As well as being something to both listen to and love, we believe music is something to hold and treasure. At BLAB, we are advocates of physical media and, in particular, we dig cassette culture.

Cassettes may lack the convenience and fidelity of streaming, but they are back in a major way. Just Mustard, Fontaines DC, CMAT, Search Results, Oh Boland, Junk Drawer and Burglar are just some of the Irish artists who have released new music on the format in recent years.

They are tactile, tangible and crucially, relatively inexpensive. The click-clack of cassette case and tape deck is a sound that resonates with so many of a certain age. Increasingly, it’s appeal is reaching newer and younger audiences as listeners crave a closeness and connection to their favourite musicians that streaming simply cannot provide.

Coupled with our support of homegrown Irish artists, BLAB seeks to tap into these duel passions with the BLAB cassette tape. These quarterly editions will act as a living, breathing document of our alternative scene and a celebration of those musicmakers who thrive within it.

Each tape will be curated by both BLAB and the artists themselves - working together to select two tracks that go together nicely and that best reflect the artist.

Once selected, tracks will be mastered for cassette by our tape duplication service.

Edition one of the BLAB cassette tape (BLAB00) will be released in March 2026, with line-up and tracklist details to come.