The Cassettes

The Cassettes
Origin	Washington, D.C., USA
Genres	Steampunk, Indie rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Buddyhead Records, Rogue Records (Australia), Chapeau Records
Members	Shelby Cinca Saadat Awan Stephen Guidry Arthur Harrison

The Cassettes (also known as The Cassettes Musical Explorers Society) are a Washington, DC based "Mystic Country"/Steampunk band formed in 1999.

The Cassettes were originally formed as an outgrowth of front-man Shelby Cinca’s four-track recordings: odd pop nuggets that diverged from the teeth-gritting angst of his previous project, Frodus. The son of Romanian refugees who fled from the Iron Curtain in search of the America of Jazz Era music and films, Cinca was indelibly influenced by both his pianist father, who played in clubs off the coast of the Black Sea in the 1960s, and his mother, an author, film critic and Elvis fan. The songs of the Cassettes undoubtedly reflect this heritage and themselves had served as a sort of sonic refuge from the hectic touring schedule of the punk rock lifestyle. The band members have described the band's sound as "steampunk", and also as "synth-infused country stomp".

As originally formed, the troupe consisted of members of Dead Meadow (Steve Killie, Stephen McCarty) and Weird War, and remained together long enough to produce two albums which pulled from classic rock n' roll influences of such bands as Badfinger, Wings, Big Star, and T. Rex. The albums were released both in the United States and abroad. However, this initial group of collaborators members were unexpectedly called onto other travels and they parted ways with good wishes upon the eve of their debut album's release. In the months after the release of the eponymous first album and just before the release of the already completed second album, The Cassettes' line-up began to evolve.

In late 2002, Shelby contacted D.C.-area musician Saadat Awan, who had years before pledged his percussion skills to the band, should he ever be needed. Having spent periods of his childhood with his parents in Pakistan, Awan had begun delving into the art of tabla, a percussion instrument used for centuries in the music of the South Asian subcontinent. He was quickly put to work learning the drum lines from the earlier music and before long had augmented the band's sound with his own vocals and tabla playing. At this time Shelby made a decision to steer the future of the band's sound towards a more experimental sound influenced by The Beatles' White Album. In an attempt to approach things differently he switched to playing a Resonator Guitar and focused on fingerpicking to compensate for lack of bass guitar and to augment Saadat's unique rhythmic stylings. The band's 2006 album was described by Allmusic writer Margaret Reges as "a rollicking air-balloon ride over a landscape dotted with greasy resonator guitars, screaming accordions, and trippy theremins".

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