Archive.org Gives Away 30 Gigabytes of Cassette Rarities

In an unexpected but gratifying set of circumstances for lovers of arcane music, the website Archive.org acquired a 30 GB collection of rare cassettes that were released from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s -- and is now offering to let anyone download digital copies of the entire set for free!

This treasure trove of sonic treats and obscurities was rescued from the noise-arch.net archives and made its way to the appropriately-named Archive.org in August 2009. Former CKLN-FM radio host Myke Dyer donated the find which is said to feature a wide range of material including avant-garde and tape experimentation; industrial, indie and DIY rock tracks; and auto-hypnotic materials. All of it has survived from an era when the audio cassette was the usual way that people shared music.

Generally speaking, this is a far cry from mainstream music, but those who appreciate adventures in sound should get great satisfaction from digging through tracks that were once only available on underground or independently-released cassette tapes.

You can find and download the goods at https://archive.org/details/noise-arch-archive-201110