Homebrew Experimental Tape MP3s

So, musician and tinkerer Gijs Gieskes isn’t entirely clear about what he’s up to, but among his recent experiments is an apparent second attempt to create a sequencer using standard cassette audio tape… and, as if that weren’t extraordinary enough, he works a Game Boy into the contraption, too. As Peter Kirn first reported over at createdigitalmusic.com, Gieskes’ written descriptions don’t quite do his accomplishments justice, but a handful of photos (here) and some MP3s help. The two MP3s are about two minutes long each. One works the sound back and forth in a thick field of video-arcade noise, and that syrupy, elastic give of tape is evident throughout (MP3). The other works some voice into the mix, sounding like a Dr. Demento interstitial on fast forward (MP3). Both employ the popular Game Boy sound software LSDJ (Little Sound DJ, at littlesounddj.com). The effect is altogether, in a word, manual, an unlikely manifestation of the human touch. More info, and other experiments, over at gieskes.nl, though be prepared for a web interface as self-obscuring as Gieskes’ musical pursuits. If the widely covered tape mixes of DJ Aptem (see item two here) struck your fancy, then Gieskes is your thing.