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 world. That is not to say that that Cale has lost all hope and there is optimism that we can still bring about change. POPtical Illusion was produced by Cale along with longtime artistic collaborator Nita Scott.
So you just drop a microphone to the bottom of an 800ft hole in the earth? Damian Wagner (issue 64) checks in with Tape Op.
"I've just returned from a two week audio expedition to Brazil. I was in Brazil to test nine microphones, cables, speakers...
Tape Op lost a good friend last night when our pal Neal Casal left us all behind. Neal was a gifted guitarist, songwriter, singer, photographer, producer, surfer and just an all-around good dude.
I was lucky to work with Neal on some...
So, Fort George Brewery & Public House in Astoria, OR, made an actual Tape Op-branded craft beer. It's called Overdub IPA, and it looks like this:
Here is what Fort George had to say about their creation:
A good beer is like a good sound...
Okay, I'll admit I vote for the Grammies. Yup. Why? Besides the sometimes odd spectacle of the Grammy Awards, NARAS does some cool stuff in the music community (like the Seattle Studio Summit), MusiCares and the Producers and Engineers Wing. So I do...
Berklee College of Music sponsored a recent Tape Op newsletter and it got me thinking about music schools. In terms of my personal recording path, I learned on my own through trial and error and via mentors. You can read a little bit about that...
Listen
One of my favorite records of 2024 to date is Phosphorescent’s Revelator. It’s a beautifully recorded album, featuring Matthew Houck's timeless songwriting and lyrics plus gorgeous arrangements. I was hooked the first...
Part One - by Larry Crane
1/13/04It's been snowing and frozen here in Portland for a week - not something this town is used to. Many businesses were shut down and traffic wasn't moving, even though it wasn't that much snow. I feel dumb as my town...
In line with Andy Hong's list of gear (issue #66) he's reviewed in the past that he still finds amazing, here's a list of stuff I was using this last month that I think deserves special credit for the amount of times I fall back on these pieces and...
There have been so many great releases in 2017 that it is hard to pick just a top five or ten! This is no way definitive year end wrap-up, but here are a few of this year's Tape Op staff favorites. Happy listening!
Larry Crane
Roger Waters-...