Songbook by Tapes & Tubes. TQN-aut (2021)
3xCD set + live 3” CD
Including some new material:
"d u s t"
loner//zoner™, drone MONOLITH(s), and poems
Limited copies available!
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
-The Wire Magazine
d u s t by Tapes & Tubes. TQN-aut (2021)
sugarbushey by Tapes & Tubes. TQN-aut (2020)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Austin Potter has always made bewitchingly beautiful and wonderfully opaque music, somehow straddling both Folksy Americana and Ambient Drone in a way that is genuinely original. With Sugarbushey he seems to have taken the last step from Impressionistic music into Abstract Expression. Sugarbushey is a serious of lush, pensive, timeless ambient pieces, often named simply after the instrument that seemingly made them (as obtuse and mysterious, yet painfully obvious as a painter naming a piece ‘study in blue’). In between these pieces, if you will, are fragments of micro-fiction, in Austin’s signature almost-whisper, which would verge on ASMR were they not tastefully degraded by tape-distortion.
-The Un-Summit
-TQ Zine
...The delicate aura and heavy, droning loops are vital elements that underline friction between brightness and darkness.
Tapes and Tubes, from the artist, Austin Potter, deliver finely somnolent surfaces and numerous textures that crystallize movement in the aura’s tapestry, hinting memorium. It is a journey into dreams, bathing our minds in delicious mixtures of poetic interludes, ambient droning, and cities of events and recollection harboring sounds produced from your standard guitar’s vibrational stirs...The spiritual harmony and melange of the surrounding life’s language prosper, as the subconscious’s power glows, inwardly guiding and beaming with love from creative-ambiance.
-A n t i : Music Review
...'sugarbushey' is the purest and most ambitious distillation yet of the stylistic elements they [tapes & tubes] have at their disposal. the album trades distorted pieces of observational, tactile poetry with warm soundscapes, haunted by tape errors and minimal, floating collections of guitar notes. the earthly details in the poetry and the mystical drift of the music unite the ground and sky in a holistic presentation. T&T uses images and sounds of the everyday to connect with the eternal. there is a feeling of heavy contemplation and of absorption into the swirling energetic tides of the universe. 'sugarbushey' leans more heavily on music than on words, which is a change from past T&T albums i have enjoyed, but an excellent balance is struck here. the album begins with a short poem about the places in which beauty can be found, and ends with a nearly eight minute snowdrift of tone, hiss and field recordings called 'tape deck', which feels like a perfect coda, like a wordless version of the first track.
-The Modern Folk Music of America
Cemetery by Tapes & Tubes. (2018)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Long, sparse, even sometimes errie, dream-like compositions, marked by whispered poetry, are the elements that make up the musical MO of Philadelphia artist Austin Potter, aka, Tapes N Tubes…In February, he released a three track EP, featuring the standout “Horse Trailer,” and just a couple of weeks ago the spectacular track, “Cemetery,” with angelic violins in the background of Tapes And Tubes’ newest poem.
-Indie Rock Cafe
Hauntingly beautiful strings set the stage for “Cemetery,” the new single from Austin Potter, a.k.a. Tapes & Tubes. The song has an eerie, fall mix of bright sun and a chilly breeze, as the scene is laid out in deep spoken-word detail. That desolate, quiet stillness of an old small town, imagining the lives of those who have passed on in prose form as one takes a moment to remember those who may seem forgotten.
-The Deli
Horse Trailer by Tapes & Tubes. (2018)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Horse Trailer immediately invites the listener with undulating guitars and lovely steel guitar…The entire EP is really cinematic which impresses me that 3 songs can capture enough of a distinct flavor to exist on their own. I’m a big fan of the EP format and Tapes & Tubes did a great job making a statement with 3 songs. Highly recommended for fans of folk, country, ambient, and the intersection of these genres.
-I Heart Noise
Tapes and Tubes does something that not many other bands and artist in the genre do, by that we mean that there is more than poetry and music to these tracks. There is dedication, craftsmanship, calculated ambiance if you’d go as far as to give it a label. Tapes and Tubes beautifully manages to create ambiance that not only feels truly organic, but doesn’t feel quite ambient at all. Horse Trailer is an honest example of that craft. The loose droning comes together in every track perfectly with the softly delivered poetry and the smooth slides from what can only be a telecaster.
…To put it simply, there’s something inspiring about Tapes and Tubes. From the true ambiance, beautiful signature tones, and overall dedication to the pieces presented to us. Tapes and Tubes is magic, astonishing ambient magic.
-Polaris DIY
A life with loneliness by our side sprung into existence
isolate yourself,
to prevent the hurt from coming.
It’s peculiar but alluring.
isolate yourself,
to prevent the hurt from coming.
It’s peculiar but alluring.
i will have this on repeat until i fall asleep tonight.
-stuff
Tapes & Tubes, a.k.a. Austin Potter, recently shared his new EP Horse Trailer. Draped in an eerie, cinematic, western-folkie simplicity, the hushed, secret-delivering vocals reverberate and then vaporize. Those bare atmospherics allow one to slow down, collect their thoughts, and maybe flashback to the unresolved questions of the past.
-The Deli
Rings of radiation from the sun change the color of the air.
-@SMALLALBUMS
Philadelphia storyteller/musician Austin Potter AKA Tapes & Tubes has a new release called “Horse Trailer”…Austin combines subtle guitar playing with closely observed tactile prose delivered in an intimate whisper for a unique and cinematic version of audio americana. Listening to this makes you feel like the dust gathering around the corners of booths in interstate diners never to be cleaned up, left there to see and hear the never ending shuffling of souls in transit.
-The Modern Folk Music of America
Halloween Parade | Sun:Moon:Stars by Tapes & Tubes. (2016)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
…a trio of his [Tapes & Tubes’] atmospheric song/story/poems that invoke a haunted and lonely vision of americana.
-The Modern Folk Music of America
A lagoon is a giant, sleepy eye full of smooth gravel.
-@SMALLALBUMS
Retroactive by Tapes & Tubes. Liquid Library (2016)
Available on cassette/vinyl via Liquid Library.
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Tapes & Tubes, a.k.a. Austin Potter, has recently released a retrospective collection of songs entitled Retroactive. Available on cassette and lathe-cut vinyl via UK label Liquid Library, the songs emerge from in between the cracks with their intimately hushed/secretive vocal tones. The album touches on those deep, isolating, pensive states that come to the forefront when returning from sleep or conversely nodding off to slumber.
-The Deli Magazine
So Long As I Have You by Tapes & Tubes. (2016)
Note: This song was included in "Retroactive."
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Potter’s songwriting and vocal style puts him squarely in a unique class of musician that transcends trends. Like a modern day Tom Waits, this heartwrenching single is reminiscent of Pall Jenkins from The Black Heart Procession, another favorite of Strawberry Tongue.
-Strawberry Tongue
“I never did know where I was going.” Austin Potter, a.k.a. Tapes & Tubes, channels his inner Leonard Cohen on his latest single, “So Long as I Have You”. Gravelly, weathered vocals lay down contemplative prose over the gentle strum of a guitar and hints of feedback.
-The Deli Magazine
A heart-achingly gorgeous new tune…Philadelphia folk-pop balladeer Tapes & Tubes (avatar of Austin Potter) is busy prepping his upcoming LP but has given us a taste of what we can expect with a gorgeous new tune titled, “So Long As I Have You.” With intimate vocals and emotionally intense melodies he creates a track that will definitely be felt inside your heart.
-Diamond Deposits
Man In The Window by Tapes & Tubes. (2015)
Note: These songs were included in "Retroactive."
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Though he lives in Philadelphia now, pieces of Austin Potter’s native Pacific Northwest seep into the recordings he makes as Tapes & Tubes. A sampled thunderstorm opens the title track of last year’s Man In the Window trio, giving way to a distant hum of white noise that feels like buzz of cicadas in a summer forest. Paired with his lyrical poems, Potter’s recordings are transportive and visceral while still feeling intensely localized to his own private thoughts.
-The Key WXPN
…As always, the three tracks create a mystical atmosphere that is slightly creepy (Austin Potter’s hoarse sing-whisper half-submerged in jangling guitars and thrumming background noise can just as easily send you into slumber as jolt you out of it) but ultimately rewarding — spiritual, even, if you go in with the right mindset. Potter’s yearning and isolation are driven home by his unique vision. The songs feel fragile, like if you listen a little too closely they’ll pop like a bubble.
-Adobe and Teardrops
Philadelphia based singer-songwriter Austin Potter under the name of Tapes & Tubes offers up intense and genuinely emotional lo-fi pop. He just released his Man In The Window EP…the haunting title track with whispered intimate vocals and gorgeous guitar balladry.
-Diamond Deposits
Olympia traveler Tapes & Tubes has crafted a quiet introspective gem in Man In The Window. The hushed vocals of the title track evokes Iron & Wine or a narcoleptic Pedro The Lion, with stories told in maudlin half-tones, the acoustic strums and echoed effects pushing us further into contemplation. Rustic ruminations sung from the peripherals.
-Sonic Masala
returning contributor tapes & tubes (psuedonym of philadelphia bedroom recordist austin potter) is back with a short new release called ‘man in the window’. the sounds contained within fit to a tee the ominous vibes of that title. whispery vocals tell brief half stories that seem to dance around their dreadful centers. the music is hazy drifts of guitars and a general ambient hiss. austin manages a fine tension between edgy and somnambulent.
-The Modern Folk Music of America
Moon & Stars by Tapes & Tubes. (2014)
Note: These songs were included in "Retroactive."
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
tapes & tubes is the nom de tape of bedroom recording artist austin potter of philadelphia, pennsylvania. the tunes on his latest effort, ‘moon & stars’ are atmospheric, melancholy, story-songs. instruments and tapes fuzz create vaguely noir backgrounds for potter’s up-close, whispery talk singing. the music has a seriously narrative, cinematic feel to it, more like a modern beatnik radio play than any sort of rock’n’roll.
-The Modern Folk Music of America
…Potter explores the edges between folk and drone rock. His deep voice is well-suited to his somber monologues juxtaposed with delicate fingerpicking. It’s perfect for a winter twilight.
-Adobe and Teardrops
Ebb Tide by Tapes & Tubes. (2014)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
Top DIY Songs & Albums of 2014, Vol VI
-Indie Rock Cafe
Tapes & Tubes is Austin Potter, out of Philly, and his whispery talk-singing (hear a bit of Leonard Cohen in there) has an eerie, delicate quality, like you can only listen with the lights off, or your eyes closed, or else everything will shatter. “Little Key” is a wistful, lonely streetlight kind of tune, and a little beauty.
-Don’t Need No Melody
Tapes & Tubes’ music is meditative and sturdily constructed, and it has a timeless quality that has a lot to do with great songcraft and probably a bit to do with the manner in which it is recorded, too. The act is the project of Olympia, Wash.-‘s Austin Potter, a home recording and analog sound enthusiast whose love for the dreamier and more sedate side of Yo La Tengo (or, by extension, greatly underrated Brits It Hugs Back) is readily ascertained by listening to the recent collection Ebb Tide. Throughout the contemplative, 8-song set boxy, minimal drumming, organ and Mr. Potter’s quiet vocals routinely work in tandem to create vividly murky moods and a sense of broad possibility. The collection…gives a sense of the reasoned smarts Potter brings to a song, and those smarts are evidenced throughout Ebb Tide. “Beginning” echoes to a certain extent Yo La Tengo’s masterful “On Our Way To Fall,” but Potter’s whispered vocals, almost impossibly, feel even more intimate than those of Ira Kaplan. Grooves aren’t always a necessity, however: the shimmering ambient guitar exploration “Solo Guitar Two” is pretty and enchanting, and indicates that the music of Tapes & Tubes may be increasingly potent the more minimal its approach…
-Clicky Clicky Music
Das Ganze wandelt schon fast in einer psychedelischen Welt. Tapes & Tubes bringen mit Ebb Tide ihr quasi Debüt raus. Lou Reed würde mit der Zunge schnalzen, besonders wenn er hörte ein Lied wie Little Key. Weitere Einflüsse sind nicht zu überhören. Dabei sticht vor allem die Ähnlichkeit zu Kurt Wagner und Lambchop heraus. Emotionale Goose bumbs-Explosionen in wahrlich allen 8 Songs. Zwischen den kleinen zwei bis drei minütigen, nach völliger Hingabe schmachtenden Songs, reihen sich die beiden soundtrackhaften und kaleidoskopischen Stücke Solo Guitar One und Two ein. Herrlich. Das bringt dich runter und zum nachdenken. Songs wie Beginning veranlassen zum Ausblenden und Abschalten. Wandering Eyes besänftigt mit einem monotonen Grundkonzept und wickelt dich somit ganz leicht ein. Austin Potter ist der Typ hinter Tapes & Tubes. Olympia, Washington ist seine derzeitige Heimat. Vor Ebb Tide veröffentlichte Potter seine Songcompilation 27.
-I CAN GUARANTEE (Germany)
…daneben überzeugt der junge mann mit der griffigen, hölzern duftenden stimme mit einem songwriting der besonderen art. trotz der ausgesprochenen gelassenheit, die seinen liedern zugrunde liegt, ambiente strukturen umwehen das geviert, bildern sich diese tracks namentlich in der erinnerung ab. die größe liegt nicht nur in der ausstaffierung, vielmehr im song selbst. mobile harmonieexponate, die man bis zum nächsten ausstellungsstück mit sich führen kann. übergabe, belohnt weiterziehen. austin potter leistet es sich gar, zwischendrin zwei nummern einzuschieben, auf denen lediglich die gitarre vor sich hin schiebt. “beginning” misst sich an einer akustischen, poliert sich mit einem schönen synthiethema, füllt den sound mit einer aus der ferne winkenden mundharmonika und schlurfendem gesang. spektakulär ist anders. das hier ist einfach und gut. “little key” verdichtet nicht weniger gekonnt, ein waberndes klingen, ein sich verlierendes mäandern, ein an- und abschwellen, durch das austins dunkles organ dringt. nebst einer lichten gitarrenminiatur.
-das klienicum (Germany)
27 by Tapes & Tubes. (2013)
Here’s what people have been saying about it…
On a pretty little cassette comes this gem. It’s a blend of folk, rock and folk rock with hints of electronic, blues and psyche. Soft lyrics caress the soft guitars, keys and atmospheres. The spoken word track at the end of Side-A really caught me by surprise. It’s a nice poetic story that kind of reminds me of my own town. The tape as a whole is brilliant. It certainly captures my imagination and glues me in. Can’t wait for the next release! (4.9 out of 5)
-Tuning Into The Obscure
…Tapes & Tubes does a fantastic job of capturing that West Coast indie/folk analogue vibe. It’s almost as if the listener is sitting next to a lake in the middle of Washington chilling next to a fire… wearing full flannel of course. The tape sounds like one might expect from an indie singer songwriter, but is defiantly on the great side of the home studio expectation. The sound almost seems to transport the listener to the artist’s world, as if both were in a Washington lakeside cabin…
-Cassette Love
This music epitomizes what DIY is all about.
-KFJC 89.7 FM
Hazy, dreamy, lo-fi pop that occasionally reminds you of an older Yo La Tengo. Warm and comfortable instrumentation, lazy and droning vocals.
-WRUV 90.1 FM
(This) Poppy, lush album feels like you’re on a walk with a couple friends on a Sunday morning, in a pretty darn good mood, and one of them is whispering a secret to you.
-Cassettivity
…His (Austin Potter/Tapes & Tubes ) DIY recording of the lo-fi, dreamy, hazy pop song, “Salad Days,” reminds us of American Analog Set and in other areas of the album of My Bloody Valentine, specially on the track, “My Own America,” which is reminiscent of the droning vocal layering MBV’s Kevin Shields used on the band’s classic album, Loveless…
-Indie Rock Cafe
…Un disco de distancias cortas, lo escuchas y no suena, flota, se evapora. A simple vista un experimento, pero no, todo esta cuidado al detalle. Lo escuchas y te sientes relajado, la calma se apodera de tí, te dejas llevar. No hay prisas, la monotonía no llega, te sientes bien, cálido, bien acompañado, de fondo habla alguien, no sabes exactamente a quien, no te importa, te sientes bien, acaba, vuelves a darle al play….
-Escafandrista Musical (Spain)
…Olympia’s Austin Potter, performing under the moniker Tapes & Tubes, knows how to create atmosphere. Lo-Fi production can really be hit or miss. Oftentimes, it just comes out noisy or amateurish. Potter, however, tastefully uses the style to create a sense of warmth and comfort…
-PreAmp
…im hall verschworen die stimmlichen anwandlungen, unter schwülstigen nebeln tauchen melodien ab, blitzend daraus hervor ein gitarrengewerk, vermischt mit samples und textsprengseln. was sich wie eine collage anhören mag, erweist sich als stringentes vertonen von ideen. spürbar drängen sich auf: die freiheit zum experiment und der drang zu komplexität, bei gleichzeitigem erhalt einer songstruktur. prozesshaftes bildet sich ab, als hätte man einblick in das eigentliche schaffen, das nur für die aufnahme kurz unterbrochen wurde, um alsbald danach wieder aufgenommen zu werden, um den jeweiligen track einer neuen daseinsstufe zuzuführen. der wandel ist das thema, die veränderung als konstante…
-das klienicum (Germany)
