Various Artists - Warmth And Silence -1988- (Cassette, Epitapes), US/International

 

Here we have yet another compilation on Epitapes that was established by Mike Tetrault from Belchertown, Massachusetts. Throughout the 80's dozens of these compilations were created. Each compilation was based around a certain theme and assembled accordingly by Mike Tetrault. Some of the tracks were taken from existing releases while others were sent specially for these tapes. You can read an interesting interview about these cassette series with Mike Tetrault over here.

The title of this cassette "Warmth And Silence" already reveals the type of music that was selected for this compilation: subtle ambient experimental sounds for more than one hour and a half created by a large range of home-taping projects from around the globe. Present on here are quite a few more known cassette culture protagonists like Illusion Of Safety (Dan Burke, US), Hessel Veldman (Holland), DZ Lectric (France),  Hands To (Jeph Jarman, US) and Los Paranos (Christophe Petchanatz, France). 

A curiosity on this compilation is that Mike Tetrault also features a piece by himself in which delicate rhythms create a base for a whispered reading of André Breton's surrealist poem "Freedom Of Love".

Get it HERE

Kindly donated by the Y Create Archive

Various Artists - Music From The White House Volume 2: It's A British Treat -1987- (Tape, Exart EA029), UK/Netherlands

Here we have another (and also last) of the Exart compilations that had a country as their theme. Exart was the tape-label by Hessel Veldman aka Y Create. He used to be one of the key figures in the home-taping network of the 80's releasing and collaborating with numerous musicians. Besides the Y Create project he was in the band Gorgonzola Legs and did many collaborations with his wife Nick Nicole, Cora and fluxus artist and Dutch underground cult-figure Willem de Ridder.

De Ridder also had his Radiola Improvisatie Salon radio program which played a hugely important role for the home-taping scene in The Netherlands. The idea was that every tape that was sent to the radio show would be played without being heard in advance. A very unorthodox and adventurous approach that sometimes led to the discovery of jaw-dropping musical pearls of unknown musicians.

Music From The White House Volume 2: It's A British Treat consists of different English artists (as well as an Irish one) who were mainly active in the home-taping circuit. Most of the cassette comprises of projects by Steve Hartwell who played music under many different guises like The Dead Goldfish Ensemble and The High Tech Pagoda's. Then there is Dave Arnold (a multimedia artist from Essex who used to run the Dead Happy Records label during the 80's) under his project The Starkman as well as a track of his post-punk group Turn Blue. Also Rob Baylis is present under his disguise The Detective and many other artists.

Like many of the Exart compilations the A-side shows more poppy home-taping tracks and the B-Side more sonic experiments. Other Music From the White House volumes are here and here.

Kindly donated by the Y Create Archive

Get it HERE