Okay, this is sort of ultimate in terms of how ideas work and play: Purple Tape Pedigree is starting an audio magazine series on limited edition cassette tapes entitled CELL Audio Codex, and each issue will feature a contributing artist mix. Issue 1 of Purple Tape Pedigree’s CELL Audio Codex contains Void Gate on Side-A by Baby Blue. Similar to ANGEL HO, Elysia Crampton, and Chino Amobi, Void Gate is a carefully concocted mixture of sounds, rhythms, and hallucinations that builds a world around the professional production standards of Baby Blue. Trills and shrills trickle down listeners’ trembling cores with Void Gate — and if they’re not dancing or seizing, at this point — spinal fluid will boil them into a frenzy of movement.
A note from Purple Tape Pedigree label-head and CELL Audio Codex chief editor GENG:
The aim of the featured artist side is to elevate the “mix” format from the current “promo” framework - in a time when a 15-20 minute seamless stream of gathered sound has become its own genre of audio expression with the ability to rival, if not surpass, the artistic statement that is communicated in the traditional scheme of an EP/LP. The physical element, CELL being housed on cassette tape, is utilized to further blur the lines between “release” and “free art as promotional fodder” - as well as to encourage frequency experimentation within the analog format.
The B-side houses the issue of the zine which uses found clips mined from various corners of the internet to weave a patchwork narrative on controlled environments by means of surveillance (drones, NSA, etc. - how paranoia can govern the behavior of a populace) and the anti-“knowledge of self” schema perpetuated by capitalistic world power regimes. Weaponized information for a “mind over mind” war.
The concept of “healthy body, healthy mind” is also presented as a means of defense from other avenues of “control” (i.e. processed and sugary foods, fluoridated water supply, etc.). CELL explores this mantra through found clips of ASMR, pineal gland repair, other “new age” therapies/remedies, and a smoothie recipe by me (i’ve literally been perfecting a book of these for a GOOD WHILE now).
In the end, CELL is an inquiry into how we ingest streams of data as audio.
Also, don’t forget to check the [PREVIEW] for Side-B on Bandcamp for a surreal take on ASMR warfare. And one last thing: each tape comes with a smoothie recipe straight from the imaginator himself, GENG.