fast forward : apes tapes cassette label turns one

Cassette tapes championed by local tape labels have helped the industry-obsolete format make a resurgence around Portland over the last several years.

Although the anti-digital, pro-physical format may lack the quality, fidelity and longevity of vinyl or digital incarnations, it retains a portability and an idiosyncratic classicism as the diminutive, teethed spools move tape from reel-to-reel in a ritual manner. Not quite vintage at this date, but retro in some circles, tapes still brim with nostalgia for all those children of the '80s and early '90s when the mixtape was the same format that ignited gangsta rap careers, catapulted DJs from the streets to clubs to MTV, and may have won over Molly Ringwald in your dreams, or even your real life sweetie, with the perfect mix. Plus, these days all that minuscule magnetic tape can come housed in quiet the variety of neon colors.

As of late, it's been a conscious choice for Portlanders to establish record labels that serve as manufacturers and distributors of tape-recorded music, and one of the rising players in the current scene, mostly due to their curation and connections, has been Apes Tapes.

One year old this fall, Apes Tapes will celebrate their first birthday and the release of Mixed Ape 3 (a 16-song compilation tape, also available digitally, that features cuts from the below performers as well as Aan, And And And, Support Force, Youth, Rico All The Time and more) at Holocene on Thursday, November 17th with Onuinu, Adventures! With Might, Vanimal (reunion performance), XDS, and Pegasus Dream. Plus there will be a surprise DJ and three surprise, guerrilla mini-sets from specials guests--one of which we can reveal: DoublePlusGood!

"Continually exploring what it is to be an artist and an artist-run label, walking the fine line between musician and businessperson, maximizing quality and quantity, often with little-to-no money, the label is as much a project as the music itself. It is the epitome of the DIY Portland music scene, and that’s what makes Apes Tapes important."

OMN spoke with Apes Tapes founder Cameron Spies (also of Radiation City) about the label's history and future and caught up with a few of the bands featured on Mixed Ape 3 plus performing at Holocene to answer some questions on their involvement as well. But before that, watch Onuinu's "Ice Palace" directed by Andrew Sloan:

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Read interviews with Apes Tapes' Cameron Spies and the performers on OMN.

‘here they come’ : doubleplusgood’s second record

The Orwellian dubbed DoublePlusGood has anything but a straight-laced, tyrannical reputation.

In the last two years, the PDX “glitch-pop” duo has been a staple around town in the electronic scene, heating up basement dance parties and tiny bar “stages” (aka corners) at Valentines as well as sweaty all-ages affairs at Backspace or the adult-only Mississippi Studios with loaded electro-pop originals and a sometimes cover of Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” or Beach House’s “10 Mile Stereo.” Next week they’ll play Portland’s latest, hippest bar stage at Bunk Bar on Tuesday, September 20th with Youth.

Although Erik Carlson and Andrew Nelson count the live gigs, especially the fact that they’ve been able to book most of their own bills, and a West Coast tour as highlights of the past year, the real triumph (and relief) was the release of DPG’s second album, Here They Come, The Birds of My Youth, on August 27th at the Doug Fir via SoHiTek Records–the label run by Carlson.

An album that’s been more than a year in the making, Here They Come, The Birds of My Youth is the first DoublePlusGood effort as a duo; producer and vocalist Erik Carlson added drummer Andrew Nelson in 2009 as a live drummer but the relationship spilled over into the next recording, which was completed almost a year ago but “for whatever reason we made the process as cumbersome as possible,” says Erik. ”We did not streamline this,” he laughs.

Erik’s songwriting inspiration came from the pop melodies of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys and both had a penchant for Phil Spector’s ’60s recording techniques. But even with a cohesive vision for the album in mind, the process was easily prolonged. From scheduling time to record in a huge concrete, “bomb shelter basement,” as Andy puts it, which was once a Ford Model-T factory, to organizing the general prerequisites of mixing, mastering, creating artwork and finding money to press the albums, the record was finally ready a year later than anticipated.

But Here They Come, The Birds of My Youth finds the band at its densest and brightest–layers of Carlson’s affected, melodic vocals ride sonic levels of bleeping, twinkling synths alongside added samples that glisten and chirrup, and it’s all backed by the echo-y thump of Nelson’s live drums–and also their proudest. And while the two have been perfecting so many of these songs live over the last two years, the live favorites sparkle in their recorded form.

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Read the rest and watch a video interview on OMN.

q/a : doubleplusgood concentrates on making music

Good + good = DoublePlusGood. And DoublePlusGood equals glitchy electropop that’s downright danceable.

DPG made their Dancipation Proclamation with their last EP, but the time has come for something fresh as Erik Carlson’s solo act has grown into two with the addition of drummer Andrew Nelson.

Twitching with poppy melodies and a maze of sequencing on the backing tracks, DoublePlusGood’s glistening synths run alongside the over-dubbed vocals and thick analog vibes.

With the simple love songs of The Postal Service plus retro-Erasure synths, DPG complicates with sampled vocals and a bevy of loops creating a cohesive, electronic dance party that kicks it up a frenzied gear with their new drums.

That addition is the biggest adjustment as the duo continues to work on...

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Read the rest of the interview on OMN.

very international love, doubleplusgood, + mnemonic churn out electro-pop at rotture

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