TELLUS: The Audio Cassette Magazine Anthology, Vol. 1 — 2XLP - Gatefold, Insert, Poster, Patch

Long before streaming services, podcasts, or even the compact disc, there was Tellus—a radically ambitious publication that imagined recorded sound as an exhibition space. Founded in 1983 in downtown New York, Tellus transformed the humble audio cassette into a magazine, commissioning and publishing new works by musicians, composers, visual artists, poets, writers, choreographers, and performers who were reshaping the boundaries of contemporary art. Each issue invited listeners into a world where no wave, industrial music, spoken word, Fluxus performance, electroacoustic composition, downtown pop, conceptual art, and avant-garde experimentation could coexist on equal footing.

More than forty years later, Earth Libraries proudly presents TELLUS: The Audio Cassette Magazine Anthology, Vol. 1, the first comprehensive anthology devoted to the groundbreaking publication. Due on November 20, 2026, the thirty-track collection has been newly mastered from the original Tellus cassette masters, marking the first time these recordings have been officially available on streaming services in their original form. Earth Libraries further celebrates Tellus' enduring legacy with a limited-edition deluxe double LP, created in close collaboration with Tellus founders Joseph Nechvatal, Carol Parkinson, and Claudia Gould. The first Tellus compilation in more than twenty years—and the most comprehensive anthology ever assembled—the collection spans 30 newly mastered recordings across two metallic silver vinyl LPs, tracing the publication's remarkable journey through experimental music, sound art, spoken word, and downtown New York culture. Housed in deluxe packaging, the release includes a booklet featuring new liner notes by Thurston Moore, original artist biographies, and an 11" × 17" reproduction of an original Tellus promotional poster. More than a collector's edition, the anthology stands as both an archival document and an invitation for a new generation of listeners to discover one of the most visionary publishing projects in experimental music history, carrying Tellus' spirit of fearless artistic exploration into the future.

The story of Tellus begins, fittingly, at the Rum Runner Bar on Canal Street. There, in 1983, visual artist Joseph Nechvatal, curator Claudia Gould, and composer Carol Parkinson conceived an entirely new kind of publication. Portable cassette players were transforming how people experienced music, and the trio saw an opportunity to use the cassette itself as a curatorial medium—one capable of circulating work that traditional record labels, galleries, and magazines simply couldn't accommodate. Early recordings by Sonic Youth and Liquid Liquid sit alongside works by James Tenney, George Brecht, Takehisa Kosugi, Carol Parkinson, Y Pants, Live Skull, Shelley Hirsch, Lenny Pickett, Paul Dresher, Gregory Whitehead, and dozens of other artists whose work helped define one of the most fertile creative communities of the era.

"I would say it came out of and feeds into non-conformity," recalls Nechvatal. "This is music and art that has no place in the popular market."

Rather than viewing that as a limitation, Tellus embraced it as its mission.

"We just wanted an alternative," says Parkinson. "And we knew there were other people out there that wanted an alternative."

Produced through Harvestworks, the pioneering New York nonprofit dedicated to supporting artists working with sound and emerging technologies, Tellus became much more than an experimental music magazine. It functioned as an audio exhibition space, a publishing platform, a historical archive, and an international network connecting artists working across disciplines. At a time when access to recording equipment remained limited and independent distribution was difficult, Harvestworks provided artists with the resources and community necessary to realize ambitious sonic work, while Tellus ensured those works reached audiences willing to venture beyond conventional music.

Tellus emerged from one of the most vibrant cultural moments in New York history. Throughout the early and mid-1980s, Lower Manhattan's affordable lofts, storefront galleries, rehearsal spaces, and artist-run venues fostered unprecedented collaboration between musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, writers, architects, and visual artists. Painters formed bands. Composers built installations. Performance artists experimented with synthesizers. Genre became increasingly irrelevant and Tellus documented this world as it unfolded.

The publication's contributors ranged from internationally recognized figures to emerging artists making some of their earliest recordings. Sonic Youth's appearance captures the band while they were still defining the alternate tunings and noise-driven guitar language that would transform American underground rock.

Liquid Liquid's hypnotic "Groove To Go" demonstrates the downtown group's singular fusion of punk, funk, dub, and percussion—an approach that would reverberate through dance music and hip-hop for decades. Elsewhere, Carol Parkinson's propulsive electronic composition "Heavybeat" reflects the experimental spirit that defined both her own artistic practice and Tellus itself.

The anthology also includes the playful post-punk minimalism of Y Pants, whose toy pianos, paper drums, and homemade instrumentation exemplified downtown New York's irreverent creativity; the conceptual rigor of Fluxus pioneer George Brecht; the groundbreaking electronic compositions of James Tenney; the fearless vocal experimentation of Shelley Hirsch; and remarkable contributions from artists including The Scene Is Now, Cargo Cult, Bond Bergland, Brenda Hutchinson, Bruce Tovsky, David Linton, Lenny Pickett, and many others.

Just as important as the sounds themselves were the publication's visual identities. Each cassette arrived with newly commissioned artwork by some of the most significant contemporary artists of the period. Covers by Cindy Sherman, David Wojnarowicz, Walter Robinson, Jane Dickson, James Nares, and others reinforced Tellus' belief that sound belonged within the broader conversation of contemporary art. Rather than separating music from visual practice, the magazine dissolved those distinctions entirely, creating a publication where every issue functioned simultaneously as an exhibition, a listening experience, and an archival document.

For Earth Libraries, restoring Tellus represents a continuation of the label's commitment to preserving overlooked musical histories. Working from the original cassette masters, every recording on TELLUS: The Audio Cassette Magazine Anthology, Vol. 1 has been carefully restored and newly mastered, preserving the warmth, immediacy, and character of the original releases while making them accessible to contemporary audiences for the first time.

More than four decades after its founding, Tellus feels remarkably contemporary. In an era dominated by algorithms and infinite digital choice, its commitment to thoughtful curation, artistic risk-taking, and interdisciplinary collaboration remains a powerful reminder that the most enduring cultural movements are often born outside established institutions.

Alongside the anthology, Earth Libraries has produced a new short documentary exploring the remarkable story behind Tellus and the community that brought it to life. Featuring new interviews with founders Joseph Nechvatal, Carol Parkinson, and Claudia Gould, alongside artists and collaborators who helped define the magazine's groundbreaking vision, the film traces Tellus from its origins in downtown New York's fertile art scene to its lasting influence on experimental music and contemporary art. Through firsthand reflections and rare archival material, the documentary reveals how a small group of artists transformed the audio cassette into one of the most innovative publishing platforms of the 1980s. The film will screen exclusively at record stores, galleries, museums, and cultural venues across the country in advance of the anthology's November 13 release before becoming available online following the album's release.

TELLUS: The Audio Cassette Magazine Anthology, Vol. 1 is a living archive—a collection that captures a moment when artists reimagined not only what music could sound like, but how it could be published, shared, and experienced. Through this anthology, Earth Libraries invites a new generation of listeners into one of the most visionary and influential experiments in independent publishing, ensuring that Tellus' spirit of curiosity, nonconformity, and creative freedom continues to resonate for decades to come.

Artists featured on the anthology, Tellus founders, and key figures involved in the project are available for interviews. Press also has access to an extensive archive of materials, including rare photographs, original artwork, scans of Tellus cassettes and ephemera, and other historical assets. A private screening link to the documentary is available upon request, along with additional materials and archival content to support coverage.