Listen to a great contemporary album. This one’s sounding mint.
The world of Dance music is huge. So great, in fact, that it can harbour endless genres and subgenres, many being born from combining two pre-existing genres, were they inside or outside the Dance spectrum itself. This time, we welcome an artist who’s blending the best of the Black community genres into Dance. Meet Sound On Tape.
Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, enigmatic producer Sound On Tape comes to the scene with the premise (and promise) of crafting emotive electronic dance music. In a world where numbers come first and feels second, he’s using his own productions as a vehicle to express stories, feelings and even essays first.
Influenced by genre pioneers El-B, Burial, Mr. Fingers, Kraftwerk, and Sticky, as well as Jazz greats Bill Evans and John Coltrane, his approach to music is highly melodic, and cleverly rooted in pianos, uncommon progressions, and true journeys through sound. His debut long play, Price, is more than a case in point.
Price
Sound On Tape’s first-ever artist album Price is grounded in the analogue, the physical, and the flawed, arguably stuff we’ve dearly missed lately in the industry. Under the belief that texture is in itself an instrument, he daringly pairs classical Jazz with modern synthesisers and electronic beats. These instruments, alongside tons of pleasant piano, serve as paint to his UK Garage canvas in this release.
Tinting the music with direction and purpose, Price is a very personal way for Marcus to talk about a rarely recognised change: that Black people, once treated as goods, are now consumers. And through intricately woven titles and spoken narrative throughout the album, complex concepts such as Hush Harbors — secret places where enslaved people would meet to practice faith — and more, the piece asks the question: as faith becomes less central in Black communities, where do we find a safe place today? Can music be a modern-day Hush Harbor?
With Price I kept authenticity in mind in every aspect. The sound field recordings you hear are authentically Cleveland, the subject matter is authentic to my Black experience, and the narration is an authentic conversation: they’re not skits. I’d finish a song then Sted would come over and we’d crack a bottle of champagne and just discuss the Black experience in America. That’s what you’re hearing on the album in real time. Musically it goes beyond the genre confines of Garage with touches of Jazz, RnB, and House. I’m proud to present a concept album in a genre that today is dominated by singles.
-Sound On Tape
Across eleven very varied tracks, you’ll find Marcus’ message developing in every sonic corner. From the upbeat, House-influenced sounds of ‘If You’re Free (Say So)‘ to the detailed production on ‘Gods Don’t Die‘, the two-step beat of ‘Hush Harbors‘, and Marcus’s own take on classic tracks ‘Gabriel‘ and ‘Inner City Life‘, Price aims to evolve the sounds of yesteryear into a modern genre, renovating energies and audiences while doing something intrinsically unique.
Writer’s Picks
‘You And One Other‘ really stuck with me, and it’s easily my favourite track in the album. It hugged me, and it wrapped its friendly arms around me. It’s the warmth of the trumpets, the way it’s mixed with the lovely chord accentuated with these soft, almost Lofi-borrowed pianos, the long-tailed tonal one-hits.
I just don’t know how to explain it — as often happens with my favourite songs from albums — it just happens. This song really blew me away. It’s like the auditory analogue to watching a sunset from 60 years ago; that’s what my mind sees with it. I know I’ve got some degree of pareidolia, but until now, I didn’t know I had some sort of synaesthesia in me too!
Sound On Tape — Price Tracklist
- Inner City Life featuring Kyle Kidd
- If You’re Free (Say So) featuring Lady Bri
- Gods Don’t Die featuring Kyle Kidd
- The Buyer Is The Product
- Price featuring Sierra Delaine
- Hush Harbors
- You And One Other
- Pro Nigga
- Burnin’ Out featuring Sierra Delaine
- Gabriel featuring
- Debra’s Piano
Final Thoughts
And you’re telling me this is Marcus’ FIRST album? It only goes to show how mature his sound is, but also how grounded and determined his mind and soul are, to come up with something so powerful both to the ears and to the brain. We’re excited to see what’s up next in Sound On Tape’s history, which can only be pure bliss, quite like this album.
Listen to Sound On Tape‘s brand-new LP, Price, by hitting the ‘Play‘ button on the Spotify player below. Also, click here to support the release on your platform of choice. Be sure to follow our page to stay up to date on the latest news and views regarding our beloved Dance music industry.