Hey my indie friend,

There was a time when pressing “Play” meant stepping into your own private universe.

This week, I found myself thinking about that small blue-and-silver machine from 1979, and about something far older than Sony, older than vinyl, older than stages.

Because maybe what’s returning right now isn’t a format.

Maybe it’s intention.

From the Walkman myth to cassette micro-revivals…

From algorithm friction to handcrafted flutes carved 43,000 years ago…

The question feels the same:

Are we creating noise, or are we shaping silence into something that matters?

Let’s step inside the headphones for a moment.

Love 🤍, and happy reading,
Mitxoda (oh yeah, my show will run at 4PM today, but only music, I won’t make it live this time, sorry!)

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July 1st, 1979.
A small blue-and-silver machine quietly changes everything.

When Sony released the TPS-L2 Walkman, it wasn’t just selling a device. It was selling intimacy. A private opera in your headphones. A soundtrack only you could hear while the world kept moving.

In the 80s and 90s, the Walkman became more than hardware. It became posture. Identity. Motion. It boosted cassette culture, mixtapes, handwritten labels, and that very specific click when you pressed “Play.”

Then came CDs. Then MP3. Then smartphones.
And we thought the ritual was gone.

But rituals don’t disappear. They wait.

Today, something strange and beautiful is happening.

Cassettes are quietly climbing again. Not dominating. Not replacing streaming. But existing. Breathing.

Gen Z buys tapes they never grew up with. Transparent shells. Limited editions. Handwritten aesthetics. The hiss. The need to flip Side A to Side B. The impossibility of skipping endlessly.

Series like Stranger Things turned the Walkman into a cultural relic reborn.
Hashtags like #cassetteaesthetic do the rest.

Meanwhile, Sony never truly killed the name. The Walkman lives on in high-end digital players (NW-A, ZX, WM1 series), now positioned for audiophiles rather than commuters.

So what’s returning?

Not the mass market.

The myth.

This is where it gets interesting.

For indie artists, the cassette revival is not about scale. It’s about symbolic power.

Here’s what changes:

Cassettes force sequence. You can’t shuffle easily. You listen as intended.
For artists who care about storytelling, flow, and emotional arcs: this is gold.

Ultra-limited tape runs (50, 100, 200 copies) transform releases into rituals.
Signed copies. Colored shells. Bonus tracks. Alternate artwork.

Streaming is infinite.
Cassettes are finite.

Scarcity builds meaning.

Vinyl is expensive to press.
Cassettes are cheaper, lighter, more portable.

For indie budgets, that matters.

A cassette is not just audio. It’s proof of belonging.
It sits on a shelf. It appears in Instagram photos. It becomes a signal:
“I was there when this came out.”

Streaming is instant. Frictionless. Endless.
And sometimes, exhausting.

A cassette asks for patience.
It creates presence.

In an era of “next, next, next,” that’s radical.

Unlikely. Industrial tooling is gone. Supply chains dissolved. The market is tiny.

More plausible?
Limited design revivals. Co-branding with boutique cassette manufacturers. Storytelling around heritage.

The true comeback isn’t industrial.

It’s probably more emotional.

If this micro-wave continues:

Not as nostalgia cosplay. Only as intention.

The Walkman doesn’t compete with Spotify.
It competes with distraction.

And for indie artists who create not for the stream count, but for the heartbeat,
that difference changes everything.

Maybe the future isn’t louder.

Maybe it’s softer.
Closer.
Inside your headphones again.

Episode 1: Spotify doesn’t care how much you love your own song.

Mostly Blue (Denis Hulett) is a singer/songwriter from California and Rob Bennett is a Canadian indie artist (now living in Delaware, USA). These guys believe in the power of indie artists supporting indie artists. The Speaking to the Algorithms series is an attempt to share what they are learning about the ways we can support each other to get our music heard on streaming platforms.

This week’s Top 10 isn’t about winning prizes, it’s about love, support, and staying in it together.

Listen Back to the last Friday Salon Indie de Mitxoda here.

I’ll see you all later today at 4:00 PM (Brussels time) for the 43rd episode of Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda, live at salon.mitxoda.be, see you very soon.

Whether it’s a cassette run of 50 copies, a Spotify strategy decoded, or breath carved into bone in a prehistoric cave, the spirit is the same.

Create with intention.

Support each other loudly.

And never let distraction replace depth.

Enjoy the reading.

Join us later at 4pm in the Salon, and if you haven’t yet, come say hello on the OTAT247 Discord.

Closer. Softer. Still indie.

Love,
🖤 Mitxoda

END 😆