A cult symbol of the 80s and 90s, the cassette is making a big comeback in an unexpected form. With We Are Rewind, a bold French startup, the iconic portable player is reborn, blending analogue nostalgia with modern technology. Who would have thought we’d see the cassette player return in 2025? And yet that is the slightly…
Who would have thought we’d see the cassette player return in 2025? And yet that is the slightly crazy, and successful, gamble of We Are Rewind, a French startup that has set out to reinvent one of the most legendary objects in the music culture of the 80s and 90s. In the age of unlimited streaming, their players appeal as much to the nostalgic as to a whole generation curious to reconnect with a more tangible, almost ritual way of listening.
Behind the brand are two music and design enthusiasts. Tired of watching quality portable players disappear, they decided to recreate a reliable, elegant and durable device. With the help of engineers specialising in analogue, they designed a cassette player built for today: an aluminium casing, a battery rechargeable via USB-C, Bluetooth compatibility so you can use wireless headphones, but still that very particular mechanical feel when you press “play”. Their first model, the WE-001, has been praised by the international press, right up to Wired, which considers it the best cassette player available today. Understated and stylish, available in several colours, it captures the spirit of the Walkmans of old while offering a reliability that tired vintage models no longer have. The brand then expanded its range with the GB-001, a modern boombox combining sonic power and retro looks.
This return of the cassette is no accident. Like vinyl, it is enjoying a second wind: in the United States alone, more than 430,000 cassettes were sold last year, five times more than ten years ago. Riding this global wave, We Are Rewind’s products have found an audience well beyond France, winning fans in Europe as well as in the United States and Japan.
In just a few years, the startup has become a symbol: that of a cult object carefully revisited, able to talk to the digital world while keeping its analogue soul. One foot in the past, the other in the future: listening to a cassette has never felt so current.
