FAG TAPES

Started by morbid_dyspepsia, December 07, 2022, 08:31:10 AM

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morbid_dyspepsia

Heath stopped the label at 500 releases (plus various other artworks) a couple of years ago now. A short time later he formed the oddly named "Antarctica" label / project but didn't seem to go anywhere...

What are your favourite releases on this label? Memorable Sick Llama /Heath Moerland shows?

RIP FAG TAPES 2004 - 2020

Edit: I just checked the Instagram page and it says 2004-2022 so maybe he has started up again.

NerveGas

Found this thread and surprised to not see any responses. Recently picked up the Sick Llama "Barf Box" (comes with a bag of rap snacks, ha!) as well as Demons and Slither tapes. Many releases so obviously haven't delved into everything, but a cool label with interesting aesthetic. Originally turned into this stuff by  blindly purchasing a Fossils cassette and enjoying the somewhat messy and handmade vibe it presented.
MAGNETIC IRRITATION RECORDINGS

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Johann

Fag tapes is just a diary label essentially, the audio equivalent to buying a zine where someone doodles a page each day of the month and releases it. That doesn't mean it's bad, but it's certainly not consistent (or maybe it is crudely so) and definitely not for everyone. I get the vibe a lot of it is set it and forget it approach, not all tapes are great quality, poor dubs, weird mixes and some occasional brilliance. If you consider Heath is a painter/artist and are collecting in that kind of mindset then the risk reward is changed and you have a more realistic view of what your getting. These definitely aren't grand statements or mandatory releases.

I think that's part of the reason it isn't widely considered, other things are various drama around the label/artist in regards to stuff not being shipped (I've ordered from Heath, never had an issue, but it was a problem expressed at one point on the old chondritic forum), other stories of questionable behavior, and general burned bridges. Add that to party and crew vibes (Wolf Eyes association, and in the bad Olson sense) in a distinctly American way and it's not hard to see why it doesn't get talked about here.

I own a decent amount of Fag Tapes stuff, it is widely available here and cheap (5 bucks a tape) so when you walk into a record store and can't find anything remotely interesting but feel bad for aimless browsing you can just grip one or two and leave.

Favorite releases on it are probably the Final Seed ones (dude from Maths Balance Volumes) and the recent Evil Moisture was a good release (though Andy is always excellent and Royal Sperm is a much more interesting Diary Style/Art label), Sindre Bjerga, Dylan Nyoukis, and I like some of the other stuff for various reasons.

If you want heaths stuff just pick up Born to Die again LP or the other LP, I think his tapes aren't bad, there just sorta sick llama.

Best release on FT is Dilloways - Since He's Been Gone hands down.

NerveGas

Yeah I think diary approach sums it up pretty well. Can certainly be interesting, but also means that one has to consider what is exactly "mandatory" if anything. Actually just listened to an interview with Olson where he describes one of those one-sided 12 inches that American released that was recorded without headphones and sent off to get pressed without listening to it, ha! Perhaps that's not totally analogous as I could see such an approach having a variety of motivations or interpretations. But certainly there is a "jam" or "set it and forget it" vibe to this corner of things. I think the aesthetics and approach of it is a bit contrary to what I would imagine myself gravitating towards, and I would prefer not everyone release things in this manner, but there is an appeal.
MAGNETIC IRRITATION RECORDINGS

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CONTACT - magneticirritation@gmail.com

morbid_dyspepsia

I think a diary label, say like American Tapes or Hermitage Tapes is a good way of putting it, especially with the scrappy mixtape/ cut and paste structure to the tapes. I personally love a typical C-60 release of theirs where it may be some blown out noise recording, then something semi-structured, field recordings and then some long lo-fi psychedelic jam to fill out the tape.

IMO though there are a lot of gems amongst the catalogue.. When I first heard Heath's "Distorted Mirror Vol. 1" in 2009 I was completely blown away. It really gave the "how the fuck did he do that?" vibe.

Along with "Born Again To Die", "Blue Syrup Dreams", "Degrade Yourself" and "Thrown Down A Well" as well as (as you said) Dilloway's "Since He's Been Gone" they're definitely a good place to start but really just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe not for everyone. But anyone that simply labels it party or hipster noise is just being lazy and ignorant.

I'd have to agree with you I have heard a lot of people over the years complain and try to 'cancel' Heath for not sending packages. I've heard there were a few people doing that back in the day: Andrew Coltrane, Zac Davis, James Ferraro.. though I never had a problem ordering

NerveGas

Quote from: morbid_dyspepsia on March 30, 2023, 01:56:59 AM
IMO though there are a lot of gems amongst the catalogue.. When I first heard Heath's "Distorted Mirror Vol. 1" in 2009 I was completely blown away. It really gave the "how the fuck did he do that?" vibe.


Will check this one out for sure.
MAGNETIC IRRITATION RECORDINGS

WEBSTORE - www.magneticirritation.com
CONTACT - magneticirritation@gmail.com

morbid_dyspepsia

I think the idea that someone's label could be their entire world was really appealing to me as a youngster. Loved the creativity and mystique. Releasing not just music but VHS, paintings, collages, sculptures, zines, apparel, etc. Everything

NerveGas

Quote from: morbid_dyspepsia on March 30, 2023, 03:18:03 AM
I think the idea that someone's label could be their entire world was really appealing to me as a youngster. Loved the creativity and mystique. Releasing not just music but VHS, paintings, collages, sculptures, zines, apparel, etc. Everything

Absolutely. I think that what some of the best music/noise does is create a world for the listener to step into. Not in the sense that one would run and hide from reality necessarily. The sonic and aesthetic realm can just serve as a way to rise above elements of reality one finds mundane or lacking. Certainly not the only way I can appreciate a label, as I of course also like more traditional well curated rosters or whatever people would call the average label model. But yeah... when it can be an all encompassing thing that includes multiple avenues of art the pull can be quite strong.
MAGNETIC IRRITATION RECORDINGS

WEBSTORE - www.magneticirritation.com
CONTACT - magneticirritation@gmail.com


k.p.g

Ahhhh man that is such a brutal reason to see this thread resurrected.  I find myself enjoying what I have been able to find from Fag Tapes in the last year or so.  As previously mentioned, Sick Llama's Thrown Down a Well is great; Dilloway tape is great.  There are a couple of Olson projects he put out too that were also pretty killer, namely the Waves tape that he did.  It is not the same affair as that project is with the piercing high end.

In the broader sense of the "diary label," I see how it is a tricky format to get into.  Following someone's life through their recorded output is certainly a risk.  Just as our day to day lives have ups and downs, an overwhelming flow of direct to tape jams can vary in quality.  I personally find the risk of it rewarding, even if each tape is not stellar. 
Dead Door Unit
French Market Press
etc.

aububs

i still have my barf box with unopened bag of rap snacks

NerveGas

Quote from: aububs on August 17, 2025, 10:41:27 PMi still have my barf box with unopened bag of rap snacks

Just sold mine, ha!
MAGNETIC IRRITATION RECORDINGS

WEBSTORE - www.magneticirritation.com
CONTACT - magneticirritation@gmail.com

morbid_dyspepsia

That's the funny thing, people that had huge FT collections are reselling them on Discogs now and the actual artist is getting nothing but still producing new works.

k.p.g

Quote from: morbid_dyspepsia on August 18, 2025, 04:01:32 AMand the actual artist is getting nothing but still producing new works.

It's unfortunate but understandable.  Not shipping products eventually catches up to your reputation.
Dead Door Unit
French Market Press
etc.