Editorial to the third edition

“Tape recorders are nefarious because one falls into the trap of believing that the tape recorder thinks, and so we disconnect our brains the moment we plug in the cord. A tape recorder is a parrot, it has ears but it doesn’t have a heart. It does not pick up details so our job is to listen beyond the words, pick up on what is not said and then write the complete story.”

The quote is attributed to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He refers to an act of journalism: recording the interview.

In the third edition of staalzine I applied a method that can be considered the reverse side of the journalistic routine. I listened to a tape and wrote down images and thoughts that came to mind. Every track got its own little intuitive story. I presented them to the makers of the tapes and asked for their answers.

Listening to a Tape might become a series of interviews if I continue to receive tapes and find their creators willing to join me in this experiment.
You can get in contact through staalzine at staalplaat dot com.

Rinus van Alebeek