Memory Tapes

Formerly of the band Hail Social, Davye Hawke makes wistful electronic pop as Memory Tapes. After his previous band ended, Hawke began composing two different types of music under two different names: borrowing the title of a Hawkwind bootleg, he issued dance-oriented instrumentals under the Weird Tapes moniker, and atmospheric pieces with vocals as Memory Cassette. He released music from both projects for free, including Memory Cassette's 2008 The Hiss We Missed EP. After signing to the Acephale and Something in Construction labels, he released one more EP, Rewind While Sleeping, as Memory Cassette. In 2009, he combined his projects’ names and approaches into Memory Tapes for the critically acclaimed Bicycle single, which was released that July. It was the first taste of Memory Tapes' debut album Seek Magic, which appeared that September. When he began working on Seek Magic's follow-up, Hawke imagined a blend of psychedelic and girl group music; in January 2011, "Today Is Our Life" heralded the slower, trippier sound of that July's Player Piano. In 2012, as chillwave music started to come into its own and expand, so did Hawke, and with his third album Grace/Confusion he attempted to bridge prog rock and atmospheric synth pop to carve out a unique niche for himself in the genre.