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.
I'll be attending and pretending to be a panelist at The 2nd Annual Recording Summit in Nashville, held Nov 12-14 at Welcome to 1979 Studios. Check the link above to become part of this crazy cool event!
I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were attempting to cut and mix a record in three days and we didn't...
October is starting off with a bang and a long list of great new releases. Here are a few notables.
Hard Quartet - Heel HighwayThis new indie rock "supergroup" consists of Stephen Malkmus (Tape Op #15), Jim White, Emmett Kelly, and Matt Sweeney....
A reader just informed me that APPLE's recent Logic Pro X includes "Drummer", a virtual drummer plug-in. One of the virtual drummers is named "aidan", who apparently cannot find the CAPS key on his virtual MacBook. In Aidan's "Portland Kit" we...
Guitarist Michael Belfer passed away March 20, 2022 from a series of compounding health issues. He was a friend and my bandmate in Black Lab back in the late ’90s. His unique playing and sound was an influence on players such as Sonic...
Here is a list of some of the books on recording and music that we have added to the reading (or re-reading!) queue recently.
Are We Still Rolling?by Phill BrownGreat studio session stories about The Rolling Stones, Talk Talk, Hendrix, Led...
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...
I ran the end rant about "Lies" I hear in the studio from musicians. I asked for "Lies" that engineers tell people, but only got these two. But they're pretty good! Please take with a sense of humor, according to Arthur, but there may be some truths...
head-fi: n, audiophile-grade headphone systems.portable: adj, able to be easily carried.
The record industry is about twenty-five years into a massive devaluation of its products. This devaluation is not due to some invisible calculus the way, say,...