Label

3Rio Tapes

17 items · 1982

3Rio Tapes, an experimental music label from the Belgian underground, crafted unique audio collages on cassette from 1982 to 1987.

Coconadindina 2Mythical Music From The 21st CenturyMythical Music From the 21st CenturyLiveHomo Sexpiens ProjectInternational Audio Communication Compilation Cassette N°7

About

3Rio Tapes emerged from the Belgian underground in 1982, weaving a tapestry of audio collage and fractured soundscapes, primarily through the cassette medium. For five years, this label acted as an incubator for experimental impulses, producing a catalog that danced along the edges of conceptual sound art and lo-fi aesthetics. The Coconadindina series, a cornerstone of cassette culture, stands out with its exploratory compilation approach, drawing diverse artists into a shared auditory dialogue. The dual release of Hybryds' "Mythical Music From the 21st Century" in 1986 highlights the label's penchant for repetition as a form of exploration — the same sonic sculptures, reframed and recontextualized. Such releases offered listeners a glimpse into a liminal space where sound became mutable, shifting in meaning with each playback. Klinik's "Sabotage" disrupts the flow as 3Rio Tapes' only vinyl offering, a sculptural artifact among the predominantly tape-based catalog. This single LP release underscores the label's occasional flirtation with more traditional formats, yet remains consistent with its overarching ethos of process-driven music-making. 3Rio Tapes operated at the intersection of interdisciplinary art forms, where the boundaries between audio and artifact blurred into a seamless continuum. Each tape, LP, and magazine became a vessel for ideas, functioning both as an art object and as a repository for sound experimentation.

Catalog

17 total

Label literature

Artists

People

  • Sandy Nys3Rio Tapes and artist of Hybrids