Top 200 Tapes Of 2015
12.11.15 by Tabs Out Crew

TOP2015

Oh shit.  Here we go again. As another year comes to a close we at Tabs Out must fulfill our contractual obligation to rank the best cassettes of 2015, as per the agreement we made with Cassatan centuries ago. We don’t want to do this, we must. Lest we be heaved into a flaming pit of magnetic tape and broken decks, a 30-second loop of tortured souls being the only thing we hear for all of eternity. Too scary.

As usual, all tapes have been scientifically calculated and are in their correct positions. No mistakes have been made. This list has been checked 69 times by supercomputers and a guy named Jack we know. Jack owns a calculator. Real complicated stuff. Everything has been culled from the 1,000ish tapes that we received in the mail, or bought/traded for over the past 12 months. We did not include anything by our own projects or released on any of our labels (2:00AM, 905, or Beyond The Ruins).

If you would like to complain about a tape not making the list, please fill out this form and we will look into it. Let’s do this!

 

#1: Three Legged Race “Rope Commercial Vol.2” (Vitrine)

Not so much the sounds from inside a genie’s lamp as the sounds from inside the head of the genie inside a genie’s lamp, “Rope Commercial Vol. 2” by Three Legged Race controls it’s anxiety and crafted jitters with undeterred aplomb. Most could only imagine the thousand-year thoughts of a blue-skinned wish granter, sealed up with nothing but a whole mess of time, waiting for someone to finally give his brass residence a rub down. Robert Beatty (see also: Hair Police) converts them to electronic form then flushes it out the pipes for 20 of the gnarliest minutes you will experience for a while. [read full review]

#2: Shingles “In A Doom Mood” (self released)
#3: Lee Noble “Un Look” (Patient Sounds)
#4: Synth Bard “Gold Box Renditions” (Ephem Aural)
#5: TALsounds “All The Way” (Hausu Mountain)
#6: Ratkiller “Comfortably Declined” (Baba Vanga)
#7: Macula Dog s/t (Haord)
#8: Holly Waxwing “Peach Winks” (Noumenal Loom)
#9: Embarker “Habitrail” (Refulgent Sepulchre)
#10: Wolf Eyes “I Am a Problem: Mind in Pieces” (Third Man)
#11: Dreamcrusher “Hackers All Of Them Hackers” (Firetalk)
#12: Eartheater “RIP Chrysalis” (Hausu Mountain)
#13: Peter Kris “Rim Of The World” (Spring Break)
#14: Giant Claw “Deep Thoughts” (Orange Milk)
#15: Lewis “Hawaiian Breeze” (Summersteps)
#16: Drainolith “Moskos Reads The Zonal Poets Vol.1” (NNA)
#17: Harmonia “Documents 1975” (Grönland)
#18: CRX091081GB “Becoming The Camracid (Gossamer City)
#19: Takahiro Mukai “SomosanSeppa” (Paralaxe Editions)
#20: Grapefruit “Some New-Age Bullshit” (Field Hymns)
#21: Bouchons D’Orelles / Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra splt (Astral Spirits)
#22: Various Artists “400/100” (Metaphysical Circuits)
#23: Granite Mask “Exit Strategies” (Ascetic House)
#24: Pedestrian Deposit “The Architector” (Monorail Trespassing)
#25: Marshall Art s/t (Ubiktune)
#26: Sasha Conda “Bronco” (Not Not Fun)
#27: Khaki Blazer “Moontan Nocturnal” (Hausu Mountain)
#28: Fire Death / Semaphore For Annie Besant split (Lemurian)
#29: Plagues “Nature Does Not Nurture” (Unseen Force)
#30: Beast Nest “Songs For Puppies” (Full Spectrum)
#31: Foodman “Couldwork” (Orange Milk)
#32: Quicksails “Spillage” (Tranquility)
#33: Adderall Canyonly “Beneath The Crystal Canyon A Spark Remains” (Moss Archive)
#34: Roman Nails “Artificial Sense” (Night People)
#35: Unguent “Catapult Fantasia” (Refulgent Sepulchre)
#36: The Technical Academy Plays -bØb- (Fixture)
#37: Kill Alters s/t (Godmode)
#38: Wyatt Howland & David Russell “White Cassette” (Polar Envy)
#39: V/A “Somehow Commissioned #2 : Texture” (Phinery)
#40: Witchbeam “Shadow Musick Vol. 2” (Tranquility)
#41: Euglossine “Complex Playground” (Beer On The Rug)
#42: H.L. Collins “Creating Friction” Vol.1 (Third Kind)
#43: Mus.hiba “White Girl” (Orange Milk)
#44: Prurient “Unmasking the Insect” (Zaetrom)
#45: Giant Squid Autopsy “∆” (self released)
#46: Barnett/Ortmann “Seasonal Attrition” (Centre)
#47: Bastian Void “No Dreams” (Sic Sic)
#48: Virusse / Zerfallt split (self released)
#49: German Army “Remain In Exile” (Golden Cloud)
#50: HD Sunrise s/t (Player Press)
#51: Cher Von “Kuhh Duuh” (auralgamiSOUNDS)
#52: HKE / Telepath テレパシー能力者 split (BARO)
#53: Shingles “Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 1: Growhouse Music” (self released)
#54: Hollowfonts “Primitive Masonary” (Sacred Phrases)
#55: #tcot from s/t (Northern Spy)
#56: ATOMO “The Evaporated Life” (auralgamiSOUNDS)
#57: Danny Clay & Karl Fousek “Klang” (Phinery)
#58: V. Sinclair “The Cloistered Estuary” (Mazurka Editions)
#59: Jeremiah Fisher “Children’s Archipelago” (Suite 309)
#60: Tredici Bacci / ENPSE split (Astral Spirits)
#61: Brett Naucke / Quicksails “Summer Tour 2015” split (Catholic)
#62: Sealadder “Tiny Territories” (Power Moves Label)
#63: Shingles “Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 3: Horn of Deafening” (self released)
#64: Various Artists “Best Of Bob Segar” (Truly Bald)
#65: ƸC†OPL∆SM “Worthless Plastic” (Hacktivism)
#66: Arvo Zylo “Sequencer Works Vol.1” (Out-Of-Body)
#67: Seth Graham “No. 00 in Clean Life” (Orange Milk)
#68: Body Shame s/t (SadoDaMascus)
#69: StickBoy “8 Trax & Twist” (Mother May Noise)
#70: Karl Fousek “Pattern Variation” (Dionysian)
#71: Boxhead Ensemble “La Hora Magica” (Astral Spirits)
#72: Andrew Weathers “Light in the Valley” (Twin Spring)
#73: Bary Center “Endless High” (MJ MJ)
#74: Grant Evans “Reflection” (Adversary)
#75: G.S. Sultan “ad.sculpt tutorial” (Orange Milk)
#76: Andreas Brandal “Murmurs and Echoes” (Field Hymns)
#77: Copley Medal “Carble Cage” (Vitrine)
#78: Zigra “Tetration” (Firmament)
#79: Matthew Barlow “Now Age” (Phinery)
#80: Andreas Brandal “A Switch in Time” (Oxtail Recordings)
#81: [PHYSICS] ‎”Only Forever” (Constellation Tatsu)
#82: Andrew Bernstein “Cult Appeal” (Hausu Mountain)
#83: Matthew Akers “Whitest Hunters, Blackest Hearts” (Suite 309)
#84: A. Bolus “Tropical Poolside Drainage” (Vitrine)
#85: Guerilla Toss “Flood Dosed” (DFA)
#86: Hex Horizontal “INFLUX II: The Isthmus” (Geweih Ritual)
#87: Ryan Emmett “Pulling The Wool” (White Reeves Productions)
#88: Long Distance Poison “Lama Nada” (Hausu Mountain)
#89: Dragontime s/t (Inner Islands)
#90: Roche ovale + Thierry Gauthier “Dislocation” (La Cohu)
#91: Nava Luvu “Transport” (Apothecary Compositions)
#92: Yves Malone “Golden Twilight of the Black Sun” (A Giant Fern)
#93: Fire Death “Circuit Of The Stars” (Lemurian)
#94: Miguel A. Garcia & Anne-f Jacques “Wonderclout” (Auditory Field Theory)
#95: Majeure “Union Of Worlds” (Constellation Tatsu)
#96: Watter “This World” (auralgamiSOUNDS)
#97: Tiger Village “In Stereo” (Suite 309)
#98: Bromp Treb “Shrinkage Tractor” (Yeay! Plastics)
#99: [c:s] 104 / Alex Tyson split (Exo)
#100: Jason Lescaleet “My Machine” (Pai)
#101: Amalgamated “Solve’ et Coagula” (Aubjects)
#102: Good Willsmith “Snake Person Generation” (Hausu Mountain)
#103: Sharkiface & Fletcher Pratt s/t (Midori)
#104: Regosphere / Teeth Engraved split (Dumpsterscore Home Recordings)
#105: Fountainsun “Music Today” (Gnome Life)
#106: Millions “Line In The Sky” (Field Hymns)
#107: Rick Weaver “Blue Sky” (Haord)
#108: Moody Marlin “Amorphous Tabernacle of Mildew” (Pretty All Right)
#109: Christian Michael Filardo “Impression” (sPLeeNCoFFiN)
#110: Dagir Du “Gloom Fortress” (Entertainment Systems)
#111: Sculpture / Karl Fousek / D Hansen / GLIA 4-way split (Phinery)
#112: D:Marro s/t (self released)
#113: Opaline “Open Source” (Hacktivism)
#114: Tendrills “10,191” (Hidden Vision Records)
#115: Zeta One “Dreamsnake” (Eiderdown)
#116: Curved Light “Mineral Wash / Indigo Rinse” (self released)
#117: Ben Varian “Part Of The Y’all” (MJMJ)
#118: Self-Shadowing Prey “Illusion To Illusion” (Dumpsterscore Home Recordings)
#119: Bataille Solaire “Dolby’s ON” (Mansions And Millions)
#120: Glass Frog “The Greeblie Band” (Crescent)
#121: Berber Ox “Communication with the Interior” (((Cave)) Recordings)
#122: Mammal “Lake & Sand” (Ormolycka)
#123: German Army “Chigwe” (Fort Evil Fruit)
#124: Kevin Greenspon “To Leave A Mark” (Bridgetown Records)
#125: Rick Weaver / Spiritual Recess slit (self released)
#126: Zachary Utz “Lovers Rock” (Player Press)
#127: Various Artists “2nd Narcommotion” (Narcorpses)
#128: Lidless Eye “Partol Cemiquol” (Poor Little Music)
#129: The Kendal Mintcake / Patrick Cosmos split (Big Sleep)
#130: Sarah Davachi “Qualities of Bodies Permanent” (Constellation Tatsu)
#131: Andrew Anderson “In Shadow And Ruin” (Misanthropic Smile)
#132: Virusse “Bouquet de Sable” (Private Archive)
#133: Daveed Diggs “Small Things To A Giant” (Deathbomb Arc)
#134: Hallowed Bells s/t (Blight)
#135: Kokum “Impressions Of Environment” (Baba Vanga)
#136: Midwich “The Swift” (Invisible City Records)
#137: Amalgamated / Odd Person split (Bicephalic)
#138: No Data (OJC)
#139: Roadside Picnic “Soft Dipped Crystals” (New Village)
#140: Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday “Original Motion Picture…“ (Adhesive Sounds)
#141: Hillboggle “At Home With Hillboggle” (Tusco Embassy)
#142: Dominic Coppola “Vogue Meditations” (Atrium)
#143: Sloom “Mix Tape vol 1” (Power Moves Label)
#144: Portland Bike Ensemble “Skiff’s Picks Vol.2” (Pro-Silver Bike Ride)
#145: Mark Dicker “Universal Processes” (Bunkland)
#146: Larry Gordon “Sea Section” (Kirkland)
#147: White Reeves “Who Is Guitarman?” (White Reeves Productions)
#148: Sightings “Stavanger 30.4.2013” (Drid Machine)
#149: CVN “Concrete Virus Nu” (Baba Vanga)
#150: African Ghost Valley “ARA” (Hylé)
#151: Lucid Castration “The Catharsis of Youth” (Mazurka Editions)
#152: Various Artists “The Long Halloween Mixtape” (Third Kind)
#153: False Tropics “Circles” (Warm Gospel)
#154: Talugung “Multiplying Dead Ends” (Power Moves Label)
#155: Jesse Osborne-Lanthier (Noir) & Robert Lippok “Timeline” (Geographic North)
#156: Oktaf O  “selamat datang dunia di dalam pikiran” (Pretty All Right)
#157: Bobby Diablo s/t (Entertainment Systems)
#158: Indek “Ridge Dynamics: Live At VOV7” (White Reeves Productions)
#159: Gee Weaver “Merchant Ivory” (Kirkland)
#160: Arrows “Voyage” (Crash Symbols)
#161: Nigro “Mental Thaw” (A Giant Fern)
#162: Running Point “Medita/Medica” (Power Moves Library)
#163: Andrew Weathers “Littlefield” (Littlefield Editions/Full Spectrum)
#164: Lustana “Pt. I” (Never Anything)
#165: Wei Zhongle “Nu Trance” (NNA)
#166: SuperVolcano “Lifehater” (White Reeves Productions)
#167: Cinchel “Worry” (self released)
#168: Tim Cosner “Deadtech/Modernhomes” (Bonding)
#169: Ghostbeds / Bossbattle split (self released)
#170: Vegetators “King Of Shithesizer” (Haord)
#171: Oven “III” (Legion Blotan / Mongoloid Productions)
#172: Connor Waldman “Brecca” (City State)
#173: Cop Fetish “Transuranic Waste” (Lurker Bias)
#174: Dog Hallucination “Mitzi” (Aubjects)
#175: Noise Altar “Organic Vapor” (self released)
#176: Hollowfonts “Black Brass” (Masters Chemical Society)
#177: Larry Wish “Born Outside My Window” (Orange Milk)
#178: Snake Milker “Cop Stripper”  (Pretty All Right)
#179: Andrew Kirschner “Weighted Ghost” (Hanson)
#180: Shapes s/t (Meudiademorte)
#181: Fisty Kendal “Mind Control” (Third Kind)
#182: Ay Gee Tee “All Threes” (Speaker Footage)
#183: Paul R. Mrcano / Andre Martin split (Constellation Tatsu)
#184: H Takahashi “Sea Meditation” (Entertainment Systems)
#185: -otron “Voltronic/Galaxer” (self released)
#186: Cereal Glyphs s/t (auralgamiSOUNDS)
#187: J. Surak “Dillhole And Fashion Delete” (Zeromoon)
#188: Pursed “No Plot” (COUNTRYm)
#189: Ondness “Them Corja” (Paralaxe Editions)
#190: Gaute Granli “Ingen Potetsekk Whatsoever” (Skussmaal)
#191: Rotters “Baby Bugs” (These Are My Friends)
#192: Szamanka “Primordial Brew” (Colossal)
#193: Mathias Grassow “Short Stories” (Cosmic Winnetou)
#194: DJ Fultono “My Mind Beats Vol.1” (Orange Milk)
#195: Tyler Damon & Darin Gray “…Oninbo” (Yoke)
#196: Guide To Bizarre Behaviour s/t (ShanGORIL La)
#197: The Snowfields “How To Get A Good Sound…” (Field Hymns)
#198: Immortal Beings “Mars 1266” (Dub Ditch Picnic)
#199: Ant’lrd “Sunnup” (Baro)
#200: Various Artists “Dover Noise Compilation” (Mother May Noise)