A disclaimer that my audio quality is less-than-stellar for a good portion of this episode. I’m testing a new microphone, and clearly, the audio settings here were not working. My apologies, and thank you for bearing with us on this podcast journey.
“We all derive importance from the people and the things around us, and that extends to what we make. What we make will become more important to us and better if it's built around this bond between people.”
— Nathan McMurray, Trash Tape Records
Today on the Good Folk podcast, we are joined by the folks of Trash Tape Records: Nathan McMurray, Evren Centeno, and Eilee Centeno. Trash Tape Records is a youth-run worldwide DIY record label founded in March of 2020 and, until recently, run primarily out of the triangle area of North Carolina. Nathan and Evren going to college, in Chicago and Asheville respectively, will lead to the label being run from multiple different places. Trash Tape strives to support young and unknown artists by distributing and promoting their music, as well as doing physical releases of some projects in the form of cassette tapes.
Nathan, Evren, and Eilee joined us for a conversation about some of my favorite topics: finding your creative community, the importance of collaborative artistry, taking the leap to pursue your dreams, and looking for love, even when it is difficult, even when it feels impossible. Wise beyond their years, these three have much to offer when it comes to uplifting other artists, seeking out what moves you, and moving past the myth of the lonely, serious artist. I’ll leave you with their words, which I think summarize it best: “Part of creating, it's like you're all creating to show for yourself, but also for this community that you enjoy being in. And you feel like creating or contributing something new to this community because the community itself brings something to you. All of that just goes away when you try to make it individualistically.”
You can listen to a selection of Trash Tape’s artists in their curated playlist:
EP 5: Trash Tape Records