Good day, listeners… or should I say, travellers of the tape. Trevor here. You’ve pressed play on another Virtual Cassette Library. Twelve-track virtual cassettes that flips themselves at the halfway mark.
If you make music, or run a label, and fancy a place in the library, send your links or Bandcamp codes to trevlad@gmail.com. I read every one. Promise.
The shows remain free for the first week, then slip quietly into the hands of my Mixcloud subscribers, who currently have over eleven hundred other episodes waiting for them whenever the mood strikes. Subscribers also receive the expanding series of 3-hour adventures titled Veil Frequencies.
Now imagine each episode as a colossal rotating stage — a great mechanical blooming lotus. You, the audience only ever glimpse a sliver of it at a time. Every artist is allotted the exact time it takes them to perform their piece. Then they rotate out of view, and the next act glides in. The stage spins at whatever speed the track demands. The names of the artists and labels I’ll mention before each set — or “side,” as the cassette alchemists call them. Six little incantations per set, plus a general mist of what mood to expect. Now the stage begins to turn.
A doorway that reboots itself, then a planet showing you the face it keeps away from the sun.
Side A coughs the portal awake, paints Milan limb by limb in grey-cheek library jazz, docks Ishtar’s goddess-ship, waits for Blue Bell Hill to switch from black-and-white to blossom, folds a desert peacock that rarely leaves the room, and hums a 7-inch bodega under fluorescent strip-light.
Side B parks godhead in the sprawl, waltzes a chest-pain name you cannot pronounce, pours top brass that refuses to complicate, walks the talk until it grows bass strings, holds the only hands that exist to be held, and ends on the dark side of the earth — the hemisphere the dying star never got around to lighting.
Overall mood: Playful, cinematic, and quietly cosmic — full of Clay Pipe colour, Batov half-shut eyes, and infrastructure filed under prayer. Perfect for late listening, bodega aisles after hours, or sitting with the drawbridge down while the next spool still waits.
Mood mist: a doorway that reboots itself, Milan painted limb by limb, a goddess-ship docking on the lotus, a council estate coming into colour, a desert peacock that rarely leaves the room, a 7-inch bodega humming under fluorescent strip-light.
00:03:30 DaoLogic – Portal Reload https://mahorka.bandcamp.com/track/portal-reload From the album: Source Vive Label: Mahorka The portal coughs, then remembers its password. Warm crispy beats walking you through without extrasystoles. You enter. The source is still alive. 00:07:27 Barigozzi Group – Grey Cheeks https://fourfliesrecords.bandcamp.com/track/grey-cheeks From the album: Woman’s Colours Label: Four Flies Records the last colour on a body mapped in library jazz. Wurlitzer blushing while the flute keeps the secret. 00:09:34 Gong – Ship Of Ishtar https://gongband.bandcamp.com/track/ship-of-ishtar From the album: Unending Ascending. Venus at the tiller. Sacred cargo under the sails, clocks not yet reset. Climb aboard — the guitar is already a spaceship, but tonight the ship is Ishtar. 00:17:50 David Boulter – Blue Bell Hill https://claypipemusic.bandcamp.com/track/blue-bell-hill From the album: St Ann’s Label: Clay Pipe Music Blue Bell Hill before the demolition learned its manners. Black-and-white streets waiting for the cherry blossom to switch the world to colour. 00:20:04 Taftir – Tavasim https://taftir.bandcamp.com/track/tavasim-2 From the EP: Od Layla Ba Ayara Label: Batov Records Desert town, five players, a soul ballad they almost never play live. Feathers folded. The groove keeps its eyes half-shut. 00:23:05 East Side Supply – The Bodega https://eastsidesupply.bandcamp.com/track/the-bodega From the single: DELICATESSEN / THE BODEGA Label: Sonor Music Editions Harpsichord and flute shopping the aisles. Axelrod hits between the tinned peaches. The bodega closes the side before the lotus can blink.
Mood mist: sprawl praying to itself, a chest-pain waltz with a name you cannot pronounce, brass that refuses to complicate, Watt walking the talk into orbit, hands that only exist to be held, a planet showing you the face it keeps away from the sun.
00:27:57 boycalledcrow – godhead https://boycalledcrow.bandcamp.com/track/godhead From the album: the sprawl Label: Mortality Tables Godhead parked in the sprawl. Mortality Tables filing the prayer under “infrastructure.” 00:29:59 Angine de Poitrine – Tohogd https://anginedepoitrine.bandcamp.com/track/tohogd From the album: Vol.1 Label: Republic of Music a syllable that arrived before the translation. Vol.1 still catching its breath. 00:33:53 Matt Berry – Top Brass Two https://mattberry.bandcamp.com/track/top-brass-two From the album: Simplicity Label: Acid Jazz Records Top brass, second helping. Simplicity wearing a tie it does not need. Acid Jazz pouring the good stuff and leaving the bottle. 00:36:50 Galecstasy & Mike Watt Trio – Walk the Talk https://galecstasy.bandcamp.com/track/walk-the-talk From the album: Wattzotica Label: Mystery Circles Walk the talk until the talk grows bass strings. Wattzotica: the stage spinning at walking pace, then suddenly not. 00:40:15 The Mistys – A Hand Is To Hold https://themistysband.bandcamp.com/track/a-hand-is-to-hold From the album: Situations | Useless Mouths Label: Castles In Space A hand is to hold. Useless mouths taking the night off. Castles In Space leaving the drawbridge down. 00:43:46 Martin Solos – Dark Side of the Earth https://martinsolos.bandcamp.com/track/dark-side-of-the-earth From the album: Heart of a Dying Star. the hemisphere the dying star never got around to lighting. Heart still beating in the shade.
This has been The Virtual Cassette Library, episode 313. Travel safely between the frequencies. I’ll meet you on the other side of the next spool.
Cool, sophisticated, and slightly mysterious with a strong retro cinematic flair.
Good day listeners, wherever you are. Trevor here. Welcome to episode 210 of the Virtual Cassette Library. This is a 60 minute virtual tape with a metaphysical flip at the half way mark. This episode is based on the track “Amber (feat. Itamar Ziegler)” by Ori Kaplan & Lihu Melamed from the stunning upcoming album “Reverie” which drops on the 12th of June via the Batov Records label. Also a massive thank you to Four Flies Records, The Dream Journal Institute, Batov Records and Mystery Circles for sponsoring the episode with material. A stylish, cinematic, and eclectic trip through 70s Italian library grooves, jazz-funk, psychedelic exotica, and warm ambient textures. Side A blends sleazy thriller funk and sunny Mediterranean rhythms with mystical desert drones and playful adventure themes. Side B shifts into nocturnal jazz-funk, delicate minimalism, soulful grooves, and ends with loose, exploratory jazz energy. Overall mood: Cool, sophisticated, and slightly mysterious with a strong retro cinematic flair. It feels like a warm Mediterranean evening that slowly turns into a smoky, late-night jazz club session — groovy, atmospheric, adventurous, and effortlessly stylish. Perfect for cruising, golden-hour listening, or relaxed evening vibes. If you make music, or are a label, and would like to be featured, send your file links or Bandcamp codes to trevlad@gmail.com. I’d love to hear what you’re working on. So settle in, turn it up a bit, and let’s see where it takes us. I hope you enjoy it. One side flip, just the music.
Side A 00:00:00 Berto Pisano, Elsio Mancuso – STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER Dark, sleazy 70s Italian library funk with tense rhythms and cinematic thriller vibes. Seductive and dangerous. 00:05:10 Atabasca – Khettara Mysterious desert ambient with North African influences, dusty textures, and hypnotic flow. Ancient and atmospheric. 00:09:16 The Sound Catelouge – Final Questions Sparse, questioning ambient with subtle tension and philosophical weight. Minimal and introspective. 00:11:47 Banda Maje – Costa Sud Sunny Italian Mediterranean groove with warm percussion and coastal dolce vita charm. Breezy and joyful. 00:15:21 FOREVER PAVOT & MELCHIOR – LES AVENTURES DE TINTIN (GENERIQUE) Playful, adventurous psych-pop reinterpretation of the classic Tintin theme. Fun, colourful, and nostalgic. 00:18:47 gribbles – Ancient Answer Mystical, earthy ambient with ancient resonances and subtle ritualistic warmth. Timeless and contemplative. 00:23:17 Kronstad 23 – Stratosfæren Floating, stratospheric ambient with cool Nordic synths and high-altitude serenity. Crisp and elevated. Side B 00:27:59 Albin – Flöjten Gentle, melodic flute-led piece with soft Scandinavian warmth and folk-like intimacy. Peaceful and lyrical. 00:31:04 Wojciech Golczewski – Transmission 14 Dark synthwave/ambient with retro horror vibes and pulsing tension. Cinematic and brooding. 00:34:21 ATA Records – Walter In Gabardine Cool, rainy-day library jazz-funk with sophisticated grooves and detective swagger. Stylish and mellow. 00:36:33 EKT – Postman Quirky, offbeat electronic with characterful rhythms and subtle humour. Playful and distinctive. 00:39:04 East Side Supply – Delicatessen Tasty, swinging jazz-funk with rich grooves and deli-counter cool. Groovy and appetising. 00:42:45 Ori Kaplan & Lihu Melamed – Amber (feat. Itamar Ziegler) Warm, glowing jazz fusion with rich tones and emotional depth. Smooth and luminous. 00:45:43 Agnes Martian – One Delicate, minimalist ambient with soft fragility and quiet emotional resonance. Intimate and tender. 00:47:43 Surprise Chef – Blyth Street Nocturne Soulful, nocturnal instrumental jazz with warm grooves and late-night atmosphere. 00:52:26 El Michels Affair – Shining (Instrumental) Tight, cinematic soul-funk with lush horns and moody swagger. Vintage-inspired and powerful. 00:55:31 Galecstasy & Mike Watt Trio – Wander In Loose, exploratory jazz-rock with free-spirited energy and wandering spirit. Organic and adventurous closer.