We're thrilled and profoundly thankful to be celebrating 20 years as a "record label"!
Ever since I started this label, I've thought a lot about the concept of longevity.
Here we are, about to turn 20 as a label, and me 40 as a human.
I have a lot of thoughts, plans, ideas, and schemes to celebrate this landmark.
I started my label in 2005, next year will be 20 years of LST!
There are plans in place to work with bands I've respected for decades, tape/digital reissues, 20th anniversary show(s) in 2025, and more!
Lost Sound Tapes started as a way to release my own music but I haven't done that much in years. I'm focusing on finding my joy again after the last 4 traumatic years.
My old band Blanket Truth is napping but look out for my music as Malasada and a new band, Bright Grey.
Early LST releases were dubbed at home and had handmade packaging. I want to return to my creativity to keep making our releases special, unique, and worthy of taking up space in a finite world.
We commit to always making high quality, professionally duplicated tapes. 💪✨
Lost Sound Tapes started in my living room in a small Seattle punk house in the U District on Ravenna Ave with a box of 100 tapes, and some "reclaimed" materials to make packaging.
Sewn pouches, stamped black cardboard O-cards, dumpstered flannel scraps pouch from Filson.
Typically our releases are in the indie pop/indie rock realm but l've released punk, folk, electronic, hip hop, whatever the people I know and love are making.
My label and music has connected me to community for years and I want to spend more time on fostering that again.
As a solo label owner it's more easy to get distracted or unmotivated over time. As I approach 40 yo this year, I find I have to make more effort to stay connected and also stay true to me.
2024 is my year to grow personally, professionally, and most importantly creatively.
As I get older I am trying to honor my "new" role in my community and figure out exactly what that is / how it looks in the current day. What am I contributing and what am I receiving?
Lost Sound Tapes started in Seattle but I've lived Vancouver, Canada now for ~12 years.
I moved from suburban SoCal to Seattle in 2002 after being so inspired by a high school trip with a friend and her mom to see Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie and Mates Of State at the Showbox.
My band Blanket Truth and Lost Sound Tapes came to fruition a few years later.
In a way, I feel like I've never truly established Lost Sound Tapes in Canada or even Vancouver. Maybe that's imposter syndrome or maybe I've learned a fear of failure over time.
As long as I stick to my values and my goals, I will remind myself there's no time for regret.
That's where we've been and where we're going is back to our roots. Inspiration, creativity, community, collaboration, and J-O-Y.
Life may be difficult, tragedies and atrocities committed daily, but we owe it to ourselves and everyone to never stop seeking joy and justice.
These are mostly freeform thoughts I sent to @PolydorisPR but realized these are the important things I want to share more often.
I have learned that one of my core values is to help people achieve their artistic and creative dreams. That outcome, to me, is true success.
If you are still reading, thank you so much! Your support is invaluable and fuels me tremendously.
Every dollar you spend with Lost Sound Tapes goes back to the label and helps us fund future releases. We're here to prosper not profit.
https://linktr.ee/lostsoundtapes
There's always so much more that I could say about Lost Sound Tapes but I'll save it for another time.
I'd love to interview or guest on podcasts, reach out.
The vibe for 2024:
- Kindness 🫶
- Creativity 🎨
- Contribution ⛏️
- Functional strength 💪
- Candles 🕯️
- Free Palestine 🍉
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Which artists do you think are a good fit for Lost Sound Tapes?
What are the future plans for your band or label?
What method(s) of communication do you prefer to use for keeping in touch with artists and labels you care about?