2019 has been wall to wall audio cassettes for the Duplication.ca team. We’re non-stop duplicating, printing, and packaging audio cassettes, to the point that we’ve been dreaming in high-bias. With so many jammers on high-rotation at the production facilities and Toronto’s Dupe Shop, to pick an absolute favourite of the thousands of cassettes we’ve duplicated in the past 12 months is an impossibility. But man did we try. Here’s our staff picks of just some of our favourite cassettes of the year.
Josh’s pick (Production, Toronto)
Equip – “Cursebreaker X” c32
Cursebreaker X is the latest album from Chicago synth/vaporwave artist Equip (Kevin Hein). This album is the full realization of the performance and musical aesthetics, culminating in a new stage costume including a Unicorn horn, cape and glowing Cursed Sword. It takes you for an immediate ride into a fictional RPG bringing in inspiration from Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and Secret of Mana, fleshing out castles, valleys and skies with styles of Progressive rock, synthwave and Ambience compositions. Available exclusively at the legendary 100% Electronicon 2 festival, now just a myth. Break the Curse!
Ashly’s pick (sales, Montreal)
Robert Eggers – “Sacred Bones Record Society mixtape” c60
Working as a companion piece to Eggers’ truly incredible horror film The Lighthouse (one of the best films of the year), this mixtape is a lobster trap of sea shanties, tales of shipwrecks, and isolation induced madness. May cause nautical hallucinations, siren calls, and flooding.
Samm’s pick (Pad Print, Montreal)
Oppression – “Le coeur plein de rage” c33
Lo-fi, tough, and scummy black metal from the basements of Montreal’s east end, blending into post-punk and oi territory seamlessly. No real internet presence, email directly for a copy.
Fae’s pick (Production, Montreal)
DJ Speedsick – “Nothing Lasts” c48
Harsh as Hell techno, heavy and soaking in mixer feedback. Imagine if the blood rave scene from Blade set up a residency in the midwest, and then make it a bit grimier.
Ryan’s pick (Dupe Shop, Toronto)
Odd Person – “The Flowers of Arcadia” c30
The sounds of the rainforest dropped in the middle of electronic compositions. Mallets and percussions emphasize your surroundings as living, breathing ecosystems. These deeply engrossing new age arrangements serve as a healing potion for the cold edges of city life. Recommended if you dig Spencer Clark!
Denise’s pick (Manager, Montreal)
Robert Glasper – “Fuck Yo Feelings” c84
Nearly filling up a c90 tape, the Fuck Yo Feelings mixtape is STACKED with guest appearances with legends like Herbie Hancock and new school maestros such as Denzel Curry. Robert Glasper delivers on his unique style of jazz and hip hop fusion, exactly what you’d expect after his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly.
Rob’s pick (Marketing Coordinator, Montreal)
CFCF – “Liquid Colours” c44
A revisionist look at corporate y2k-era IDM and jungle music, tailor made to soundtrack your Calvin Klein purchases, or day at the relaxation spa, or even choosing your souped-up car in a Sega Dreamcast game. Conceptually fascinating, sonically amazing. Somewhere between KLF’s ideological use of sampling and vaporwave’s critique of capitalism in the music industry lands Liquid Colours, a guide through consumerism in a pre-9/11 world.
Garret’s pick (Dupe Shop, Toronto)
Real World – “The Language of My Life is Written in Blood” c8
Viscous death metal, not for the faint of heart. Brutal riffs that will pummel your eardrums like a heavy weight to a punching bag.
Available at the Dupe Shop
The amount of talent that comes through the Duplication.ca production line is simply incredible. From hip-hop to black metal, from new wave to no wave, and from vapor to the occasional field recordings of glacier movements, we’re happy to boast that we’ve treated each tape with the attention and care it deserved. Can’t wait to hear what you all have in store for 2020! We hope you get to use your holiday break as an opportunity to cram your friends into a jam space and churn out a killer c20.
In the meantime take a look at our cassette duplication calculator for tons of packaging options, and cassette shell colours!
Happy holidays, tape heads!
