Beginning in 1993, Braincase Collective helped to facilitate dozens of releases by musicians working together in many different collaborative contexts, both in the form of bands that performed live as well as recording projects — at times functioning like a record label imprint, while other times facilitating projects behind the scenes that would be released by other record labels.
These releases were sometimes reproduced and distributed in large quantities professionally, but were more often produced semi-professionally using whatever means the artists had access to at the time (late night access to copy shops, shared cassette tape duplicators, early CD burners, etc.), assembled by hand, and sold in independent record stores or in person at shows. Braincase Collective releases were issued on cassette and CD, sometimes with accompanying zines that included additional artwork, lyrics, and writings by the artists.
In the late 90s and early 00s, the media landscape for musicians underwent rapid and dramatic changes. Physical editions were already expensive for independent artists to produce, and most listeners were turning away from physical media in favor of digital releases and streaming. In retrospect, this transitional era can be seen reflected in the catalog listed below — by the late 00s and throughout the 10s, most releases were digital-only.
However, in the 2020s, there is a newly rekindled appreciation for physical editions of music and art, as well as more affordable, higher-quality means of producing limited editions. We're excited to present new releases from venerable underground visionaries, as well as remixed and remastered releases that were originally issued in extremely limited edition handmade cassette and CD-R formats in the 90s and 00s. If you weren't in regional proximity during those eras, chances are you missed these at the time - but we're excited to bring these underground classics to the well-deserved attention of people whose tastes defy categorization!
