Upon approaching ‘Loosen up with the Kessels’, the keen listener will be mesmerized by the majestic retro character the record seems to ooze. You see, the track boasts an extraordinary sense of nostalgia, not only in its stylings but also in its overall sound. Active in the mid-80s, The Kessels were a punk and new-wave outfit with a knack for pop lyricism and mellow tones.
‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ was never released at the time. In fact, it was forgotten for over three decades. Wait… this makes the record a virtual time machine; we are listening to authentic historical recordings, the work of a group of young talents recorded on analogue tape, in an analogue studio in the 80s.
As the story goes, the single was ‘too pop’ for many of the indie Boston-based radio stations at the time. A member of the punk community, The Kessels (also known as 007/Dub 7) had struck gold at the wrong time: unable to release the song to their usual audience, they simply put it aside. Sadly, the band disbanded not long after.
Let’s refocus for a second: a master tape reel is forgotten somewhere in Boston. After being recorded at Polymedia Studio by accomplished producer Tim O’Heir, it goes AWOL. So how come we can hear it now? It’s on streaming services as we speak.
Well, that’s where things get interesting: the master tape for ‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ surfaces again in 2023, after years of searching around. Making its way to Japan, it reconciles with Lawrence Laferla, formerly known as The Kessels’ singer. He’s not kickstarting the group: rather, he’s passionate about sharing the record’s storyline, making sure the song gets finally heard by a wide audience.
Here’s the final chapter of a master tape reel that got lost for over 30 years. Finally found and in safe hands, ‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ needed to be digitized, a duty that was revealed to be quite a hard task, due to the unique nature of the tape and the skilful process required to digitalise it. After an unsuccessful try in Osaka, Laferla got in contact with a magnetic audiotape restoration expert in Bristol, UK – The Great Bear.
The surprising reason why early retrieval efforts weren’t successful is due to an obscure but invaluable practice, the baking of the tape. This is how Adrian Finn – expert from The Great Bear – announced it to Laferla: “I’ve looked at your tape and given the brand and formulation of tape it should really be baked prior to replay so this would take several days… I haven’t done this as yet as I’m a little concerned the previous service replayed it without treatment as I think you mentioned… There’s a slight chance after baking that the tape will delaminate… I’ve seen this twice over the years and it’s usually with much older Ampex tape but seems to occur if the tape has been wound or played in its ‘sticky’ state…”
Baking the tape? That’s curious! A quick research reveals why such a process is needed: “Over time, magnetic recording tape becomes unplayable because the binder used to adhere the magnetic material to the backing or a chemical added to the binder becomes unstable. Tapes in this condition will leave a gooey residue on the tape transport. This residue is comprised mostly of the magnetic material, and playing a tape in this condition will destroy the recording without accurately playing the recorded audio.” (Radioworld, 2013).
Luckily, Finn was able to recover ‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ in all its nostalgic glory: “We have baked the tape now. […] The process has worked perfectly and the tape is in good, playable condition and the recording sounds excellent as these masters generally do.” A final master by Sam Moses marked the song’s rebirth.
‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ is not just a stunning blend between new-wave and pop stylings, it’s also a fascinating jump into an era that seems long gone. From the tape used for the recording, to the expertise that was needed to salvage it, everything reminds us of the many ways the music industry has changed in a mere 30 years.
Recommended! Discover ‘Loosen up with the Kessels’ on Spotify:
