Gray Area Cassette Series

Sitting here in 2021, it seems as good of a time as any for us to return to our label roots. Most people don’t realize this, but Joyful Noise essentially began as a cassette label. Cassette releases by Joan Of Arc, of Montreal, Dinosaur Jr., Akron/Family, Danielson, and others helped to build this label. Some have even credited us for “pioneering the cassette resurgence”. In recent years we have veered away from the cassette format, but now that Taylor Swift is doing tapes, it feels like maybe we’ve hit kitsch-bedrock. And it seems like a good time for us to embrace the format once again. The Gray Area Cassette Series features artists and side projects from the Joyful Noise roster, including new projects from members of El Ten Eleven, Joan Of Arc, Swamp Dogg, Ohmme, Helvetia, Reptar, and others. Containing 10 albums, released monthly throughout 2021 on digital and cassette, this is a year’s worth of adventurous music from JNR's extended family. All 10 cassette are packaged in a custom laser-etched wooden box set, limited to 175 hand-numbered copies.