Woodland is the name of Gillian Welch and David Rawling’s studio in Nashville, and it’s also the name of their new album. On Woodland, the duo continue to show their deep connection as collaborators. The album has a wide open sound that features their seemlessly blended and intimately recorded vocals, and the light touch of a backing band that includes drums, bass, pedal steel, banjo, and airy strings on tunes like "What We Had" and "Hashtag". "Lawman" and "The Bells and the Birds" have a lovely somberness, and the album as a whole has a "live off the floor" feeling to it that we hear less and less of these days. Woodland will stay in our "recently played" column for the forseeable future.
We interviewed Gillian and Dave back in 2001 for Tape Op #85.
Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.
Hey lucky Tape Op website forager: I've got an extra goodie bag from the Tape Op Party we held in March during SXSW. I don't have the full selection of swag, but I'll thrown in a couple of the SoundToys "special tin can of awesomeness" items which...
To accompany the new documentary film, Eno, a career spanning soundtrack has also been released. It is a 17-track album that dips into many eras of his 50 year solo career. We recommend checking out all of Eno's solo recordings,...
I recently wrote about Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Records, and their excellent vinyl (and CD) reissues. I have become a huge fan of their releases, especially the attention to detail and sonic quality of their pressings.
On December...
Garret Haines wrote a thorough review of this UAD plug-in in Tape Op #106. You should read it. Here are a few of Geoff Stanfield’s thoughts on a plug-in that he has come to use and love, not only for its sonic closeness to the original, but...
It's not Idol, technically, but America's Got Talent and its dentally-impaired overseas cousin are still franchises helmed by Simon Cowell, who I think we can all agree has become somewhat of a figurehead for shitty pop music and...
Dear Tape Op Readers,
We are feeling overwhelmed and deeply saddened by the death of George Floyd. Unfortunately this is far from an isolated incident.
Our voices and collective action have never been more needed than right now.
Human...
We interviewed John Cale in issue #156 around the time of his previous release, Mercy. He has just released POPtical Illusion, a collection of synth and keyboard heavy tunes that carry a heavy, and at times angry message about the state of the...
After 20 years at the Davis Square location (and a previous 15 years on Albany Street), Boston’s Q Division Studios had to close its doors in July of 2021. Through the years, Q Division was host to a diverse group of artists, including Aimee...