New labels: Airlines Tapes
With the idea of “branching out” Weed Temple to step beyond only featuring downloads and writing reviews, there came an idea to introduce the to the fresh, new labels that just begin their adventure with the psychedelic underground, yet surely deserve to be noticed.
While we’re at the topic of the newcomers to the scene (label-wise), we present you the Melbourne based label Airlines Tapes. The label itself follows the great chillwave/hypnagogic pop surge of the late 00’s and offers their own take on the hyper-glossy, somewhat self-parodic micro-scene of young people fascinated with analog sounds and hyper-real music of the bygone era. The colorful mess on the label page may be compared to the consciously kitschy and tacky designs of such labels as Holy Page or Crash Worship. There’s also the same affinity for sultry pop structures with a psychedelic context added for the intensification of the listnening experince. As the founders of the label state, they have only two releases so far, both on high-quality cassettes with a beautiful, neat and minimalist passages.
The first release is Deep Fantasy, the debut release by Surfing, the Melbourne unit consisting of three retrofuturistic champs, creating the looped virtual reality of synth tones and catchy melodies hidden within a slight murk of hypnagogia. Heartfelt slow jams mix with cheesy, garden documentary-type sound backgrounds, with bucolic piano lines and lush synth lines. Great, shoegazey vocals and somewhat kitschy, yet uplifting guitar solos - Deep Fantasy has it all.
The second installment in the series is Running, the tape by Bewilderbeast adorned by eye-melting psychedelic collage by Ant Pomponio. To spice things up even further, the packages are equipped with 3D poster and 3D glasses! The sounds on the tape are made to replicate the colorful, disorienting artwork and to provide a bit of that dancey, club vibe. While Surfing made lush, dusted hypnagogic travels, the music of Bewilderbeast is much cleaner and much more club-friendly: ambient-infused, almost minimal techno beats with rolling, slowly developing melodies bring to mind the efforts of Swedish techno producer The Field, revolving around sunkissed, motorik sequences and thumping, economical beats. A strong debut, for sure.
For the nearest future, the label plans the release of 10-track cassette Glows Then Melts by the Philadelphia unit Skeleton Lipstick. The tape will be released on the most important date (for Americans) ever, the 4th of July. Get ready and listen to some teaser tracks here:
