During the first years of Staalplaat, Geert Jan Hobijn used the name Staaltape to make a clear distinction between the shop and the label. Many of the artists whose music got released on mc by Staaltape are still around. On the weblog nostalgie de la boue the titles (and download links) are listed. Boys and girls became men and women; staalplaat went on to become an established name within a non established genre. In the last century Staaltape disappeared together with the music cassette.
They are both back again.
Each release is dubbed at home with the use of a Sony Pro Walkman or a Yamaha 4track recorder to play back the master tape, and a Marantz CP 430 to record in real time. The package is made by hand, which makes each copy unique. I try to use as less plastic as possible. The cases I use in rare occasions are recycled. The price of a copy is above average, simply because the assembling is time-consuming. This is also the reason why the editions are very limited. Some releases have more than one edition, but the artwork changes completely.
I hardly accept unsolicited material. Artists who would like to release their work on staaltape can submit the sound piece to Radio On, of which I am one of the station managers. In this way I get to know both the artist and his or her work, a process that facilitates the communication.
Staaltape releases evolve around a theme, or a concept. Very often I propose a release together with a set of instructions, a score or a general idea of what I would like to get back. This does not mean that I interfere in the artistic process. I act merely as a curator. And this, I hope, helps to continue the work that started in Amsterdam in 1982.
Rinus Van Alebeek
STAALTAPE 