 1979 Portobello Punks
In collaboration with the Flowmotion zine, Colin Potter released this compilation as the third release on his ICR label in 1981. Curated by Ian Dobson and Gordon Hope, featuring tracks from Chris & Cosey, David Jackman, Eyeless In Gaza, Legendary Pink Dots, Carl Matthews, Colin Potter and more. ==== WWW: https://www.cassetteculturepodcast.com/ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cassette-culture/id1780079136?mt=2&ls=1 POCKET CASTS: https://pca.st/4374tdpg
Unboxing Rare 1981 Electronic Music Cassette #cassette #electronicmusic
In collaboration with the Flowmotion zine, Colin Potter released this compilation as the third release on his ICR label in 1981. Curated by Ian Dobson and Gordon Hope, featuring tracks from Chris & Cosey, David Jackman, Eyeless In Gaza, Legendary Pink Dots, Carl Matthews, Colin Potter and more. ICR reissued the "Here" cassette by Colin Potter for Cassette Store Day in 2014. Solo work of early synth/guitar taking Krautrock inspirations into edgy ambient territory. Full Cassette Culture episode "Integrated Circuits: Colin Potter & ICR": https://youtu.be/akyrt6si64k ==== WWW: https://www.cassetteculturepodcast.com/ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cassette-culture/id1780079136?mt=2&ls=1 POCKET CASTS: https://pca.st/4374tdpg
Unboxing Rare 1981 Electronic Music Cassettes | Flowmotion & Colin Potter
After we spoke with Mark Automaton for our episode on Deleted Records and the Instant Automatons, he kindly shared his recollections of the music and bands presented on the legendary “Deleted Funtime” compilation, released by Deleted Records in 1980. Originally compiled by Martin “Protag” Naish of the Automatons, and featuring 34 tracks by various outsider musicians and misfits from across the booming cassette network in the UK.  Filling a c90 cassette and in 1980, available for 60p and a self-addressed envelope direct from the band - we’ve omitted a few tracks where they were by the same band or sometimes where we had no recollections to share. The tape hiss you’ll hear on the music tracks is original, mostly due to the sometimes third generation tape copies that were the sources for the compilation. IN THIS EPISODE VOICES Martin Franklin Mark Lancaster MUSIC Missing Persons "Chemical Solutions" Colin Potter "Power" Stabmental "Thin Veil Of Blood" The Midnight Circus "Obsession" 391 "Prisoner Of The Living Room" The Door And The Window "Habits" The Digital Dinosaurs "Fingers And Thumbs" Lurch "Single Symphony Excerpt" The Mystic Umbrellas "Journey To The West" The Digital Dinosaurs "Walking Out" Merz "Spud-Dream" Duo Elettronica "Duo Elettronica Tape Excerpt" Mic Woods "Little Girl" The Instant Automatons "Disillusion" Alien Brains "Alien Brains Excerpts" Heddon Street W1 "We Wanna Pogo" LINKS https://www.waterden.net/ https://markautomaton.bandcamp.com/ The Luxury Of Dreams: An Autobiography, by Mark Automaton https://amzn.asia/d/bS6PSxt FIND US https://cassetteculturepodcast.com (https://cassetteculturepodcast.com/) SUPPORTERS Help us keep Cassette Culture alive! This podcast is enabled by generous supporters who gift a small monthly contribution toward the costs of researching, producing and publishing each episode. You can become one of them at: https://cassetteculturepodcast.bandcamp.com/subscribe     Cassette Culture is produced by Martin Franklin for East Coast Studio (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au/) )
Deleted Funtime Rewind
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