Play Back

Cassette tapes are returning, but not for a nostalgic rewind

- Rogin Losa

Tapes might be seen as an “inconvenience” in a fast-paced world. It takes attention and effort in order to be appreciated. And for undiscovered music to flourish, those two things are exactly what they need.

“Amazing music gets easily dismissed because all the buttons are there. People can easily press shuffle, next, or play,” Kurvine Chua of United Cassettes says. “Tape culture is [underground music’s] medium to speak out into the world. And with this niche, people tend to be more interested to support them.”

There’s a growing cassette culture in the Philippines—and Kurvine is at the helm of it. In this culture of music discovery, he creates an inclusive analog music pool by curating tapes from the Philippines and abroad. Some can be accessed online as well, while others can only be heard through this analog medium.

Apart from United Cassettes, his tape collective Genjitsu Stargazing Society produces new DIY tapes for Filipino musicians. “GSS releases DIY tapes from Manila or around the Philippines, like the math rock band TCKLDMNKS (Tickled Monks) from Mindanao or TIM ÄWÄ from Quezon. We’ve also released albums by US-based Filipino musicians like killed from Sacramento and Cody and the Jet Skis from Chicago,” he says.