ERASED TAPES
VA - Erased Tapes Collection I–IX [2008-2018] + Bonus VA - Erased Tapes 1+1=X [2018] (10 x CDs)
Erased Tapes Records is a London-based record label established in 2007 by Robert Raths aka Ghostworker. Released across nine volumes between 2008 and 2018, Erased Tapes Collection I–IX functions as a long-form document of a label finding, refining, and ultimately defining its voice. Rather than acting as simple snapshots of a catalogue, these collections trace a gradual evolution, one rooted in restraint, clarity, and an insistence on emotional presence. Heard as a whole, the series reflects how Erased Tapes developed a recognisable identity without locking itself into a fixed sound.
The early volumes establish the foundation. Piano-led works, intimate recording spaces, and a focus on tone and silence set these releases apart from the prevailing trends of the time. The music feels deliberately unhurried, allowing detail and nuance to carry weight. As the series progresses, the scope widens. Electronics become more embedded, ensemble writing grows more confident, and rhythmic elements surface with greater intent. What changes is not the core philosophy, but the vocabulary used to express it.
Sequencing plays a crucial role throughout. Each volume balances contrast and continuity, allowing different approaches to coexist without breaking the overall mood. The collections reward being heard front to back, where subtle shifts in texture and pacing become part of the experience. Across all nine volumes, the emphasis remains on craft and atmosphere, music that invites attention rather than demanding it.
Taken together, Erased Tapes Collection I–IX reads as an archive of a decade in motion. It captures not only individual artists at various points in their development, but also the emergence of a shared aesthetic language, one built on patience, space, and a quietly human sensibility.
Released alongside the final volume, Erased Tapes 1+1=X operates as a companion rather than an extension of the series. Instead of curating existing works, it centres on collaboration, pairing artists in new configurations and shared creative settings. The focus shifts from individual statements to collective process, revealing how overlapping ideas and textures shape the label’s identity. Where the main series documents evolution, 1+1=X captures convergence.
For listeners and collectors, this body of work rewards exploration. Each volume stands on its own, but the deeper satisfaction comes from engaging with the series over time, letting the sequencing, contrasts, and recurring sensibilities reveal themselves through repeated listening. (B)
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Track lists
CD01
01 Kyte - Boundaries 3:52
02 Ólafur Arnalds - Fok 4:29
03 Ghostworker - Autark 3:57
04 British Expeditionary Force - The Engine 3:20
05 Rival Consoles - Kitsch 3:42
06 Ólafur Arnalds - 3055 4:16
07 Codes in The Clouds - Distant Street Lights 4:41
08 Aparatec - Vemeer 3:26
09 Ghostworker - The Morning (Acousmatic Mix) 3:22
10 British Expeditionary Force - A Long Way from Home (Rival Consoles Remix) 3:10
11 Canon Blue - Odds & Ends (Rival Consoles Remix) 3:51
CD02
01 Rival Consoles - 1985 4:07
02 Nils Frahm - Ambre 3:47
03 Codes in The Clouds - Don't Go Awash in This Digital Landscape 3:10
04 Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið 3:29
05 Peter Broderick - Part 3: Pill Induced Slumber 6:02
06 Finn. - Boy-Cott 3:29
07 Ólafur Arnalds - Til Enda 4:09
08 Rival Consoles - Helvetica 4:28
09 Kiasmos - 65 5:52
10 Nico Muhly - A Hudson Cycle (Rival Consoles Remix) 3:21
11 Peter Broderick - And It's Alright (Nils Frahm Remix) 4:34
CD03
01 World's End Girlfriend - Teen Age Ziggy 4:58
02 Nils Frahm - Unter 1:37
03 Nils Frahm - 7fingers 4:07
04 Rival Consoles - I Left the Party 5:17
05 Codes in The Clouds - Washington 4:27
06 Ólafur Arnalds - Hægt, Kemur Ljósið 5:25
07 British Expeditionary Force - Crack in the Clouds 3:35
08 Codes in The Clouds - Distant Street Lights (iambic Remix) 5:37
09 Nils Frahm - Said and Done 3:08
10 Peter Broderick - Part 4: The Dream 4:50
11 Rival Consoles - Jan 4:11
CD04
01 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears 4:25
02 Ólafur Arnalds - Poland 3:31
03 Nils Frahm - Snippet 4:25
04 Codes in The Clouds - You Are Not What You Think You Are (Rival Consoles Remix) 5:30
05 Rival Consoles - Into the Heart I 3:57
06 Peter Broderick - Old Time 3:24
07 Oliveray - Growing Waterwings 4:33
08 British Expeditionary Force - Where You Go I Will Follow 4:39
09 Ólafur Arnalds - Near Light 3:24
10 Nils Frahm - For 5:52
11 Jon Hopkins - Insides (Rival Consoles Remix) 4:20
CD05
01 Rival Consoles - Daddy 4:28
02 Kiasmos - Driven 5:17
03 Anne Müller - Walzer für Robert 4:11
04 World's End Girlfriend - Bohemian Purgatory, Pt. 2 (N.S.K.G. Version) 4:51
05 Nils Frahm - Little Boy in a Space Suit 3:58
06 Peter Broderick - Give a Smile in 5 5:00
07 Codes in The Clouds - Hanau Bridge 3:55
08 British Expeditionary Force - End of the New End 4:07
09 Ólafur Arnalds - Happiness Does Not Wait 4:11
10 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - String Quartet No. 2: III (Live at the Ancienne Belgique) 6:06
CD06
01 Lubomyr Melnyk - Pockets of Light (Excerpt) 5:50
02 Peter Broderick - A Snowflake 3:07
03 Rival Consoles - Odyssey 4:37
04 Douglas Dare - Swim 4:36
05 Nils Frahm - You 3:06
06 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - Atomos VI 5:58
07 Kiasmos - Burnt 6:14
08 Greg Gives Peter Space - That I Am 4:05
09 Michael Price - A Bridge 3:09
10 Nils Frahm - Hammers 3:50
11 Nils Frahm - Peter (Clark Remix) 6:26
CD07
01 Nils Frahm - Ode 4:21
02 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - Atomos VII (Excerpt) 4:00
03 Rival Consoles - Recovery 4:47
04 Ólafur Arnalds - Four 2:57
05 Masayoshi Fujita - Moonlight 4:45
06 Michael Price - The Attachment 5:31
07 Lubomyr Melnyk - Parasol (Excerpt) 6:25
08 Dawn of Midi - Io 5:06
09 Douglas Dare - The Edge 4:09
10 Kiasmos - Looped 6:02
11 Ólafur Arnalds - Four (Rival Consoles Remix) 5:42
CD08
01 Allred & Broderick - The Ways 3:08
02 Penguin Cafe - Cantorum 7:21
03 Daniel Brandt - Kale Me 6:29
04 Rival Consoles - Slow Song 3:51
05 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - Galerie 3:19
06 Ben Lukas Boysen - Golden Times 1 8:38
07 Ólafur Arnalds - 00:26 (Ryan Davis Rethink) 5:27
08 Douglas Dare - Rex 7:05
09 Immix Ensemble - Scope 5:40
10 Woodkid - Winter Morning II (Excerpt) 4:19
11 Peter Broderick - Eyes Closed and Traveling 3:43
CD09
01 Ólafur Arnalds - 0040 4:33
02 Nils Frahm - A Place 6:48
03 Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Kora Kora 3:05
04 Peter Broderick - Robbie's Song 4:29
05 Cornelius - Birdwatching at Inner Forest (Penguin Cafe Mix) 4:11
06 hatis noit - Illogical Lullaby (Matmos Edit) 6:20
07 Rival Consoles - Unfolding 5:55
08 Högni - Crash 4:56
09 Kiasmos - Paused 5:27
10 Ben Lukas Boysen - Eisenach 5:19
11 Masayoshi Fujita - Cloud of Light 5:09
Bonus CD10
01 Qasim Naqvi - Brutal Moderna 4:19
02 A Winged Victory for The Sullen - Long May it Sustain 4:20
03 Rival Consoles - Ritual Song 5:10
04 Nils Frahm - Frau Dehlholm 3:05
05 Daniel Thorne - Iroise 5:47
06 Daniel Brandt - Blackpool Sands Forever 5:11
07 Douglas Dare - Darling 8:13
08 Michael Price - Eyn Hallow 4:17
09 Kiasmos - Zebra 3:43
10 Ben Lukas Boysen - Pending 4:44
11 David Allred - Ahoy 4:49
12 Anne Müller - Bel Tono 3:30
13 Lubomyr Melnyk - Palisade 1 17:03
14 hatis noit - Inori 4:44
15 Masayoshi Fujita - Spaceship Magical 4:05
16 Högni - Ma´ni 3:56
17 Peter Broderick - The Perpetual Glow 5:23
18 Arthur Jeffes - Up is Good 5:35
19 Daniel Brandt - Blackpool Sands Forever (Rival Consoles Remix) 4:27
20 Penguin Cafe - Wheels Within Wheels (Greg Gives Peter Space Remix) 6:10
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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