[SOLD OUT // Edition of 15 // https://alligatorpeaches.bandcamp.com/album/space-76]
Though I'm not sure why and I regret it right after doing so, but I read the brief description for this cassette on Bandcamp before listening to it and it definitely hindered my view on listening to it. "Space 76 is the story of a man hurtling through space and his encounter with the voices." That's what Bandcamp tells you, but to be fair it doesn't quite elaborate on the ride this will take you on so I guess I have that going for it still.
"Space 76" begins with ambient organ synth and, yes, you do feel as if you are floating aimlessly around space. There is some talking over a radio but it doesn't quite say "Houston we have a problem". In between this are some tones that give me the vibe of Samurai Jack and while he wasn't really in space he was a time traveller and as such a person lost in a different time (as time is kind of like space)
There are descending organ tuning sounds which could indicate the failing of a spaceship, though I feel like it's already been established that we're in space by then and furthermore it could realistically be the sound of just about anything crashing. It's only this strong sense of "Lost in Space" (the classic television series) that makes me feel like we are indeed in outerspace. At one point though, towards the end of Side A, it sounds like we're taking that trip through Willy Wonka's tunnel and that can seem fairly far away from space.
Side B opens with the dramatic organs of a soap opera and why not because we are... <dramatic pause> ... Lost in space! Actually, for some reason it gives me the vibe of "Pigs in Space" from the old Muppet Show but that is in no way meant to imply that this artist is a foam swine. Some clicking, perhaps of a clock, brings in this generally eerie sort of vibe that at first made me think of an old Hitchcock movie but ultimately I realized it's much closer to being out of "The Twilight Zone".
What I take for ticking of a clock though also could resemble water dripping in an echo, such as a tunnel or sewer, and that makes me think once again that we are not in space. Spoken word bits return but this time they come through much clearer and I'm beginning to see what the description meant by the voices being in their head. (One day someone is going to send me a cassette with an audio clip on it that is only on my copy and everyone is going to say I'm hearing voices. I'm awaiting the day, people.)
As organs generate notes back and forth, a deep voice echoes words that seem scary and all I can think of is going to an amusement park and seeing their haunted house there, particularly in a horror movie setting. Records begin scratching and spinning out of tune. Frequencies are transmitted and this feels more like a carnival ride gone awry than anything happening in space, though I suppose a spaceship is the greatest ride of all.
I won't intentionally try to read any spoilers on cassettes prior to listening to them again, but I do think that this proposes an interesting exchange in the sense of it saying (to some extent) what it was presenting and yet my still being able to leave room for my own interpretation. There are pieces of music before that i've heard that just sound like being lost in space and not much else, but the fact that this cassette is so multi-faceted can only add to the number of reasons why you should seek it out.
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