On Thursday, January 29th at 23:00 CET we start a new series “The Rise of Dutch Cassette Culture.”
The series is broadcast in our programme Re:light and delves into the world of the first DIY era. This was the period in the late 1970s and early 1980s when musicians and composers began producing and publishing their own music at home. They used the cassette. Initially, the cassette was designed to record spoken word, but with the advent of high-quality stereo cassette decks in the 1970s, it became a new music medium.
The cassette contributed to an explosion of new music during this period. To further archive, document, and unlock this extremely creative period in music history, we will be presenting an extensive selection of the music that was recorded on cassettes at that time. The series is made in collaboration with Diggin’ Demos, Podiumkunst.net, the Allard Pierson Museum, Muziekweb, and Concertzender. The creators, the musicians, the composers, the publishers, the archivists, the writers – we’ll give them all a voice in this 12-part series. They’ll tell the story of this remarkable period in Dutch music history.
The first episode features Marco van Dalfsen, the man behind the cassette archive Diggin’ Demos.
Click here for the playlist.
Later in the series, we will meet chronicler Oscar Smit, publisher and composer Frans de Waard, Rob Smit of the Kubus Kommunicaties label and Geert Jan Hobijn of Staalplaat.
In the first and third episodes, we will also discuss Willem de Ridder’s (VPRO) Radiola Improvisation Salon. We are still looking for more radio broadcasts of The Radiola Improvisation Salon. Have you ever recorded and saved any broadcasts? Email us at muziekcassette@gmail.com
You can also email us if you were a self-taper back then and have your own story to tell. We’ll ensure your tapes and recordings are properly preserved and given their rightful place in music history.
