TITICACA RECORDS & TAPES, aka TTKK, is an alternative and industrial recordings label that was formed in 1980 in Jumet (Charleroi), Belgium, by Philippe Genion, later better known as S3 EVETS. The label only produced tapes ("compact cassettes" as cassettes were known after the fall of the 8-track big cassettes using during the 70's) that were artisanally copied and manufactured, then distributed t
hough two record shops (L'Arcadaire in Charleroi and La Strada in Brussels, plus a small-scale mail order. But somehow some of these cassettes made their way to the USA and even Japan (a member of the band EP4 had told S3 he owned some !) and now reached a somehow cult status. TITICACA launched the international carreers of major fascinating bands such as ALONE IN THE KNIGHT, A FINGER SOCIETY!, CONFITE SONAR, THE BOFO BIIPP BLUZ BAND, CADRE MARTIN, EH BE QUE?, SOUVENIR DE NICE, AURORE BOREALE, COLD IN THE HEAD, ILANG-ILANG, JTB, LOS CASIOS, THE PRESOCRATIC UMBRELLAS, THE PENULTIMATE INFINITY, GLAGZTOK, and also better known POLAR PRAXIS and à;GRUMH...
After the start of à;GRUMH...'s "pro" carreer and international tours in 1985, due to lack of time mostly, the label stopped producing new tapes, but got several releases through FLD distribution. But the spirit of TTKK continued through the forthcoming CIRCLE RECORDS label co-founded by Philippe S3 Genion and Kenny Gates of Play it Again Sam, which later introduced bands such as nEGAPADRES.3.3., A CHUD CONVENTION, Theee REBEARTH CORPORATION and the later POLAR PRAXIS albums. Nowadays, this spirit still live on though the nEGAPADRES.3.3. releases on HERMETIQUE records, the à;GRUMH... single released by IRONFLAME records, as well as the POLAR PRAXIS re-releases on ONDERSTROOM RECORDS and DARK ENTRIES.