Following the emergence of CDs in the early 80s you would think that tapes would have died a death, along with vinyl - but apparently not. They’re both still around, but tapes are the contenders that still spark a debate about their presence in 2018. Just another hipster fad? Why go backwards to something analogue with the relentless amount of streaming services now available? Two tape labels working in Wiltshire and Oxford are finding that there is still a market for this retro format within the underground, and even commercial, music scene. 
Oxford-based label Beanie Tapes is a collaborative venture on many fronts. It’s run by husband and wife Ben and Julia Walker, - also band members of Lo-fi-alt-pop band Candy Says - working alongside Léa Morales-Chanard who designs the tapes. Julia explained: “Beanie Tapes and Candy Says are separate, but they’re inevitably linked because both of them are just the two of us doing something we love.” The label’s fresh on the scene but generating quick interest. She continued: “A large part of the appeal for artists and fans alike is that you get to be part of something that most people don’t understand. That’s how all underground culture works, right?” 
Underground it may be, but there certainly seems to be a market for it. The whole idea behind the set up is to support local artists working in Oxford, and that tapes are affordable to release music on. Julia continued: “It’s actually really refreshing to be able to promote other people’s music. We take care of the tape duplication, the accounting, promoting the release to press and radio, sometimes wrangling a low-budget music video.” But why tapes? “They are affordable (to produce and to buy), collectable, customisable, cute and pocket-sized. They inhabit the space between digital music (intangible), CDs (boring) and vinyl (expensive). They are the format of choice for those who shun the mainstream.” For further information visit www.beanietapes.club
