The premier debut of my alias "Neko Furēku" stylized as 「 猫フレーク 」Released in early 2015. Originally released on the now defunct "Virtual Disk Systems" label in 2014. This project has the most history behind it due to the fact it's original release may or may not have been legitimate and possibly not even sent out at all. My re-release in 2015 was self-released by myself and was the second actual tape I produced on my own. If it wasn't for this album, I don't think I would be here today. Who knew the initial failure to get my music off the ground would lead to the wonderful world of cassette culture.
The actual history behind Nekojams is quite mundane but was actually quite historic in terms of my career. One day I was browsing the reddit forum and a guy was advertising his new net label and I glossed passed it not thinking much. At that moment in time, I didn't have a whole lot to be proud of but I was always wanting to make that next step in my music career and possibly get on a label. Originally vaporwave was just something I liked to listen to and the music I produced was house/techno orientated. Out of the blue, I get an email from the guy advertising his net label and he asked me to be a part of it. Thinking back I may have jumped the gun too quickly and said yes immediately. I said i'd get some tracks going, but in reality I only made 2 and I had already had 2 other tracks that were "experimental" in a sense. I sent them over along with the art, which i honestly do not like because i could have done better given my background in media. It was exciting at the time and couldn't believe I made that first huge step towards making a name for myself, but it would have just went nowhere real slow with a cautionary lesson to be learned by the end of this event.
So the person behind the label had gathered maybe 15 or so other artists to release on his label, this was quite early on in the scope of vaporwave roughly 2013 maybe. Net labels were not a new thing but there were new ones sprouting up left and right at that time. Early 2014 he started releasing the music for the artists along with physical sales in cassette form, it was pretty novel because this was what everyone wanted and was very in style. A month goes by and there's some sales for everyone's music, he sent me a few dollars but he's not paying out just yet and everything is looking really great for this new group of artists along working with VDS. Another month goes by and he's not paying out yet, we agreed to 50/50 if i remember correctly and I am getting slightly irritated but still optimistic. After maybe half a year I still have yet to see any other pay outs, he is also not responding to emails. I ask a few other artists also on the label and they say he's dodging them too. Another artist told me he's basically swamped because it's a huge workload and he might be ending the label.
I received his final correspondence letting me know he's sending tapes to the people who purchased one and shutting down the label because he never expected this much of a response. Later on I come to find out the pressure got too much and he deleted all accounts from all social medias marking the end of "Virtual Disk Systems". So ended my venture before it could go anywhere, it was a very notable controversy in the vaporwave community. A tale that would soon become too familiar as other "Net Labels" who would suffer the same fate. It was rather devastating to me and I felt as though my Neko Fureku alias was in ruins. I can't continue to use this name without that negative connotation from being associated with this label.
The conclusion of this epic bamboozle is where I could have left the whole thing behind me but I didn't. I had already been working on my next release titled "Dream Fantasy" which I was intent on releasing on cassette. It wasn't much to think about when the idea came into my head "instead of relying on someone else why don't I just make the tapes myself?". This arch of redemption was the pivotal point in my career and was quite empowering. I looked up sites where to get supplies and it was all very very affordable. It can cost 50 cents to 3 dollars (canadian) for all supplies to make 1 tape. This was the main catalyst that made me want to go down this path of analog formats. I bought a technics tape deck second hand from a local cassette enthusiast, his ad online was listed as 20 dollars (a steal of a deal btw). This idea was becoming more real day by day and I thought i could really pull this off. Next came the printing and i just used a normal inkjet printer, which is not ideal but it's affordable to an extent while being the most efficient means of keeping everything in house. (larger runs = more ink)
Learning all this from start to finish was a very positive experience (sometimes exhaustive), I learned very many skills that went beyond just music such as the nightmare that is advertising/marketing with logistics sprinkled in. I succeeded in releasing my own music without any assistance and no prior knowledge in this particular area of the industry. With lots of energy still left to give I still wanted to get a tape out immediately after the "Dream Fantasy" release (updating that page soon). Nekojams was still hanging in the back of my mind so without question i began work right away. It bothered me that maybe no one even received those tapes so I thought it was only fair to take this into my own hands and do it properly.
I wasn't able to find out who originally purchased from VDS and ended up just selling my own run (pictured above). The response was very much appreciated and I truly felt like i conquered this funk I was in yet I still felt unfulfilled. Internally this lit a fire deep in my soul and I wanted to do this for every music project going forward. Each project I learn something new and find ways to refine the process so the end user can appreciate the tapes just a little bit more. I am not perfect by any means given my only access to tools is consumer grade technology but I strive to do the best I can with what I have.
I often get asked "why cassettes?" the main appeal in my eyes, is having a tangible piece of art that you can reach out and grab with your hands. Actually I don't hear a whole lot after I send the tapes but i imagine it gives a sense of completeness. It creates a more personal listening experience and makes one appreciate the music and the artist behind it. An mp3 doesn't carry that same weight (metaphorically speaking) so to be pretentious; I am eternalizing and solidifying my existence into this world. The idea of cassettes being "retro" and being seen as merely a gimmick drives me mad. It was in such a context that I decided to take yesteryear's technology and modernize it with the music of today and the future to come.