(Loch Ness pub in Stockholm where the beer tastes like regret and possibility in equal measure)
Virtual mixtape radio for the sonically adventurous. 20 artists. Drops about three times a week. No schedule, just a passion for independent music.
…hey. welcome back, or maybe welcome for the first time, to the slowest-growing show on the internet. or off it. whatever. this is Trev’s Virtual Cassette Library. Episode one-eight-seven. we’re still calling it a virtual mixtape radio for the sonically adventurous, but let’s be honest—it’s just me in a room full of blinking lights and dying batteries, trying to convince the void that independent music still matters. twenty artists. no schedule. drops when the mood hits, which is usually when normal people are asleep. the three-word subtitles? they’re What3Words locations that mean something to me. personal little coordinates. this one’s grinning.cheek.traffic. Stockholm pub. good beer, better stories you forget by morning. If you want in—send weird files, codes, confessions, whatever—to trevlad@gmail.com. labels getting the slow nod tonight: Moolakii Club Audio Interface, Castles In Space, Adventurous Music, Bricolage, Audiobulb, Ingrown Records, i u we records, Noray Records… the usual suspects haunting the margins. styles? liminal ambient, hauntronica, post-disco, whatever falls between the cracks. places on the map: Québec, Prague, Pereira. the world’s getting smaller, but the weird corners are still there. Send stories for Chord Confessions. that song that ruined or saved you. record it yourself or I’ll read it in my sleep-voice and play the track. win-win-win. also doing Trev Tales now—stories woven into the sets. like this is one long dream you’re not sure you want to wake up from. One new follower since last time. Paso stranger. cheers, mate. you’re in the club now. the one with no meetings and no rules.…
A soft hiss opens the curtain. dust motes spin in pale light. first pulse arrives like a hangover you didn’t earn.
First out f5point6 – The Second Day (Remastered). https://f5point6.bandcamp.com/track/the-second-day-remastered Grey dawn leaking through blinds that gave up years ago. yesterday’s coffee is a cold accusation in the mug. synths breathe slow, like fog rolling over abandoned motorways. headphones on. let time dissolve. frequencies claim you. no refunds.…
That was ‘The Second Day (Remastered)’ – by f5point6 from the album ‘In Retrospect’ out on the See Blue Audio label. The next artist is Ver – Combine. https://secuenciastemporales.bandcamp.com/track/ver-combine-2 Metallic clanks fold into wet footsteps, voices smear across rusted combine blades turning in slow motion under an endless flat sky.
Yes ‘Combine’ by Ver from that ‘Commemorative Compilation’ I’ve been playing lately out on the Secuencias Temporales label. And now Dåggěr (Szórëgg) – Telekinetic Coercion. https://secuenciastemporales.bandcamp.com/track/d-gg-r-sz-r-gg-telekinetic-coercion Invisible fingers press the temples, thoughts lift like iron filings toward a humming magnet, chair legs scrape backward without feet.
Crunchy, haunted vibes there with ‘Telekinetic Coercion’ by Dåggěr (Szórëgg) also from the ‘Commemorative Compilation’ release. Dub time now, Rural District Lo-Fi Recording Project – Planning A Bootleg LP? https://ruraldistrictlofirecordingproject.bandcamp.com/track/planning-a-bootleg-lp Cassette deck whirs in a damp shed, pencil scratches setlists on yellowing paper, distant lawnmower drone leaks through the window like memory bleed.
Gotta love that ‘Planning A Bootleg LP?’ by Rural District Lo-Fi Recording Project from the self released album ‘Jolly Johnny and his Oompahing Oomlahs’. Time to pull some shapes on the dance floor with Baxter Dury – Schadenfreude Ft. JGrrey https://baxterdury.bandcamp.com/track/schadenfreude-ft-jgrrey Cigarette cherry glows in the dark cab, someone else’s misfortune tastes sharp and sweet on the tongue, laughter curls like smoke rings.
That was ‘Schadenfreude Ft. JGrrey’ by Baxter Dury from the album ‘Allbarone’ out on Heavenly Recordings We retire to the lounge with 36 – Echo Diffusion. https://pitp.bandcamp.com/track/echo-diffusion Synth notes dissolve into mist, each chord sends ripples across black water, distant towers repeat the lament softer, softer, gone.
You’ve been listening to ‘Echo Diffusion’ by 36 from the album ‘Reality Engine’ out on the Past Inside the Present label. Now the wonderful Ann Annie – home. This is a short 2 minute outing. https://annannie.bandcamp.com/track/home-3 Bare feet on sun-warmed floorboards, lace curtains breathe in and out, a kettle clicks off somewhere deeper in the house that still smells of yesterday’s bread.
Blissful acoustic guitar there in ‘home’ by Ann Annie from the album ‘El Prado’ available through the ’Nettwerk’ label. Which brings us nicely to Empty House – Sea Birds https://mcpm.bandcamp.com/track/sea-birds Gulls wheel above peeling paint, empty rooms fill with salt wind, curtains flap like trapped wings against salt-crusted glass.
Hope you’re still with us on the planet after ’Sea Birds’ by Empty House from the album ‘MCPM018 compilation album’ out on the amazing Moolakii Club Audio Interface label. Time to head back to the club now with Pablo Diarra – Humour noir. https://songe-anima-records.bandcamp.com/track/humour-noir Cigarette burns slow in ashtray, punchline lands like wet gravel, laughter echoes in an empty corridor lit only by neon bleeding through blinds.
Yes ‘Humour noir’ there by Pablo Diarra aka Saïph from the album ‘Griffe Sonam’ out on Songe Anima Records Next up an artist I feature quite regularly James Adrian Brown – ‘Poster Child’ from the album ‘Forever Neon Lights’ out on channel champion label Castles In Space https://jamesadrianbrown.bandcamp.com/track/poster-child Faded gig poster curls at the edges, spotlight glare trapped in yellowing tape, young face staring back with too much certainty. Catch you on the flip side.
B Side Needle drops into silence, groove dust crackles, the hidden track breathes like someone left the tape running after everyone went home. This is the legendary Deerhoof – Apple Bomb. https://deerhoof.bandcamp.com/track/apple-bomb Teeth sink into skin, juice sprays, frantic drums explode outward, tart sweetness turns chaotic sugar-rush panic.
Classic Deerhoof there with ‘Apple Bomb’ from the album ‘Apple O’’ available through Joyful Noise Recordings Next we get some haunted chills via Catharæ, Trem 77 – Dreams of the Mediterranéant (Fade at Brighton Beach Mix) https://adventurousmusic.bandcamp.com/track/dreams-of-the-mediterran-ant-fade-at-brighton-beach-mix Waves lap shingle under sodium lamps, bougainvillea scent mixes with diesel and chips, sun-bleached dream fades into Brighton March grey.
Cheers to Trem 77 for sending me ‘Dreams of the Mediterranéant (Fade at Brighton Beach Mix)’ from the album ‘Dreams of the Méditerranéant’ out on the Adventurous Music label. We stay in the same world now Minimal Drone GRL and Belial Pelegrim – A Remembered Land Long Forgotten https://bricolageglasgow.bandcamp.com/track/a-remembered-land-long-forgotten Low hum rises from cracked earth, ancient stone walls breathe dust, wind carries fragments of half-remembered songs across barren fields.
‘A Remembered Land Long Forgotten’ there by Minimal Drone GRL and Belial Pelegrim from the album ‘Movements of a Cloud’ out on the Bricolage label. Time to get weird Keith Seatman – Another Strange Thing https://keithseatman-cis.bandcamp.com/track/another-strange-thing Ornate music box unwinds in attic gloom, figurine spins jerkily, something moves just beyond the torch beam.
Great work there in ‘Another Strange Thing’ by Keith Seatman from the album ‘Counting To Ten Then Back Again’ out on Castles In Space. Next up a piece of my own as Trevlad – Furnish Rests Goggle https://trevlad.bandcamp.com/track/furnish-rests-goggle Old sofa sags under fairy lights, goggles fog with breath, synth arpeggios drift like cigarette smoke through thrift-shop clutter.
That was ‘Furnish Rests Goggle’ which is the What3Words geo location of a hotel I spent a few days in back in January. It’s from the album TVCL 10. Next we go minimal and dark with Autistici – 2.25 Degrees of Internalisation https://autistici.bandcamp.com/track/225-degrees-of-internalisation Faint heartbeat clicks inside the skull, temperature drops 2.25°, thoughts fold inward like origami swans sinking in black ink.
You’ve been witness to ‘2.25 Degrees of Internalisation’ by Autistici from the album ‘Familiarity Unfolded’ out on the Audiobulb label. Now to brighten things up a notch Heaven Topology – Adventure Compass https://ingrown.bandcamp.com/track/adventure-compass Needle quivers between impossible directions, star charts peel from damp walls, footsteps echo toward a horizon that bends upward.
Excellent ‘Adventure Compass’ by Heaven Topology from the album ‘Describer’ out on the king of listening parties Ingrown Records I always like to add a pinch of Jazz to the episodes so here’s Robohands – Achilles https://robohands.bandcamp.com/track/achilles Tendon strings pluck taut, bronze dust settles on mechanical joints, slow-motion stride across cracked marble, heel exposed.
Great drumming there in ‘Achilles’ by Robohands from the album ‘Oranj’ out on Bastard Jazz Recordings Now the longest track of this episode at just under 10 minutes. This is Never Sol – Dark Mountains, Red Dust https://iuwerecords.bandcamp.com/track/never-sol-dark-mountains-red-dust Boots crunch red powder, peaks swallow the sky, wind carries iron taste and distant thunder that never arrives.
What a trip in ‘Dark Mountains, Red Dust’ by Never Sol from one of the best compilations released so far this year ‘connected #3’ out on i u we records Before we go our separate ways and the virtual tape clicks out. I just want to thank you all for taking the time to listen and I hope the journey sends you in the direction of these artists. All the links to the material are in the comments on Mixcloud, on trevor.se and on the channel substack. To send us off Rhucle & Arbee – Plain from the album of the same name. Available on Noray Records https://norayrecords.bandcamp.com/track/plain Endless beige grass bends under pale sun, single power line hums, footsteps leave no trace on the flat, quiet expanse.
Virtual mixtape radio for the sonically adventurous. 20 artists. Drops about three times a week. No schedule, just a passion for independent music.
Good evening, or morning, or whatever sliver of the clock you’ve drifted into. This is Trev’s Virtual Cassette Library, episode one hundred and seventy-two. I’m Trevor, sifting through the reels once more, turning the dial until something faintly human—or faintly inhuman—comes through.
These cassettes still carry the promise of two sides, a flip in the middle. Twenty artists tonight, drawn from various corners: some from the damp fields of field recording-touched ambient, others from the slow-burn electronics of Glasgow’s Bricolage or whitelabrecs quiet corners, a few from Portland’s soft tape worlds, and further out to the looped, patient rhythms that refuse to hurry.
No rush here. No hooks to grab you by the collar. These are pieces that breathe, that unfold like fog over water, that let time stretch until it forgets its own name.
The Wild Hunt Die Wilde Jagd – Gleiß K – Convenanza – Höganord Rekords A motorik pulse wrapped in dark-leaning kraut electronics, voices half-buried in the machinery, building without ever quite arriving. So Headphones on, let time dissolve and let the frequencies claim you.
Now one of the shortest entries on the show Ann Annie – lupine – El Prado (Deluxe) – available through Nettwerk label. Portland piano atmospheres drift in gentle layers, carrying a meditative hush, like rain on greenhouse glass.
blochemy – Eim – Islas Calm Cloud – whitelabrecs. Sorry for the mispronunciation in the last episode. Minimal tape wonk and electroacoustic patience, tones that hover and slowly modulate, a quiet study in restraint and space.
And now clap along with Nu Era – See Are Seven (Bonus Track) – The Second Circle – Neroli Records Deep, enveloping electronics with a touch of kosmische drift, layers folding inward, unhurried and expansive.
Next Saya Gray – PUDDLE ( OF ME ) – Saya – Dirty Hit Intimate, watery textures, voice and instrumentation blurring into something fragile and reflective, almost confessional in its slowness.
Check the reverb on the rimshots. Robohands – Oranj – Oranj – Bastard Jazz Recordings Wonky Rhodes and guitar-led loops that circle and evolve, warm and understated, letting small repetitions reveal hidden depths over time.
Now panic inducing mud flaps. Sophie Sleigh-Johnson – Chaldean Acts – Nuncio Ref – Crow Versus Crow Sparse, ritualistic soundscapes, field edges and processed resonances evoking ancient, unspoken acts.
Back to some pop phrasings and a bassist at work Flora Hibberd – Auto Icon – Swirl – self-released Delicate, swirling arrangements, voice and instrumentation caught in gentle eddies, intimate and quietly hypnotic.
And now a recent mate of the channel brings some pigeons CommsBreakdown – In The Heart Of Spring – Dadtronica Ambientus – self-released Spring-like modular pulses and soft drones, a sense of renewal threaded through the circuitry. Lovely stuff.
Now to end Side A with a stomping track from one of my fantastic supporting labels Bricolage Black Lupus – Fractal Particles – Paradigm 10 Year Label Sampler – Bricolage Glasgow Granular electronics from Glasgow, particles scattering and reforming in fractal patterns, precise yet organic.
Tape flip.
The cassette turns. Side B.
Starting off Side B Vancouver based Active Dark Filament – Song for Moritz – (NYP) – Lost Axioms Excerpts – self-released Dedicated drift, dark ambient threads that pull slowly across an 80s vibe stereo field.
And now for something special from David Soulscorch here as Rural District Lo-Fi Recording Project – Disenchanting. Nice Work If You Can Get It – Jolly Johnny and His Oompahing Oomlahs. Lo-fi pastoral wanderings, disenchanted yet oddly affectionate, cassette warmth intact. This album made me happy.
Next is from a label I’d love to play more of as they release some of the best sounds out there. Unfortunately I can’t afford to play as much as I’d like and I respect that they won’t send me stuff for free, but every now and then something lands on my decks for which I’m grateful. This is one of those times. Here’s Kayla Painter – Anicca – Tectonic Particles – Quiet Details Shifting, impermanent textures, tectonic plates of sound moving beneath the surface, calm on top.
And now to the label who has championed the channel for many a year and a release by James Adrian Brown – Generator – Generator – Colin Morrisons Castles in Space Generator hums and harmonic overtones, a machine dreaming its own slow song.
Speaking of great labels here’s another one worthy of your attention storyinsoil – Spin Glass – Distillation – Ingrown Glassy, spinning drones, crystalline and distilled, turning in perpetual motion. Release date is set to February 3rd, so go grab a copy.
Now there’s this wonderful Russian artist NDORFIK who I’ve had a bit of contact with over the past few weeks. He’s a great guy and good at promoting his mates here is one of them in Local Gods label curator Alexander Lvov as Man as island – Haikei – AN. This has yet to get an official release date so you are a lucky bunch. Isolated, island-bound reveries, spacious and solitary, awaiting their proper tide.
Now an oldie I think I discovered through an instagram post by dream.weasel. I recommend you checking her out. This is Andy Stott – Luxury problems – Modern Love Heavy, dubbed-out pressure, bass weight and smeared atmospheres from the Manchester shadows.
Now my favourite middle eastern groove outfit Sababa 5 – Allô – C A VA C A VA – set for release on Batov records on 20 Feb. Psychedelic-tinged grooves, loose and sun-bleached.
The penultimate track and another super supporter of the channel. Label curator Harry Towell & Guy Gelem – Esplanade – Islas Calm Cloud – Whitelabrec. Calm, esplanade-length drones, coastal in feel, minimal and modern classical in poise.
And now, as the tape nears its end, a few words before the leader tape rattles through. Thanks for staying with it. These libraries aren’t built for playlists or algorithms; they’re for the ones who still turn the dial by hand. Support the artists if any of this lodged somewhere inside you—buy the tapes, the files, the vinyl where it exists. Whisper their names when the room is quiet. It matters. This episode streams on Mixcloud for a short while, links and credits at trevor.se and in the comments below. Say something if the mood takes you. Or say nothing. Silence has its own frequency. The final piece is the shortest of the episode but is a gem by Kure – Moon Acid – Another from Paradigm 10 Year Label Sampler – on Glasgows finest Bricolage label. Acid-touched moonlit electronics, another Glasgow echo, warped and lunar. Until the next reel spins—stay resonant, stay adrift.
Welcome, sonic wanderers. You’ve arrived at the coordinates ///clean.builder.door—Episode 127 of The Virtual Cassette Library. A title, a signal, a portal. The track you’re hearing is available for pre-order on Bandcamp, already whispering through YouTube, it sets the tone for what’s to come. These mixes are 90-minute genre bending drifts through curated frequencies—designed for walking meditations, mental meanderings, and quiet communion with the cosmos. No commentary. No interruptions. Just pure sonic immersion. Styles include sci-fi, ambient, idm, new age, berlin school, hauntology, folktronica and more. The A side contains an exclusive track by Eric Angelo Bessel, titled Clearing, from the album, Mirror at Night, dropping October 31 on the Lore City Music label. The B side also contains one exclusive track by me and it’s titled Diagram Mobile Cartoons from my upcoming album TVCL 06. The track titles are also geographical locations where the videos for each track were captured. All available on the Trevlad Youtube channel. You’ve maybe noticed that I’m also releasing my first compilation for digital release. Which will be dropped on the 6th of November. Check out the socials if you want to get involved. 💌 Send your art to trevlad@gmail.com. Purchase paths are always illuminated at trevor.se and marked in each episode’s Mixcloud timeline. 🎶 Pre-order the 6th TVCL album on Bandcamp. It drops when we hit 16 tracks. Subscribe and unlock 854 archived shows. 🧙♂️ Shout out to Nanogod, whose alchemical words add dimension to the Mixcloud timeline. Every comment, every like, every vibration helps keep the channel alive. 🚀 So now—secure those headphones. Let time dissolve. Let the frequencies claim you.
Take Flight with For the Birds: A Journey Through Ambient Melodies
Calling all nature enthusiasts and ambient music lovers! Take a break from the digital world and immerse yourself in the calming soundscapes of “For the Birds,” episode 011.
This week’s show features a beautiful collection of tracks that capture the essence of the natural world, from the gentle chirping of birds to the rustling of leaves.
Follow the artists on social media (see blog post for details)
Discover more from Valley View Records, Not Not Fun, and other featured labels.
For the Birds is your weekly dose of sonic serenity. Tune in next week for another exploration of the natural world through the power of ambient music.