Chris MartinsOn Friday night (tonight) at Silver Lake's Hyperion Tavern, Dublab and Leaving Records are asking cassette owners to help DJ a night filled exclusively with reel-to-reel music.
Die hard tape aficionado and casual “just haven't made it down to Goodwill in, like, 20 years” types alike are welcome to participate in Top Tape, which runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The equipment is already on hand, and the process is entirely democratic: a sign-up sheet circulates, and whoever makes it on gets to play five songs of their choosing.
Previous impromptu “CJs” have included Money Mark (he spun some Beastie Boys and Prince Paul, natch) and the night is hosted by Dublab head Mark “Frosty” McNeill and producer Matthewdavid, who also runs L.A. cassette label Leaving.
A glimpse of what's to come:
DOWNLOAD: Lapti – “Wushu” [MP3]
That song is by Moscow-based beat head Lapti, who has a pending record (er, tape) out on Leaving. We checked in with Matthewdavid and there are releases in the hopper for some of our favorites: Sun Araw, Julia Holter, Sumsun, and Asura, along with newcomer Speculator and a mysterious group called Usual “consisting of one producer and one rapper creating lo-fidelity heater beats laced with abstract lyrics geared towards the street grime.”
So in between hearing time-warped songs from Shai and Billy Joel, a trip to Top Tape may yield some aural sneak peeks into the musical future. Indulge your nostalgia needs and get hip to the underground at the same time. Recipe for awesome.
The flyer:
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