Label

Tellus

28 items · New York · 1983

Tellus is a New York-based experimental music label known for its 29 unique cassette releases from 1983 to 1990, exploring audio collage and soundscapes.

TellusToolsTellus 24Tellus #23Media MythAudio By Visual ArtistsFalse Phonemes

About

Tellus emerged from the vibrant New York art scene, a sonic tapestry woven from 1983 to 1990 across 29 releases. This label was a cassette culture beacon, a vital node of interdisciplinary sound exploration. Its catalog, mostly tapes, served as both medium and message, offering a platform for audio collage, conceptual soundscapes, and the kind of experimental expression that defies linear consumption. With releases like "Tellus 24" (1990) and "Tellus #23" (1989), the label encapsulated a distinctive era, capturing the spirit of a city in flux through tapes that were part artifact, part art. The "New Music China" (1988) tape opened cross-cultural dialogues, while "Audio By Visual Artists" (1988) blurred the boundaries between visual and auditory creativity, showcasing the label's commitment to multimedia integration. The inclusion of a magazine component — four issues that expanded the narrative — was a deliberate act of curation, bridging sound and text, fostering a discourse that transcended sound alone. Not just a repository of sounds but a complex, fractal archive of ideas, Tellus was process-driven, sculptural in its approach, and indelibly etched into the annals of experimental music.

Catalog

28 total

Label literature

Artists

People

  • Carol Parkinsonran Tellus Label
  • Claudia Gouldran Tellus Label
  • Joseph Nechvatalran Tellus Label
Tellus · tape-mag