Solenoid – Norey Games [Cass] (1982, Not On Label)

Solenoid's 'Norey Games' from 1982 is one of those incredibly obscure artifacts that sits right at the heart of early DIY cassette culture. It isn’t a video game or a soundtrack tied to one -despite the name- but a privately released cassette by the Dutch experimental group Solenoid, who were active for a short time around 1981–1982 in Harderwijk, the Netherlands. 

 
Solenoid operated firmly in the underground. Their music leaned toward experimental pop, no wave, and early industrial sounds, mixing live instruments like guitar, bass, organ, and rhythm boxes with tape experiments and noise manipulation. This was very much in line with the early ’80s home-taping scene, where bands recorded cheaply, released tiny runs, and circulated music hand to hand rather than through labels.

 

'Norey Games' itself wasn’t a commercial release at all. The cassette was handed out at a private party in the summer of 1982 and was never intended for wider distribution. The recordings are mostly taken from live performances, mixed with lo-fi tape experiments and sound collages. Because of that, it plays more like a snapshot of a moment than a polished album -raw, uneven, and very much of its time. 

 
For decades, the tape wasn’t available online and existed only as a rumor among collectors and fans of obscure cassette culture. There’s no confirmed tracklist, no catalog number, and no official documentation beyond a few niche archival blogs that later mentioned it. That scarcity is part of what makes it interesting today: it’s a genuine example of how experimental music circulated outside the mainstream before the internet. 

 
Overall, 'Norey Games' is less about “songs” and more about atmosphere and context. It captures a brief moment in the early ’80s underground, when bands like Solenoid were experimenting freely, releasing music for friends and local scenes, and leaving behind tiny, hard-to-trace traces that only resurfaced decades later. 

 

 

Label: Not On Label (Solenoid Self-released) – none 

Format: Cassette, Album, C60 

Country: Netherlands 

Released: 1982 

Style: Industrial, New Wave, Experimental, Experimental Rock, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist: 

This Side 

A1 Alice Ou La Dernière Fugue 4:19 

A2 Absurd 4:30 

A3 Silex Hippopola 3:26 

A4 Dead Bodys 3:44 

A5 Den Beinen 3:08 

A6 Aliens 3:07 

A7 So Wie Es Ist 2:54 

A8 Gib Mir Das Licht 3:49 

The Other Side 

B1 Pop Art 2:58 

B2 Gorey Games 4:27 

B3 Ecoutez 3:30 

B4 The Idea 3:20 

B5 All Rights Reserved 3:47 

B6 T.L. Licht 3:35 

B7 Alkaloide 1:55 

B8 S.W. 4:18 

B9 Spoiling 2:19 

 

DOWNLOAD HERE