Burgan Triangle Tapes - Label Spotlight
Music that lends itself to cassette, the art of the dub, and love of lo-fi experimentation
Tell us about how Burgan Triangle Tapes began? Also where does the name come from?
I had music filling the hard drive on my computer. Music that I'd recorded with friends or that they had sent me. My employer owns the computer I use, so it felt like a matter of time before the music would be gone. So I dubbed some of the better stuff onto cassette - TUBE TAPE (BTT01) for posterity. The first Burgan Triangle release. Yarra Burgan (Kunzea leptospermoides) is a local plant that's good at colonising new ground, it creates thickets and nothing eats it. It's really having it’s time in the sun in these parts. I live and dub tapes on a triangle shaped property covered in burgan.
What inspired you to start a tape label in this current musical climate?
I’m interested in releasing music that lends itself to cassette. Some of the noise, ambient, metal, techno, drone, experimental music I’m into can have a certain intrigue and substance to it when it’s meted out through the speakers via analogue magnetic tape. I don’t want to do music with hi-fi intentions a disservice by dubbing it onto recycled cassette.
It’s cheap and something I can do myself. Maybe I should have said that first.
What inspires me these days is being able to work with people making compelling music. Like the trance inducing organic beat minimalism of the latest Dawdle cassette, or the underheard bass noise expressionism of Cat Hope.
I see that you release things you are involved in - TKB, Cosmic Drag, Rat Filth, etc. A part from your own projects do you approach bands that you have released or do they contact you?
It’s early days for the label, initially I reached out to a few people. I’ve had a few demos drop into my inbox, none local, they’re from Russia, China & Argentina, I don’t know how they know about BTT.
What was the reasoning behind 15 physical copies?
Partly necessity.
I live off grid and the solar system is pretty small. I dub over recycled cassettes in real time when the sun is on the panels. The covers are mono-prints I do on the kitchen table. At the moment I’m using cardboard from Panettone boxes to post them. It all takes time.
Tapes were initially an inexpensive format and I want to keep them at $5 per tape so I need to find cheap good quality cassettes to dub over. It’s getting harder to find them cheap. I’ve raked over all the opp shops around here. I cleared out the Coldstream tip shop. I went to a nursing home in Pakenham recently and bought a box of tapes from a 90 year old couple who said they can’t dance anymore.
Also, it's pretty marginal music a lot of the time, I'm under no illusions as to its marketability. I make 15 and give 5 to the artist. I'd rather sell out of 15 tapes and create a rare artefact than have a stack under the bed. I’m also open do doing second editions in the future.
What is the usual turn around for making a tape dubbing and the artwork once you have the master?
A week or two.
What's next for Burgan Triangle?
More lo-fi experimental trash.
Finally, who are your favourite local Melbourne bands at the moment or who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
I live out of town and am really out of touch with local music. I’m embarrassed to say most of the live music I see is vicariously through peoples Instagram stories. Having said that, I would say Ray Ban and Rita Revell.