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. Tips and subscriptions keep the reels turning. Every little helps the library stay open after dark.
A light, watery ambient journey through easy emergence, melting streams, and roads along the Downs. Side A opens kepeä — light, easy — then moves through a Russian Standard retrospective, a stream that melts sideways, a Brainforest sanctuary dedicated to Violet, Lola skipping stones, and West Yorkshire crypt-light luminaire. Side B returns 2018 intrigue among workers and superiors, lets petals land softly on water, surges through a third ocean current, begins the Marienbad story again, and travels the Downs in Ravilious colour. Overall mood: Contemplative, fluid, and quietly elegant — full of Passed Oceans, acoustic closeness, and elliptical cinema. Perfect for dusk listening, train windows, or sitting still while the stones keep hopping the surface.
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 receive the expanding series of 3-hour adventures titled Veil Frequencies. They also get the ever-growing advance version of the forthcoming compilation Quiet Figures.
The tape unspools its visions.
00:01:39 Aki Yli-Salomäki & Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä – Kepeä From the album “Viriää” which is Finnish and means emergence, awakening. Opening the episode is Finnish composer and sound artist Aki Yli-Salomäki. Aki Yli-Salomäki and Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä open with “Kepeä” which means light, easy. — Vantaa composition meeting Helsinki violin and viola, acoustic closeness with subtle synthesizer undercurrents. Out on Whitelabrecs. 00:04:41 SERMAK MUSIC – Russian Standard From the 2026 CZiGO Compilation Taster Album. Mark Donlon’s retrospective, lockdown years to now, eight tracks gathered on his Sermak label. 00:08:43 Obsydian Fox – The Stream Melts Sideways The first of thee tracks from the amazing new compilation “Passed Oceans”. Passed Recordings is a global collective of artists with a focus on making atmospheric music. Water in every language. Half of the sales go to Doctors Without Borders. 00:14:24 Polypores – The Sanctuary From the album “Wildlife”. Stephen James Buckley leaves his modular case in another room and looses himeself in another with tenor recorder, guitars, piano, drums, kalimba and homemade percussion. Dedicated to Violet, artwork by João Emmanuel. 00:17:33 Poloma – Lola the Stoneskipper The second of three tracks from the Passed Oceans release. Stones hop the surface and keep going. 00:20:38 The Gaye Device – Luminaire Ending side A and a champion of the channel mr. Andrew Howden, better known as The Gaye Device. I wanted to say this was an exclusive for my upcoming compilation Quiet Figures but research shows Andrew released it back in 2023 on his wonderful album “The Fallen Leaf” together with Ellen Southern. West Yorkshire reflective electronics. Jenny Lyon photography. Site singing and crypt acoustics sit inside the mix.
After that the cassette reaches its midpoint and flips.
00:24:20 Dadanaut – Morphinist Opening side B. from the album Kabale. Dadanaut with “Morphinist”. Metropolis and Kästner’s School of the Dictators. A struggle for freedom and relief. 2018 intrigue returns. 00:36:26 Castle Waters – Petals Landing Softly On Water From the album Ethereal Elegance. Castle Waters with “Petals Landing Softly On Water”. Wooded walkways and ancient bridges. ETERNITEA time waits at 1:37pm in the floating gazebo. Digital proceeds travel to local libraries. 00:40:04 Leafblighter – Surge And here’s that third track from the “Passed Oceans” release. Fluidity in motion. 00:47:42 Simon Heartfield – Since This Story Began From the album “Last Year At Marienbad”. Simon Heartfield with “Since This Story Began”. Nine elliptical pieces of piano, strings, woodwind, organ and electronics, after Alain Resnais, 1961. 00:50:19 Gilroy Mere – On the Road From the album “Furlongs”. On the road along the Downs. Oliver Cherer and Riz Maslen. Forty-mile train journeys. Ravilious colours become texture and tempo. Clarinet, flute, trumpet. All clear after treatment. Recorded at The Laundry, St Leonard’s. 00:54:02 Brannan Lane – Folding Space The final track is the title track from Brannans latest release. Recorded at Peaceful Paradise Studio. Synthesizers and environmental recordings. Faster-than-light soundscapes for relaxation, focus and travel.
The visions complete their circle. The oxide continues its quiet journey until the end of the spool.
Also in the works: the next compilation, Quiet Figures, release date 26 September. Uncover the narratives whispered by the silent, ever-present figures that shadow us, through compositions that unravel their hidden mysteries. Does that stir anything? Send entries to trevlad@gmail.com Include artist name, track name, and a link to other work. Deadline: 24 September.
This has been The Virtual Cassette Library, episode 306. Travel safely between the frequencies. I’ll meet you on the other side of the next spool.
Good day listeners, wherever you are. Trevor here. Welcome to the Virtual Cassette Library. Episode 264. A 12 track virtual tape with a metaphysical flip at the half way mark. 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. Please leave a tip and subscribe to the Mixcloud channel every little helps. A contemplative, atmospheric ambient journey through gravity, trapped moments, and fiery elements. Side A drifts from weightless lapses and arcane nights into sinister awakenings, amber preservation, and circular comfort. Side B shifts through nostalgic postcards, patterned cosiness, collaborative warmth, and ends on flame and dated reflection. Overall mood: Introspective, melancholic, and quietly wondrous with a blend of darkness and gentle warmth. Perfect for deep listening, late-night reflection, or peaceful immersion. I’ll introduce Side A now and Side B in the intermission. The shows are free for the first week and then go to my very few Mixcloud subscribers who get to enjoy the 264 episodes as well as the 820 plus other shows whenever they like. As a subscriber you also get access to my new series Veil Frequencies based on a fictional world I’ve created called The Resonant Veil Enclave. Each episode is around three hours and recorded from one of the floors from the 24 buildings in the veil. Mixcloud subscribers also get the ever expanding version of the upcoming compilation titled Quiet Figures. On this episode you’ll be aurally pleasured by the trio of John Crombie, Christopher Innes, and Damiano Verna who together call themselves Arcane Trickster. I’ve chosen their latest single titled “Dead Of Night” which has just been released on Greek label Cosmicleaf Records. This is followed by the track “Sinister Awakening” by Mantris from an album to get lost in titled “Echoes Of The Silver Screen” out on Bulgaria’s finest Mahorka label. After that Edinburgh based modular artist Exit Chamber with the soothing piece “Trapped In The Amber Of This Moment” from the release “I Have Lied To You The Best I Can” which features remix work by some other channel friends including Asha Patera, Ed Herbers and Everyday Dust. Grab a digital copy on the Passed Recordings label. The penultimate track of the first side of this virtual cassette is by French artist Anthony Elfort aka Toàn and the enchanting track “DEL 3” from the album titled “Solitarium” out on the fantastic whitelabrecs label. Finishing off the first half is a track from the album Quieter by Robot Koch under his moniker Foam and Sand with a mix of analog synthesizers, live vibraphone, chimes, and bells in “Circle 62”. Get it at Jogging House curated label Seil Records. But first, to set the vibe is Athens-based artist Kostas Staikos, better known as Substak with a deep and dark almost 15 minute piece titled “Gravity Lapse” which was made for Drone Day 2026 on grey clay radio. Now 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.
Welcome to the B side. Six tracks down and six to go. You’ll hear an artist I know nothing about except they are on the fantastic Passed Recordings 31 track compilation album 130.81. Here is Poloma with minimalist piece “Calico”. Also an exclusive track in the collaboration of ambient giants David Cordero & Aiko Takahashi with the piano piece “Arzino” from their upcoming album “Night’s End” which will be available through the wonderful Home Normal label from the 24th of July. After that a master of sunset music, Mark Barrott, with the track “Variation (I)” from the album “The Exit Diaries” and that’s out on the Anjunachill label. Then the penultimate track for today comes in the form of the shortest piece of the show clocking in at just 1:31 seconds but showing the amazing sound of Hannah Peel in the track “All They Had Was Fire” from the film soundtrack album Underland, and that’s out on the Rivertones label. Finishing us off is Hylé Tapes curator Richard Francés with some minimalistic drone bliss in the track “11 Février 2024” from the album Afterwork III (Février 2024). But first hailing from Koblenz, Germany, Oberlin with his Fender Telecaster and field-recordings on the track “Postcard #7” from the album Ambient Postcards, Enjoy…
Side A 00:00:00 Substak – Gravity Lapse Weightless, falling ambient with gravitational pull and delicate, lapsed motion. Hypnotic and ethereal. 00:18:35 Arcane Trickster – Dead Of Night Mysterious, nocturnal ambient with arcane shadows and quiet, trickster tension. Haunting and atmospheric. 00:22:14 Mantris – Sinister Awakening Dark, awakening ambient with sinister undertones and gradual, ominous emergence. Tense and immersive. 00:23:56 Exit Chamber – Trapped In The Amber Of This Moment Frozen, amber-preserved ambient with stillness and poignant captured beauty. 00:27:12 Toàn – DEL 3 Minimal ambient with clean lines and quiet restraint. Precise and reflective. 00:30:31 Foam and Sand – Circle 62 Lush, circular ambient with granular warmth and endless, comforting loops. Radiant and meditative. Side B 00:35:40 Oberlin – Postcard #7 Nostalgic, postcard ambient with distant, scenic warmth and gentle, mailed intimacy. 00:37:45 Poloma – Calico Soft, patterned ambient with calico-like textures and warm, fabric-woven calm. Cosy and detailed. 00:41:28 David Cordero & Aiko Takahashi – Arzino Delicate, place-specific ambient with Italian-inspired warmth and subtle, collaborative beauty. 00:43:52 Mark Barrott – Variation (I) Subtle, Balearic-tinged ambient with warm variation and gentle, land-inspired elegance. 00:46:52 Hannah Peel – All They Had Was Fire Fiery, elemental ambient with passionate intensity and a sense of sole reliance on flame. Dramatic and luminous. 00:47:58 Richard Francés – 11 Février 2024 Date-specific ambient capturing a personal February moment with reflective, diary-like intimacy.
Also in the works, the latest compilation titled Quiet Figures which will be released September 26. Uncover the narratives whispered by the silent, ever-present figures that shadow us, through compositions that unravel their hidden mysteries. Does that trigger a creative thought?