I found a tape amongst a pile of rubbish on the Ely Trail the other day.
I originally left it there. Ringu and rain put me off. And I reported the fly-tipping to Cardiff Council. Yet it was still there today. So why not pick it up?
Research time...
The cassette is a Super C-60LN. Someone from Volgograd is selling one that's "in a sorry state", and it can be yours for just 35 rubles, approximately 50p. All other search results for that tape are Russian pages too.
The markings on the tape are "Noor Karaan" on both sides and "77" scratched into the plastic in four locations. A quick google suggest Noor Karaan is an American tween.
The person speaking on the tape is definitely not an American tween.
If I had to hazard a guess, through the fuzz and flutter, the person speaking is an older male, possibly Middle Eastern and reciting a text, perhaps praying.
However it seems Super Cassettes are an Indian company and Karaan (well Karan) is derived from the Kayasth caste of Hindus originating in India. So the signs point to Bengal rather than Baghdad or Balaklava.
Returning to 77, it seems to have some religious significance, predominately in Islam but also in Christianity (the Gospel of Luke lists 77 generations from Adam to Jesus). Now I mentioned the Kayasth caste as being Hindu. However there are Muslim Kayasths and they're mainly from the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. And Uttar Pradesh happens to be the state that Super Cassette Industries are based in (Noida to be exact).
So now I'm slightly worried I've committed a hate crime by sampling some of the cassette to make a track...
Still if it was that big a deal, they wouldn't have dumped it where I walk my dog.
Related post: Found Tape - Gypsy Curses and Synth Pop (from when I found a cassette by Heath Low Level in 2009)
