MUSIQUE NON STOP (New Zealand, 1986)
EMI TC-GOOD 148


This. THIS!


I've had a few rarities on this blog before, and of course I'm still learning about Krafwerk cassettes, ie. what exists and how to find the items. But this, I only even heard about it a couple of years ago, I was pretty stunned to find out it existed, and it was one of my absolute top wants - until now.


When I started collecting Kraftwerk cassettes, the cassette singles appealed to me more than albums. I was lucky to get the Pocket Calculator cassette early on, certainly due to its packaging (I'll have to post that one later!). In 1991, when Kraftwerk were back after four years of total silence, I got the singles on all formats, including cassette. And it occurred to me that it was strange that none of the 1986 singles was released on single, but knowing what I now know, isn't it actually even stranger that New Zealand did release it on cassette? As the only country in the world?


EMI New Zealand made a number of cassette singles by many artists, and both this and the 1984 Tour De France cassette feature the same tracks from the 12" single, not the 7". By 1986 though, it seems commonplace that the tracks are repeated on both sides - well, it makes more sense than having one side being half the length of the other, as on the Tour De France one. The Music Non Stop cassette comes in a 2-panel, glossy J-card, printed on one side only. Apart from the price code being a low-number 05 (where both the Electric Cafe album and the 1985 reissue of Autobahn were Code 32), it is worth a mention that they claim to have used Dolby DX Pro here - a relatively hi-fi system which frankly seems surprisingly up-market for a cheap cassette single. Well, thanks EMI!


So, yeah. I feel this is a "missing link" between the early 80s cassette singles and the 1991 releases, I'm glad there was at least one market that got a cassette of Musique Non Stop! Well and truly stoked to be able to present this. (And if you have a cassette single of "Expo 2000" from some distant country, please get in touch!)






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