Memory Tapes

Davye Hawke, previously a member of Hail Social, now produces wistful electronic pop under the Memory Tapes alias. Once that earlier group dissolved, Hawke launched two separate projects with contrasting styles: he drew the Weird Tapes name from a Hawkwind bootleg to distribute dance-focused instrumentals, while Memory Cassette served as the outlet for vocal atmospheric works. Both endeavors issued free material, among them Memory Cassette’s 2008 The Hiss We Missed EP. After inking deals with Acephale and Something in Construction, Hawke put out a further Memory Cassette EP titled Rewind While Sleeping. During 2009 he merged the two projects’ identities and sonic approaches to launch Memory Tapes, beginning with the critically acclaimed Bicycle single that July. That track served as the initial preview of the debut album Seek Magic, which followed in September. Preparing the successor to Seek Magic, Hawke envisioned fusing psychedelic and girl group elements; “Today Is Our Life,” issued in January 2011, signaled the slower, trippier direction that defined Player Piano that July. By 2012, as chillwave asserted its identity and broadened, Hawke likewise expanded his scope, using the third album Grace/Confusion to fuse prog rock with atmospheric synth pop and thereby claim a distinctive space within the style.