After a good part of 2020 in lockdown due to Covid-19 – and when ALTA 1 + 2 were created - the restrictions were briefly relaxed so Melbournians could travel, see people, go to shows and create with their peers.
As 2021 moved along, the Delta variant of Covid-19 spiked and sent the Australian east coast into months long lockdowns. Although other Australian states had more freedoms, as a country we all haven’t been able to travel. Restrictions change quickly, everything is constantly up in the air about what we can and can’t do. We watch our communities overseas as their lives move back to some resemblance of normalcy.
As we get the vaccine to safeguard our fellow person and be able to move on with our lives, the government keeps us locked down, only easing restrictions where financially beneficial for them but neglecting the health and wellbeing of the individual. The news talks about when the public will be able to “golf” again but disregards the Live Music and Music community, a seemingly worthless form of art and expression in their eyes.
Don’t stop creating. Don’t lose hope.
These are songs by people in Australia living in isolation throughout 2021.
Each ALTA cassette seems to speak a different story of what we’re all collectively feeling while also expressing the artists life alone and their emotional response to it. The compilation a multitude of genres – punk and hardcore, Bedroom pop and shoegaze, Electronic beats and noise, Death Rock and indie pop, Synthwave electronia and more.
The people involved also contribute with varying degrees of experience levels. For some, this is their first release. Others have spent the better part of two decades involved in their music community - running labels, organising shows, working at venues, drawing and designing posters or album art and more.
Australia has such a passionate and amazing music scene, and it can’t be lost to how our government choses to handle and neglect the creative contribution of the people that live here.
All the artists involved get a free copy of the tape, the price of the tape reflects that so I’m able to break even on costs. Thank you for the support. - Blow Blood