Summertime is 8-track time: A journey back to the golden age of sound

There's something magical about nice summer evenings. As the sun sinks behind the mountains and the world falls silent, I've found my very own sound therapy: giving new life to old 8-track cartridges.

For the past few weeks, I have been sitting at my workbench, surrounded by the smell of rubbing alcohol, old plastic cartridges, and old memories. Restoring these time capsules is both a passion and a meditative experience. Each cassette tells its own story – not just through the music, but through the wear, dust, and old labels that have survived decades.

The restoration has consisted of a thorough cleaning of each individual cartridge, careful cleaning of the tape, and not least: replacing the old (and often dissolved) foam pressure pads as well as replacing the old splice. It is amazing to see how a tape that seemed to be "finished" can suddenly play great again, with the warm, analog sound that only 8-track can deliver.

Here are some of the treasures that have been given new life this time around:

• Bee Gees – Gold Volume 1 (RSO)
• Dionne Warwick – Greatest Motion Picture Hits (Scepter)
• The Beach Boys – 15 Big Ones (Warner Bros. Records)
• The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys (Capitol)
• Barbra Streisand – Guilty (Volume One) (Columbia)
• ABBA – Greatest Hits (RCA)
• KC and the Sunshine Band – Who Do Ya (Love) (TK)
• John Denver – Back Home Again (RCA)
• Carole King – Tapestry (Desolate)
• Reo Speedwagon – Hi Infidelity (Epic)

Every time one of these tapes clicks into the player and the music flows out, it feels like opening a portal to the past. It's not just the music – it's the formatof the programs changing automatically, the characteristic whirr-sound from the tape, and the feeling of having something physical in your hand that contains art.

To me, these tapes are more than plastic and tape. They represent a time when the music experience was deliberate and dedicated. You couldn't just press "shuffle." You chose a cassette, put it on, and let the music take you on a journey.

Do you have your own memories of 8-tracks? Maybe you've laid on the lawn on a summer evening listening to The Beach Boys or ABBA? I'd love to hear your stories!

Thank you for following this journey – together we keep audio history alive.

Have a great summer! 🎶☀️