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

Snatch Tapes & The Storm Bugs

A hard to imagine London of derelict warehouses and ruined public buildings birthed the short, intense life of Snatch Tapes, the late-70s cassette label founded by Philip Sanderson of Storm Bugs. Launched in 1979, Snatch Tapes became a focal point…

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…

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A hard to imagine London of abandoned warehouses and derelict public buildings birthed the short, intense life of Snatch Tapes, the late-70s cassette label founded by Philip Sanderson of Storm Bugs. Launched in 1979, Snatch Tapes became a focal point for electronic and experimental musicians pushing beyond conventional song structures and embracing the possibilities of electronics, tape loops and DIY distribution. 01:38-03:04 A Feast Of Experimentation 03:05-04:11 “Window Shopping” Storm Bugs 04:12-04:29 “Hodge” Storm Bugs 04:30-6:13 1979, The First Snatch Tape 06:14-07:44 Tapes Received 07:45-10:09 Jhon Balance and Cultural Amnesia 10:10-10:40 “Cultural Amnesia Dub” 10:41-11:13 Cherry Red Records 11:14-15:36 “Ashes & Diamonds” Claire Thomas 15:37-16:58 30 Minutes from Rough Trade 16:59-18:20 David Jackman At The Door 18:21-20:11 Alien Brains Nigel Jacklin 20:12-20:58 Abandoned London 20:59-21:34 “Song” Nigel Jacklin 21:35-22:53 Snatch 3 22:54-24:10 Time To Move On 24:11-25:25 Aeroplane Tapes 25:26-26:39 An Alternative Channel 26:40-28:12 Wasted Talents Sanderson reflects on his early experiments with circuit-bent cassette recorders and transistor radios, the handmade oscillations that powered his duo Storm Bugs, and his time at Goldsmiths University’s Electronic Music Studio Central to the story is Sanderson’s playful subversion of identity. Through the invented electronic duo Claire Thomas and Susan Vesey, he provoked an overwhelmingly male scene and inadvertently attracted the attention of Cherry Red Records. When Cherry Red, via A&R figure Mike Alway, sought to develop the duo into a full vinyl release, the elaborate fiction began to unravel in a farcical chain of meetings and the eventual confessions. As Snatch Tapes gathered momentum, a loose but vibrant network formed around it. Contributors included Lemon Kittens, David Jackman, Nigel Jacklin, The New Blockaders, Cultural Amnesia, Beach Surgeon, N4’s, Alien Brains and more. Yet by 1981, after three intense years, Sanderson chose to step back. The label passed briefly to David Jackman before dissolving into the wider flow of 1980's cassette activity. Looking back, Sanderson identifies 1980 as both the peak of Snatch Tapes and a high-water mark for the cassette underground’s visibility. For a fleeting moment, it seemed possible that DIY cassettes might become a genuine alternative channel for direct music distribution. Featuring recollections from Philip Sanderson, Gerard Greenway and Nigel Jacklin, this episode documents a formative chapter in UK cassette culture. Hosted by Martin Franklin. Theme music “This Is Concrete” by The Happy Citizen LINKS Snatch Tapes: https://snatchtapes.bandcamp.com/ Goldsmiths University Electronic Music Studio: https://sites.gold.ac.uk/electronic-music-studios/ Cultural Amnesia: https://culturalamnesia.com 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 Philip Sanderson Gerard Greenway, read by Sean Holland (joinedupthink.co.uk (https://joinedupthink.co.uk) ) Nigel Jacklin, read by Robert Hayes MUSIC “Call” Orior, Snatch 3 (Snatch Tapes 1981) “Window shopping” Storm Bugs, Table Matters (1979) “Hodge” Storm Bugs, A Safe Substitute (Snatch Tapes) "N4s” N4s, Snatch 1 (Snatch Tapes) “Cultural Amnesia Dub” Snatch 2 (Snatch Tapes) “Ashes & Diamonds” Claire Thomas, Snatch 3 (Snatch Tapes) “Reprint 2” Claire Thomas & Susan Vesey, Reprint (Snatch Tapes) “Soley From” Storm Bugs, A Safe Substitute (Snatch Tapes) “Untitled” Alien Brains, British Interiors,   1982 “Song” Nigel Jacklin, Snatch 3 (Snatch Tapes) “Under Press Of Sail” Claire Thomas & Susan Vesey, Snatch 1 (Snatch Tapes) 1980 “Bright Waves” Claire Thomas & Susan Vesey, Reprint (Snatch Tapes) 1980 Many thanks to Jonny Zhivago and the invaluable resource for underground music that is Die Or DIY (https://dieordiy2.blogspot.com/) 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/) ) Help keep Cassette Culture alive - Become a Supporter: https://cassetteculturepodcast.bandcamp.com/subscribe
Snatch Tapes & The Storm Bugs
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, artists truly embraced the technology evolution, exploring new ways of working with electronics and synthesizers. This period saw a significant shift, with artists creating new worlds outside established systems, and the personal computer history began to influence creative output. The video highlights how this era of electronic music fostered an underground network that changed music and culture. ==== 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
Post Punk Revolution - The Era That Changed Music #cassetteculture
Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes of this episode and the retakes, arm waving, eyebrow raising and facial expressions that go into recording my voiceover parts. This is me recording the voiceover parts for Season 2 Episode 4 of the Cassette Culture podcast. ==== 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
Behind The Scenes: Voiceover Recording | Cassette Culture Podcast
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, artists truly embraced the technology evolution, exploring new ways of working with electronics and synthesizers. This period saw a significant shift, with artists creating new worlds outside established systems, and the personal computer history began to influence creative output. The video highlights how this era of electronic music fostered an underground network that changed music and culture. ==== 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
An Alternative World - Cassette Culture Season 2 #cassette #industrialmusic
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, artists truly embraced the technology evolution, exploring new ways of working with electronics and synthesizers. This period saw a significant shift, with artists creating new worlds outside established systems, and the personal computer history began to influence creative output. The video highlights how this era of electronic music fostered an underground network that changed music and culture. ==== 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
DIY Revolution - Cassette Culture 1979 #cassette #postpunk
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, artists truly embraced the technology evolution, exploring new ways of working with electronics and synthesizers. This period saw a significant shift, with artists creating new worlds outside established systems, and the personal computer history began to influence creative output. The video highlights how this era of electronic music fostered an underground network that changed music and culture. ==== 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 Unique Era In Music and Culture #postpunk #cassette #musicgenre
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