Hewhocorrupts, Inc.
Welcome to Tapes ‘n’ Tapes, a bimonthly video series focusing on local cassette labels to help get the feel for why some people have turned to tapes for their musical medium.
After running a punk-centric cassette label as a high school student, Ryan Durkin (who plays in grindcore band Hewhocorrupts and punk act 97-Shiki) started Hewhocorrupts, Inc. in 1999. A few years later, he roped his friend Andy Slania (who plays in punk group Tension Generation) into the mix—Slania had previously worked on a label with two different names, first Excursion then The Silent Architect—and the duo focused on putting out hard-edged music on vinyl and CD. Things have changed for the two over the years, and recently they’ve focused on putting out more digital music. They’re still putting out tunes on physical media: The recently released self-titled EP by 11-year-old rapper Chica X is the label’s first cassette.
The A.V. Club headed to the Hewhocorrupts, Inc. HQ in Logan Square to admire Durkin’s collection of punk tapes and discuss hilarious record label names, listening to music on cell phones, and how cassettes might be one of the last affordable hands-on media.
