Robert Inhuman with
James Squeaky (Portland OR) for RE:UP 12/09/06
James: What’s the difference to you between putting out tapes as
opposed to CDR’s.. basically, why tape?
Robert: For me and seemingly many people, tapes are loaded with a very
warm sentiment. I associate tapes with my first punk rock mix given by a
friend, my only means of copying a CD I either couldn't afford or find (way
before I used the internet), my only comfort in the hell of going to/from
school or work on the bus, and the motivational force during my first times
driving around Cincinnati and to other cities. CDR's are working on their own
culture and sentiment as we speak, but tapes have got their's very much
established. They are physically appealing, like little Transformer toys you
can throw around, a very playful element I think, but also a very serious
nostalgia.
In a lot of the more traditional music world, the idea of a
recording being released not as a professional CD seems pretty invalid. How do
you respond to someone who might think that a cassette release wouldn’t be
considered a valid recording release?
It really depends on how competitive they feel their medium is and
what specific argument they have against your work being on a tape. Some highly
successful mainstream artists are almost from another planet, not necessarily a
better one, but definitely a far off one that is hard to relate to. In that
case it's kind of "appls and oranges", but within the
punk/noise/underground culture I am usually disappointed when an artist becomes
"above" the DIY media they were established upon. In that case, if
they feel like they need to shoot their mouths off about being too good for
well-designed cassettes or CDR's, I'd hope they are secretly embarrassed at the
progressive alienation their "success" may have from their roots, and
hope that their complains are behind-the-scenes a nagging voice saying to watch
out or their integrity in the underground is going straight to the shitter.
Do you have anything to say about sound quality pros/cons between
a recording on cassette vs CD? Also are
there particular types of noise (drone, militant walls, synth) that you think
sound better on tape than others? Why?
For me, to choose cassette over disc is largely about the intended
destination of the work. When I choose to make a tape, it's because I intend
the tape to end up in #1 a walkman, #2 a car, #3 some weird lo-fi hang out
dungeon maybe. I don't typically use cassettes to bring out better sound in
anything; I would rather preserve it digitally if that's the case. I do,
however, choose certain material that I feel could benefit in sentiment or
possibly aesthetic in the course of a tape inevitably being worn down from
repeated use. In that case I favor more rhythmic music or talking, things that
will maintain audibility during the abstraction that occurs over time. I don't
favor more texturally-based work on cassette, for listening value anyway, but
can certainly understand the extreme romance/relevance of the noise cassette.
What is a typical print run of a cassette release on your label?
How long does it typically take to sell out that typical run?
I have made three 90 minute "megamix" cassettes, each
editioned to 50. That's the least I'd usually like to assemble, but I copy them
at normal speed and 90 minutes is a long time. Selling anything is a lot easier
when we are playing in different cities every night, in which case I could get
rid of an edition in one well-orchestrated tour. If I'm chilling at home,
playing locally and doing mailorder it could take a few months to run out of
them.
What are your favorite ways of decorating and presenting the
packaging of your cassette releases?
I am fairly conservative in relation to a lot of people who go to
very intriguing lengths to wrap a case around their little tapes. I've seen
some weird shit out there involving LP sleeves, extravagant multi-tape boxes,
and even a stuffed animal with a zipper-pouch sewn in (Cephia's Treat). I
usually stick to a normal casing with a fold-out xerox sleeve on colored paper,
paint the tapes metallic and put a simple label on them. Pretty unexperimental,
although I feel like the sleeves are designed well and contain a lot of
information. I've also been meaning to try screenprinting on the cassettes at
some point.
What labels would you say are putting out the most essential
tapes right now?
Tell me a little about a few of your favorite releases on your
label? What makes them great to you?
Mainly I guess because the tapes I've done the past couple years
are each 90 minutes of fairly fast and exciting music that are ideal for
certain situations I've intended (mentioned above). They rarely waste any
amount of time, but try to cut to the chase whenever possible.
What would you say are the most acceptable prices for a cassette
release and what is that price typically based on? (Length? Labor?)
My tapes are usually $5... 6 if they have stickers in em and are
really good maybe. I base it yeah on length/content, and the physical process
of copying, printing/cutting/folding sleeves. I wouldn't want to personally pay
much more unless it was an extremely crucial tape.
Do you think that it will become increasingly difficult to find
manufacturers of cassette tapes in the future or do you think that there is a
new demand growing?
I'm not really sure, don't really have a pulse on it to that degree. But I figure people still press vinyl and find supplies for reel-to-reel recorders so they'll be able to get their tape supplies for quite some time. I haven't worried about it so much, but I bet it'll be an issue at some point.