Beachers // Off the hook TAPE

This is a cassette independently released in March 2024 by experimental musicians Beachers from London, England.

Contains 8 minimal music songs created using only the sounds of the office phone.

*Please feel free to contact us as we will send you the digital sound source free of charge.

The following is a commentary by the writer himself.

"The only sound on 'Off the hook' is the phone at my day job. Late at night, after everyone had gone home, I was finishing something, and the sound came from everywhere. It cut the air for a moment. Then it suddenly stopped. Then I heard a series of beeps, like someone was dialing. I was surprised at first, but then I saw the papers on my work desk. While you're at it, you realize you've taken your phone off the hook.This routine of a hold tone followed by a fake dial doesn't work when you pick up the phone. Maybe he's trying to get attention, maybe to fill an awkward silence.

I briefly took the phone off the hook, put it back, and recorded it with my phone's voice recorder. The same routine was recorded, with added noise from inside and outside my office in central London. The recordings were cut, moved, and processed to create the eight tracks on Off the Hook.

I didn't add anything to it except for some computer effects. Mainly delays and pitch shifts. The final track is a full, unaltered reproduction of the original telephone recording.

There's something about the sound of the phone, the call itself, the situation, the location that feels right to me. That was cut out. But I don't really understand what it was saying. You probably have your own ideas. "

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Ask us for digital files. Cassette in norelco case. 

tracklist:

1. 1 03:33
2. 2 03:16
3. 3 03:21
4. 4 03:31
5. 5 04:04
6. 6 04:56
7. 7 02:59
8. 8 01:15

Artist statement by Beachers:

"The only sound on 'Off the hook' is the phone in the office where I work my day job. It was late, I was trying to finish something after everyone else had gone home. The tone came from nowhere and cut through the air for a second. Then it abruptly stopped. Then a series of beeps, like someone was dialing. Then silence. Initially spooked, I realised that, moving some papers around my always cluttered work desk, I'd knocked the phone off the hook. This routine – a held tone then fake dialing - the phone goes through if you've picked it up but not made a call. An attempt to get your attention perhaps. To fill an awkward silence maybe.

I put the phone back, slightly off the hook, and recorded it with the voice recorder on my mobile phone. It picked up the same routine, with some added background noise from inside and outside my office in central London. That recording was cut up , moved around and treated to create the eight tracks on Off the hook.

Nothing was added apart from some effects on my computer. Delay and pitchshifting mainly. The final track is the original phone recording of the phone unaltered and played in full.

There's something about the sound of the phone, the phone itself, the situation and the location that feels pertinent to me. cut through. But I don't really know what it said. You'll probably have your own ideas.

Why record it? Why not?"

Artist: Beachers

Label: Ineffective Suns