IF THE vinyl revival was a surprise, than the resurrection of the cassette is something nobody saw coming.
Strange as it is to those of us who were around for tapes in the 1980s and 1990s, many music fans, too young to remember or to have experienced the format, have revived it and releasing new music through it.
Galway based record label Abandon Reason is releasing Our Throats, Like Valleys by the trio Gorges (singer-songwriters Brigid Power Ryce and David Colohan and musician Declan Kelly - who are old enough to remember the days of cassettes ) as a download and in cassette form.
Our Throats, Like Valleys contains 60 minutes of music and is the product of a series of exploratory improvisations with dual harmonium drones, cacophonous trombone, horn blasts, and soaring, wordless vocals.
It was recorded on the bottom floor of an abandoned underground car park and came about from the desire of each member to make drones and sing; explore the possibilities of the particular instruments; and their own voices in such a cavernous space.
The album is available through www.abandon reason.bandcamp.com in the form of 100 orange C60 cassette tapes (with download ) for €5 apiece, plus postage, and as a digital download for €4. Physical copies will be in independent record shops in the coming weeks. The artwork and design of the tape was created by each member of Gorges.
