Blue Tapes

04/03/2023

RECORD YOU SHOULD BUY IF YOU HAVE TO BUY A RECORD THIS WEEK BUT FOR SOME REASON DON’T WANT TO BUY A BLUE TAPES/X-RAY RECORDS RECORD #317

Earth Room - Earth Room (2022, Relates States)

"This is what an ambitious, self-assured début sounds like. Earth Room build a world of their own imagination by drawing from experimental sounds of the past." - Everything Is Noise

6 track album

01/03/2023

Swordman Kitala debut European performance tomorrow night in Newcastle!

28/02/2023

Sad news - Anna Homler can no longer make our 10th anniversary event at I K L E C T I K due to unforeseen issues.

Instead, Adrian Northover, Sue Lynch, Steve Beresford and Dave Tucker will perform a set of improvisations using samples of Anna's vocals.

https://dice.fm/event/8rad5-10ish-years-of-blue-tapes-9th-apr-iklectik-london-tickets

27/02/2023

RECORD YOU SHOULD BUY IF YOU HAVE TO BUY A RECORD THIS WEEK BUT FOR SOME REASON DON’T WANT TO BUY A BLUE TAPES/X-RAY RECORDS RECORD #316

Synaulia - Music of Ancient Rome, vol 2 (2007, Amiata Records)

https://youtu.be/IOiLja5p6-o

"Synaulia is a team of musicians, archeologists, palaentologists and choreographers dedicated to the application of their historical research to ancient music and dance, in particular to the ancient Etruscan and Roman periods.

In the beginning the Synaulia’s task was mainly educational: the reconstruction of ancient musical instruments for the Dutch archeological center, Archeon. Later the scope was widened to include a more profound study into Italy’s music and dance focusing primarily on ancient Rome. The fruits of Synaulia’s intensive study were used as material for films, serials and documentaries about ancient Rome (among them Gladiator by Ridley Scott and the television series Rome), the use of the instruments for scholastic purposes, as well as in the publication of numerous articles on the subject.

In the absence of a system of musical notation for the period in question, the reconstruction and study of ancient musical expression was based on comparative studies of iconography, textual analysis, social studies and customs, also drawing from paleorganology, ethnomusicology, archeology and historiography.

The richness of the iconographic documentation, the abundance of tested theories and numerous literary connections facilitated the study and reproduction of a wide range of antique musical instruments, helping to determine, among other points of interest, their melodic and harmonic possibilities and acoustic quality.

Armed with this historical information, the group’s research was then subdivided into several main research branches. The first branch was dedicated to wind instruments. The research led to the reconstruction of instruments such as syrinx, fistulae, tibiae, cornu, tuba, bucina, iynx, and rhombus. The second branch dealt with string instruments: among others the lyra, cithara, sambuca, cordae and pandura were reconstructed." - Wikipedia

Provided to YouTube by Amiata RecordsLudus · SynauliaMusic Of Ancient Rome Vol 2℗ Amiata RecordsReleased on: 2007-01-01Auto-generated by YouTube.

24/02/2023

OUT NOW! New Soft-Bodied Humans single, a collaboration with Japanese rapper and singer MCpero

Buy here: https://cutalonelyfigure.bandcamp.com/album/kaijugrimeA year on from Soft-Bodied Humans’ critically-acclaimed debut, Kaiju Kitala, which saw the Lo...

17/02/2023

RECORD YOU SHOULD BUY IF YOU HAVE TO BUY A RECORD THIS WEEK BUT FOR SOME REASON DON’T WANT TO BUY A BLUE TAPES/X-RAY RECORDS RECORD #315

Low - I Could Live In Hope (1994, Vernon Yard)

“I honestly couldn't tell if they were the most humble people I’d ever met, the most shy, or the most nervous. They barely spoke during the first day of work. Al began to communicate a bit on the second day but by the third day I really couldn't be sure if they were happy to be embarking on a project that could turn out to be the thing that would totally change their lives, or whether they just wanted to be somewhere else. That's how introverted they were. They were like their music: they were gazing in, and they had articulated that gaze in their music. My job was to find a way to articulate it in the finished recordings and create an LP that would last forever. On a personal level, I had trouble reading their thoughts, they were as quiet as their music and sometimes they seemed as mournful as their songs. The experience was unforgettable.” - Kramer

Subscribe to our channel to receive notifications for content from the past and future.Directed by: Phil HarderVideo released: 1994 From: I Could Live in Hop...

17/02/2023

Cool Tabs Out Podcast review of our Dane Law tape!

"These intricate, crystalline sound structures are as delicate as they are resonant, and they sparkle in the cold sun as if they’re infinitely fresh and sonorant."

Dane Law – Blue Forty-Six2.17.23 by Ryan MastellerI’m kind of a goofball. I know, I know, that probably comes as a surprise to most of you reading this. But seriously, I like to have fun sometimes, I like to take trips, vacations, all that good stuff. But if you think I’m the kind

17/02/2023

3 track album

17/02/2023

Here is the video for the latest Soft-Bodied Humans single - a collaboration with grime MC sbk that trails my new EP, Kaijugrime, available to pre-order.

Soft-Bodied Humans is on tour with Swordman Kitala in the EU and UK from next week!! See below for dates.

Feb 23 - Rotterdam, NL - WORM
Feb 25 - Groningen, NL - Hybrid @ VERA
Mar 2 - Newcastle, UK - Cobalt Studios
Mar 3 - London, UK - Cafe Oto
Mar 4 - Brighton, UK - The Rose Hill
Mar 5 - Leeds, UK - Wharf Chambers
Mar 6 - Birmingham, UK - Centrala
Mar 7 - Falmouth, UK - Cornish Bank
Mar 8 - Falmouth UK - Cornish Bank
Mar 10 - Bristol, UK - Strange Brew

Following collaborations in 2022 with Ugandan super MC Swordman Kitala, Silver Pyre and Blue Tapes legend Abysmal Growls of Despair, 'eclectic beats & bass' ...

14/02/2023

Great gig poster for mine and Swordman Kitala's upcoming show in Leeds with Ashtray Navigations

March 5, Wharf Chambers

More info here: https://wharfchambers.org/event/swordman-kitala-x-soft-bodied-humans-ashtray-navigations/

13/02/2023

🌍🌍 Rising Ugandan MC Swordman Kitala makes his European debut in a tour that reunites him with UK-based collaborator Soft-Bodied Humans 🌍🌍

In 2022, the pair dropped their critically-acclaimed debut EP, Kaiju Kitala, on Phantom Limb. Taking a break from putting the finishing touches to a full-length LP for the label, this tour sees the duo translating their ferocious, off-kilter industrial hip-hop to the live stage for the first time and should not be missed.

“Samples of Japanese monster films and unmatchable lyrical prowess accompany infectiously energetic instrumentals.” – The Wire 🔥🔥🔥

SOFT-BODIED HUMANS & SWORDMAN KITALA EU/UK Feb-March 2023:

23/02 WORM Rotterdam (NL)
24/02 Wunderkammer x De Studio Antwerp (BE)
25/02 Hybrid Festival at Vera Groningen (NL)
02/03 Cobalt Studios CIC Newcastle (UK)
03/03 Café OTO London (UK)
04/03 The Rose Hill Brighton (UK)
05/03 Wharf Chambers, Leeds (UK)
06/03 Centrala, Birmingham (UK)

TICKETS: https://hero.page/phantomlimbtouring/soft-bodied-humans-swordman-kitala

13/02/2023

Swordman Kitala UK/Europe debut!

Excited to be going on my first ever tour as a musician in the company of this chap.

We will be bringing Ugandan underground-style MC fire and Godzilla-heavy beats and bass.

See venue websites for tickets and more details.

Extra psyched to be joined by Blue Tapes' own Ashtray Navigations for the Leeds date!