INDIE TAPES FROM MARS

Acoustic Instruments Recorded to Tape in the Style of Lo-fi Bedroom Pop 

Inspired by some of our favorite records and retro home recordings, Indie Tapes is a nostalgic blend of vintage synths, electric guitars, Wurli, acoustic drums, percussion, rhythm boxes and more - recorded to tape, in the form of loops and drum one-shots. This pack showcases the beautiful interplay of analog gear and tape saturation through deeply musical songwriting and instrumentation ☀️

The Music is the Inspiration 

It's no secret that we love gear! And when we're sampling something like an 808, the inspiration is the machine itself. But with this project (our first genre pack??), we wanted to inspire you with the music first and foremost, and how the method of recording (tape, here) and creative processing can add further magic. The results: an album's worth of catchy, fun, sophisticated yet useable musical ideas which you can use outright, or re-shape, chop, and sample into your own unique creations. 

Modern Aesthetic Meets Timeless Songwriting

At the heart of this pack is an extensive assortment of short form loops, both melodic and drum-based, created from scratch with acoustic instruments (and naturally, a few drum machines). Swirling wurli riffs, fuzzy guitar lines, jazzy chords, and ear-candy arpeggios are interwoven with iconic synth leads, sunburnt pads, and muted basslines from classic analog synths and bass guitar.

The synth work ranges from lush, Juno textures, to gritty Mirage keys, saturated SH-101 bass, and fat Moog lines from the Prodigy and Sub 37. We've also layered in shimmering Omnichord lines, and acoustic and electric guitar riffs.

Everything here has been captured either on 1/4", 1/2" or cassette tape machines. For the widest possible sound palette, we've experimented heavily with sometimes opposite approaches - recording some instruments cleanly and adding saturation, EQ, compression, reverbs, etc to others.

The loops have a nice range of tape noise. By utilizing vintage dbx noise reduction, we captured ultra-clean bass and synth-lines with 70s style compression, while intentionally recording other instruments at low tape levels for added hiss and analog artifacts, and flanging the tape manually by hand to get that pitch-warble we all love.

Every loop has been carefully constructed with vibe and musicality at the forefront, in order to create not just simple building blocks, but true song starters. In fact, we've even documented every chord progression used here.

Acoustic Drums, Percussion & Rhythm Boxes Grooves

Once the melodies, chord structures and basslines were put into place, it was easy to create inspiring drum grooves. We called on our dear friend (and first Samples From Mars team member!) Marcin Sulewski to lay down 24 dead simple acoustic drum patterns (don't you hate when drum loops have too much going on?).

The drums were recorded both cleanly and heavily processed and manipulated, to tape. Captured through vintage mics, tube preamps, saturators and compressors, we played back the drums at different tape speeds, either slowing down or speeding up the entire groove, re-pitching the sounds and giving us that perfect lo-fi flavor. We even used that DBX noise reduction to give the drums a very cool compression that we've fallen in love with.

By layering in rhythm boxes and programming our own one-shots on top, we created the perfect hybrid of acoustic and electronic tape drum loops and one shots.

What You Get

Add it all up and you get the shimmer of '70s psychedelia, the intimacy of bedroom recordings, and a pop sensibility that feels timeless, yet fresh. With a variety of tape textures, warble and hiss from various reel to reel machines, these loops are perfect for producers chasing golden hour tones, breezy hooks, vibey grooves and the lush sonic imperfections we’ve all come to love.

Inside you’ll find 400 loops and 200 one shots, all recorded to tape at 24-bit and royalty-free. Tempos range from 80 to 140 BPM, with everything carefully organized and key-labeled for easy use in any DAW. Whether you’re producing indie pop, lo-fi beats, or retro-infused film cues, Indie Tapes offers a timeless palette of inspiration, wrapped in hiss, saturation, and soul. 😎