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Abstract
I discuss how multitrack tape recorders have been used in music production and musical or cultural evolutions throughout the decades that have ensued since its creation, and its impact and context within different eras and genres of music culture. Tape and analog recording is considered or thought by many to be an outdated technology with the advent and popularity of digital music production with DAW interfaces today. I argue for how tape recording is still relevant and an excellent choice for certain production and aesthetic choices by discussing tape culture, history, and its context within my creative project. Not only does tape open new ways of engaging in creative work, but doing so also draws from the ideological legacy of tape and its liberatory history. The two approaches of digital and analog are not mutually exclusive, and both have unique characteristics and qualities. I start by introducing the context of the usage of tape recording and put these discussed ideas into past technological advances and musical eras, the cassette tape’s unique culture, and some brief examples of its usage. I then discuss different possibilities in the context and usage of tape recording for either productional or aesthetic choices. I then show why certain “limitations” of recording on tape can actually be a good thing, and then highlight the unique sonic characteristics of tape to contextualize its aesthetic role within music. I supplement these claims throughout this essay with quotes from an interview with Elliot Smith, in order to ground these sentiments within an artist case study. I lastly end with contextualizing all of this within my creative project and exploring how I engage with tape recording for my vision. Ultimately, tape recording and culture are eclectic and multi-purposed, and a cultural inheritance in music that is more than a technology but, standing as a lifestyle, idea, approach, and philosophy.