Taking the DIY message of Punk as a jumping off point, our travel through the underground cassette network departs from the bleak 1980’s Thatcher-era UK, community radio and fanzines, and all points in a journey to a thriving self sustaining culture. Communication was valued over commerce.

For two decades the international mail system fostered a network of underground artists, exchanging cassette tapes of music and homemade artwork under the radar of main stream media.

We track down some key figures in the cassette scene, and follow the web of connections outward from the UK around the world, mapping the impacts and their ongoing effects.

We speak with musicians, label runners, and fanzine writers, who share their experiences of connecting through the mail system and its ongoing effects on their lives.

Notes:
In this episode you hear the voices of Don Campau, Rob Maycock, Sandy Nys.
Presented by Martin Franklin & Hudson Graham.
Music by: The Happy Citizen, The Vitamin B12, Omega Ensemble, Attrition, Richter Band.

VIDEO
You can find video of some of the fanzines and cassette releases we discuss in this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CassetteCulturePodcast

AVAILABLE NOW: The project that started it all
“Premonitions: Underground Cassette Network 1989​-​90” cassette reissue, Infinite Expanse, 2024
https://infiniteexpanse.bandcamp.com

Podcast produced by Martin Franklin/East Coast Studio (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au)

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Find The Others A decade before the internet, artists and musicians built a global underground network through the mail system. The story begins here.

Chance Connections – He Got Talking To This Guy In The Record Store Steve Gears, Richard Talbot of Marconi Union, and Tom Gibbs of Infinite Expanse take us further down the rabbit hole of the cassette underground.

Cassettes On The Radio: Underground Broadcasting Sandy Nys of 3RioArt and Radio Centraal shows how the cassette network branched out into independent radio, live gigs, and physical meetups.

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