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    By Don Campau | 24 September 2011
    1. audiofile tapes was a label run by Carl Howard, at that time in Bayside , New York and then in Jersey City, NJ. Carl released a lot of space rock, fractured noise, sound collage and electronic music among other things. His tape covers were consistently among the finest and cleanest designs. His own project was called Nomuzic and you will see numerous covers of that below in addition to the wide international variety he offered. To the right, one of my favorite tapes of this genre, “Red Shift 4” by Dave Prescott released in 1987.

      Interview with Carl Howard
    2. Dave Prescott  Red Shift 4  1987
      Dave Prescott
      Red Shift 4
      1987
    1. Nomuzic  The Many Teeth Of ‘god’  1990
      Nomuzic
      The Many Teeth Of ‘god’
      1990
    2. Big City Orchestra  The Man Of Steal  1989
      Big City Orchestra
      The Man Of Steal
      1989
    1. Various Artists  Where It’s aT ’95  1995
      Various Artists
      Where It’s aT ’95
      1995
    2. 101 Crustacaceans  Songs Of Resignation  1989
      101 Crustacaceans
      Songs Of Resignation
      1989
    1. Cephalic Index  You Never Know  1988
      Cephalic Index
      You Never Know
      1988
    2. Crawling With Tarts  BLED es SIBA 1  1988
      Crawling With Tarts
      BLED es SIBA 1
      1988
    1. Crawling With Tarts  BLED es SIBA 2  1988
      Crawling With Tarts
      BLED es SIBA 2
      1988
    2. Victimized Karcass  Traumatized  1987
      Victimized Karcass
      Traumatized
      1987
    1. Mental Anguish  Weed-B  1992
      Mental Anguish
      Weed-B
      1992
    2. Cancerous Growth  Textures  1989
      Cancerous Growth
      Textures
      1989
    1. Doug Michael and The Outer Darkness  Silent Decay  1993
      Doug Michael and The Outer Darkness
      Silent Decay
      1993
    2. Thru Black Holes Band  The Oracle OF Space And Time  1993
      Thru Black Holes Band
      The Oracle OF Space And Time
      1993
    1. Various Artists  Hear The Roar Of Mountains  1  1985
      Various Artists
      Hear The Roar Of Mountains 1
      1985
    2. Various Artists  Hear The Roar Of Mountains  2  1985
      Various Artists
      Hear The Roar Of Mountains 2
      1985
    1. Jeff Carney  Imperfect Space Journeys  1988
      Jeff Carney
      Imperfect Space Journeys
      1988
    2. Qwa Digs Never Parish  Ego-Wakest Solos  1987
      Qwa Digs Never Parish
      Ego-Wakest Solos
      1987
    1. Wound:  experiment  1995
      Wound:
      experiment
      1995
    2. Alien Planetscapes  Mysterious Black Dots  1989
      Alien Planetscapes
      Mysterious Black Dots
      1989
    1. The Crimson Iguanadon  No Fit State  1989
      The Crimson Iguanadon
      No Fit State
      1989
    2. Josef K. Noyes  Sings  1987
      Josef K. Noyes
      Sings
      1987
    1. Sponge  Wand Inside Jar  1988
      Sponge
      Wand Inside Jar
      1988
    2. Stephen Buchanan  Metal Eater  1988
      Stephen Buchanan
      Metal Eater
      1988
    1. Expanded Metal  anodised  1989
      Expanded Metal
      anodised
      1989
    2. Paradox  A Whole New Groove  1989
      Paradox
      A Whole New Groove
      1989
    1. Cephalic Index  being  1987
      Cephalic Index
      being
      1987
    2. Torn Memory  The Immigration In Time  1989
      Torn Memory
      The Immigration In Time
      1989
    1. Brume  Recifs  1991
      Brume
      Recifs
      1991
    2. Wlliam Hooker  Solo  1997
      Wlliam Hooker
      Solo
      1997
    1. Various Artists  Where It’s aT ’88  1988
      Various Artists
      Where It’s aT ’88
      1988
    2. Nomuzic  Filaments Are Fading  1988
      Nomuzic
      Filaments Are Fading
      1988
    1. Nomuzic  Solid Liquid Light  1987
      Nomuzic
      Solid Liquid Light
      1987
    2. M Finnkrieg  worth less than ideas  1989
      M Finnkrieg
      worth less than ideas
      1989
    1. Various Artists  What You MIssed  1996
      Various Artists
      What You MIssed
      1996
    2. Various Swiss Bands  Sonique Suisse  1988
      Various Swiss Bands
      Sonique Suisse
      1988
    1. Thru Black Holes Band  self titled  1994
      Thru Black Holes Band
      self titled
      1994
    2. Brain Lavelle  Agitur  1997
      Brain Lavelle
      Agitur
      1997
    1. dang  self titled  1997
      dang
      self titled
      1997
    2. Cephalic Index & Nomuzic  This Is Daddy Shaving  1989
      Cephalic Index & Nomuzic
      This Is Daddy Shaving
      1989
    1. Omnia Opera  Beyond The Tenth  1989
      Omnia Opera
      Beyond The Tenth
      1989
    2. Nomuzic  News You Can Choose  1991
      Nomuzic
      News You Can Choose
      1991
    1. William Hooker  Duo  1997
      William Hooker
      Duo
      1997
    2. Barney Jones  self titled  1987
      Barney Jones
      self titled
      1987
    1. Klimperei  En Regardant De Temps  1992
      Klimperei
      En Regardant De Temps
      1992
    2. Nomuzic  ...hat touch  1985
      Nomuzic
      …hat touch
      1985
    1. Nomuzic  News You Can Reuse!  1997
      Nomuzic
      News You Can Reuse!
      1997
    2. Goonz 2  You Wanna Hug Widdat?  1997
      Goonz 2
      You Wanna Hug Widdat?
      1997
    1. NKVD  Lovers Of Libra  1989
      NKVD
      Lovers Of Libra
      1989
    2. Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim  self titled  1994
      Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim
      self titled
      1994
    1. Analogs Of Morningside  Sequencers To The Gentry Since 1888  1989
      Analogs Of Morningside
      Sequencers To The Gentry Since 1888
      1989
    2. Das Frei Orchester  self titled  1989
      Das Frei Orchester
      self titled
      1989
    1. Ulterior Lux  Live Bootleg From Switzerland  1991
      Ulterior Lux
      Live Bootleg From Switzerland
      1991
    2. The Drowningbreathing  The Moon  1990
      The Drowningbreathing
      The Moon
      1990
    1. Doll Parts  Candida Albacore  1988
      Doll Parts
      Candida Albacore
      1988
    2. The Land Of Guilt And Blarney  Mugged By Life  1992
      The Land Of Guilt And Blarney
      Mugged By Life
      1992
    1. Nomuzic  Murmur It In The Mud  1990
      Nomuzic
      Murmur It In The Mud
      1990
    2. Nomuzic  Notes About The Man  1992
      Nomuzic
      Notes About The Man
      1992
    1. Dino DiMuro  One View Slightly Skewed  1993
      Dino DiMuro
      One View Slightly Skewed
      1993
    2. Donald Campau  self titled  1988
      Donald Campau
      self titled
      1988
    1. Donald Campau  False Positive  1992
      Donald Campau
      False Positive
      1992

    Carl Howard

    Christ, did I do all that? My memory is unspeakably bad. I’m still like that with the internet radio program I do now: Finish one playlist, move on to the next one, lose all recollection of what came before.

    So, you know, look at the changes objectively as technology made them available. The first few (no logo at all) were literally composed on galleys with phototype. This was when people with no access to phototype were pasting cutouts from flyers, and off typewritten sheets. Everything was black and white.

    The end of phototype was of course the earliest composition software available. Type could be scaled and rotated, printed out, and xeroxed as a single piece … but everything was still black and white. The logo was coming together but wasn’t really there yet. You can see one example in which the final was actually printed on a web print machine using colored printer’s ink. Those had to be allowed to dry before they could be used!

    As color laser printers became available, color was added to the layouts, but at first, they had to be pasted into BW printouts by hand. Pain in the ass. Oh, also, the first version of the “official” logo was created by literally drawing the curve of the T over the small a with… ink pen. Fucking Rapidograph. Adobe illustrator eventually took care of that crap.

    Then you see the more ambitious, full-color layouts in which integrated design and publishing software was clearly used, as it finally became possible to send file outputs directly to color laser printers. That meant the end of heavy paper stock and and different paper colors, but so what.

    Anyway… There is a number of those covers which I don’t even remember actually doing; in a couple of instances, I have no recollection of the music at all – which, no, is not a reflection on the musicians in any way. I just don’t remember them. I don’t even remember a lot of what I put to magnetic tape myself. This page is at least a potent memory trigger for a compelling chunk of what, as I have been eagerly reminded by the author of this page, I used to do.

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