The Cassette Culture Podcast, a documentary podcast about the 1980s and 1990s DIY cassette underground, is running a mini-series titled “Tapes Received: Industrial Music for Industrial People“. The Cassette Culture Podcast “Tapes Received†series follows the contacts listed in “Industrial Newsâ€, the newsletter published by Throbbing Gristle's label Industrial Records between 1978 and 1980, which printed a “Tapes Received†list of artists who had mailed in their own cassettes.
The podcast is produced and presented by Martin Franklin and, since 2025, co-hosted by Jerry Kranitz, author of the book “Cassette Culture: Homemade Music and the Creative Spirit in the Pre-Internet Ageâ€. It is built as narrative documentary rather than straight interview.
The first episode of the series, published on May 28, 2026, brings together artists connected to that early network. Its participants include Val Denham; Philip Sanderson of Snatch Tapes and Storm Bugs; and Richard Rupenus, co-founder of The New Blockaders. Also Matt Johnson of The The will appear on an upcoming episode to discuss his early cassette-network years.
About the Cassette Culture Podcast
The Cassette Culture Podcast documents the international mail network through which underground artists exchanged cassettes and homemade artwork during the 1980s and 1990s. Presented by Martin Franklin and co-hosted by Jerry Kranitz, it approaches the scene as a connected story told by the people who took part.
The full archive is available at the Cassette Culture Podcast site. The current “Tapes Received†mini-series places Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records newsletter at the center of that history.
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