The Tape-beatles, "A subtle buoyancy of pulse" (1988). The recordings in this collection is the debut release a new group trying to find its own means of expression in a rather narrowly self-defined project: that of making a kind of "pop" music entirely without the use of musical instruments. Taking their cue mainly from musique concréte and cut-up technique, The Tape-beatles made analog tape recording and basic home stereo equipment, connected in unorthodox configurations, their only instruments. Originally a cassette-only release, this recording created something of a stir in the home-taper community and cassette underground when it first came out on the Plagiarism label in 1988. (Parts of the work were originally conceived for radio.) In 1998, it was painstakingly remastered and re-sequenced for its first release on CD. Lang Thompson, writing for Option, October 1988, said: "The Tape-beatles don't just go after easy targets or use a shotgun approach hoping something will work. Their focus and sense of purpose make it worth the attention paid to their dense, associative mix. Like early Firesign Theater, you can't catch everything in just one listening. Especially insightful are the pieces dealing with politically-oriented artists and trendy esthetic theories, because the Tape-beatles are too smart to just ridicule them. The Tape-beatles also want to create new, politically responsive art, but they're working on more effective ways of creating it." Composed by: Lloyd Dunn John Heck Ralph Johnson Paul Neff Cassette release (1988): Plagiarism Cassettes, Iowa City, Iowa Expanded CD release (1998): Staalplaat, Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Berlin, Germany Additional material at: http://pwp.detritus.net/works/recordings