This article was originally published by LoudLoopPress.com on March 25, 2011.

By Audrey Leon

In the age of the incredibly shrinking, high-capacity mp3 player and numerous online music stores, independent artists are flocking to an unthinkable medium to get their music to the masses: the cassette tape.

Chicago is at the forefront of a subculture that is hitting the mainstream after an explosion of local cassette labels in town.

These labels serve as curators by catering to audiences and artists alike with eye-catching visuals and high production values that can only be rivaled by the original preferred format, vinyl, but at a fraction of the cost.

When it came to releasing its first EP “Sarcastic Summer,” the Chicago post-punk trio Rodeo turned to cassettes as an alternative option to digital downloads.

“While it is easy to throw some mp3′s on our [Bandcamp.com page], it doesn’t feel real unless we have something tangible to give,” said Rodeo’s vocalist Jordan Sirven. “Releasing a cassette allows us to create a unique product for our fans that hopefully will be played more than once.”

Rabble Rabble frontman Ralph Darski agreed stating that the cassette’s second-coming is tied to its tangibility as well its ease of use.

“It’s easy to lose that fulfilling connection to the music you love,” Darski said. “So people start reaching for something tangible and collectible to fill that void of connection, especially for local or indie music.

“A lot of people I’ve sold tapes to have said, ‘awesome I have a tape deck in my car. Now I can jam to you guys when I drive,’” Darski said.

Hollows lead singer Maria Jenkins echoed similar sentiments concerning why people racing back to cassettes.

“Tapes had never officially disappeared in my book,” Jenkins said. “They’re more fun to collect than CD-Rs.

“We grew up with cassette albums and cassingles, and even got a few love mix tapes from admirers in our day,” she said. “So it also seemed classic and somewhat nostalgic to release our first recordings this way.”

Rabble Rabble and Hollows are two of several bands to release its music via the cassette-only label Plustapes.

Dustin Drase, the label’s co-founder, said that originally he wanted to start an all-vinyl label with friends but they initially lacked the funds to do it properly.

“Cassette tapes were the easiest option since neither of us liked CDs,” Drase said. “CDs are bullshit,” he said of why the label concentrated on tapes only.

Sharing a similar distaste for the medium is Columbia College graduate Brett Naucke, founder of the Pilsen-based Catholic Tapes.

“I always disliked CDs,” he said. “I grew up with tapes and I always respected the aesthetic.

“I’ve always owned vinyl, but you can do more with the [tape’s] packaging.”

Naucke said that while he isn’t fond of cassettes as a fad, he isn’t entirely bothered by it.

“Four or five years ago there weren’t half as many tape labels – good or bad,” he said. “And now there’s tons of stuff coming out on cassette and I’m down with that.”

Memories of growing up with cassettes and the mixtapes friends would make for Drase emboldened him and Plustapes to turn audiences onto the bands they saw and enjoyed all over Chicago.

“We’re finding bands in their raw state,” Drase said. “For them, a tape is a low-risk way to give people a view of what you’re doing right now.”

Drase said he has seen orders drop over time, but he insists Plustapes is still steadily selling through runs as the label offers companion digital downloads with certain artist’s tapes.

“I’m not saying tapes are over,” Drase said. “But maybe they’re going back underground where they came from.”

Ambient pop artist Lindsay Powell, who also performs under the name Fielded, has had several releases with Naucke’s Catholic Tapes, including a recent full-length vinyl album “Terrageist.” Powell, 23, said she believes the cassette has staying power.

“As long as people want to make and buy them, they will be around,” Powell said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”