905 Tapes

905 Tapes is an American record label from Wilmington, Delaware founded in 2008 by Mike Haley. Before Mike Haley dived deep into the international noise and synthesizer scene, he got to know the label life and all of it’s shady sides as a manager of the hardcore imprints Electric Human Project. “In the middle of the Noughties people appeared to become lazy and dependent. Two days later you’d get an email asking whether the order was already shipped out. After five days, one asking where it was or one confirming the arrival but complaining about the colour or so. The best was an email by someone’s mum complaining that the wrong version had been delivered.” remembers Haley. This didn’t stop him from carrying on. He finally even changed the format. When asked why he had changed to tape when he established 905 Tapes, his blunt comeback was “why not?” Since 2014 his work has been supported by tattoo artist Joe B, who takes care of the design of the Tapes. Mike Haley and Joe B were also in a band together until 2008 called No Horse Shit. Since it’s founding, in two years alone, almost 100 pieces of the brightly coloured cassettes have appeared. Among them, releases from the Chinese noise weirdo Torturing Noise, the British abstract HELM, the Japanoise godfather Merzbow and the hyper-eclectic American Mike Shiflet. [Since I have wound down the pace of things, I now concentrate on the acts which I “know”. I write in inverted commas because I keep in contact with most of them only over the internet.” Whether in person or virtually, the sparks beat every time for Haley. “The efforts and ideas which are crammed into the sound and aesthetics knocks me for six every day” says Haley in admiration over the prospering subculture which he has committed himself to. “It never stagnates, something is constantly happening. This motivated me to create the label and to keep it going.” And he does so with tireless eagerness whilst exercising modesty. “Joe B takes care of the art work, the musicians maintain the music, National Audio Company minds the Tapes, Paypal brings in the money and the post sorts out the sending. Fuck, a 905 release doesn’t need me at all!” After all there’s pretty little work to one of the most thrilling tape-labels of the US underground.