More Nirvana arcana—the Cobain of your existence.
More Nirvana arcana—the Cobain of your existence. YouTube screengrab

A batch of four cassettes containing some of the first recordings by Nirvana from the late '80s have been uploaded by a friend of the band, Tacoma-based musician John Purkey, Spin reports. The songs would later appear—in much more polished form, of course—on 1989's Bleach and 1991's Nevermind.

One tape contains Bleach demos cut during the band’s first ever date at Reciprocal Studios in 1988, featuring Melvins' Dale Crover on drums. Another cassette features Nevermind demos done with Chad Channing, who left Nirvana after a short stint while the group was still working on what would become their breakthrough LP, opening the door for Dave Grohl.

The fidelity of these tapes is low, and many of the songs have appeared on the many Nirvana comps issued after Cobain’s death, but the anecdotes Purkey relates on each of them are fascinating. If you're not burnt out on Nirvana arcana yet, check them out here.