Korm Plastics books and underground music publishing
Korm Plastics books sit at the intersection of music, print culture, and archival obsession. The list brings together publications on experimental music, cassette culture, industrial history, underground scenes, artist records, and independent publishing. Rather than operating like a general music press, Korm Plastics keeps a clear focus on marginal, obsessive, and often historically neglected material.
That focus grows directly out of the label's history. Korm Plastics started in 1984 under Frans de Waard and first became known through cassettes, limited vinyl, and later CDs in the field of experimental music. After a period of hibernation, it returned in 2019 as a book publisher. The current list makes that transition feel continuous rather than nostalgic: the same curiosity remains, but the format has changed from sound object to printed document.
The strongest Korm Plastics titles often deal with music not as entertainment but as culture, infrastructure, and lived subcultural history. Reprints of fanzines, books on labels, underground correspondence, scene documentation, and highly specific artist-focused studies give the catalogue a distinct identity. For readers interested in experimental music, noise, industrial culture, and DIY print history, Korm Plastics has become a particularly coherent publisher.
From experimental music label to book publisher
- Founded in 1984 by Frans de Waard
- Originally active as an experimental music label
- Relaunched in 2019 as a publisher of books about music
- Focuses on fanzines, underground print culture, and music history
- Strong fit for readers of DIY, industrial, and experimental sound culture
