Launched in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the Tellus cassette series took full advantage of the popular cassette medium to promote cutting edge music, documenting the New York scene and advanced US composers of the time.

Tellus ‘The Audio Cassette Magazine’ was in activity for 10 years (1983-1993), witnessing the digital revolution taking place in the new media arts. Some points of comparison can be established with the Toronto based MusicWorks Journal and cassette, launched 1978, or with the ROIR cassette only releases of various musical styles, from Flipper to Lee Perry to Einsturzende Neubauten, launched 1981. Tellus published audio art, new music, poetry and drama, exploring musical spheres as diverse as avant-garde composition, post industrial music, NY no wave, Fluxus music, heirs of Harry Partch, avant rock, sound poetry, radio plays, tango, electroacoustic music, etc.

You can find most of materials at UBUWeb page presented in conjuction with Continuo’s Weblog.

Here is the index.

Here are some excerpts

• Da Tellus #15: The Improvisors (1986), alcune improvvisazioni
  • Lindsay Cooper – reeds, Fred Frith – electric guitar, etc., Christian Marclay – turntables, Samm Bennett – drums (8:40)
  • Ikue Mori – drums, John Zorn – reeds and game calls, Lindsay Cooper – sax and electric bassoon, Fred Frith – electric guitar etc. (8:31)
  • Lindsay Cooper – electric bassoon and sax, Fred Frith – electric guitar and homemade electric strings, Irene Schweitzer – piano (8:17)

• Da Tellus #22 ‘False Phonemes’ (1988). Si tratta di un numero dedicato alla voce sintetica che raccoglie alcuni pionieristici lavori in questo campo.
  • Paul Lansky ‘Not Just More Idle Chatter’ (7:54)
  • Alice Shields ‘Mass for the Dead (excerpt)’ (3:51)