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.
Spring has sprung in the Northwest, which means it's still raining, and possibly snowing with a few stellar sunny days thrown in for good measure. The trees are leafing out and there is that lovely dusting of pollen and fallen cherry blossoms on...
We interviewed Mike Campbell for issue #150, right around the time he and his band, The Dirty Knobs released their second LP, External Combustion. A year on, the band has released a new collection of music, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. The Dirty...
My pal just sent me this awesome piece written by a screenwriter about people asking him to read their scripts. And yes, I think anyone who works in whatever given field can understand this. Damned if you do, and an asshole if you don't. And of...
Popular music owes a serious debt to Quincy Jones, and he rightly has a place on the list of greatest music producers of all time. He passed away November 3rd, at the age of 91.
I was listening to Quincy Jones before I even knew I was listening to...
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...
Tape Op contributor, Chris Mara, has organized an amazing studio event coming up. I wanted to go but sessions have stopped me. If you can make it, this sounds like a lot of fun.
Tape Op Messageboard Thread and instructions Welcome to 1979 Studio
Eddie Ashworth dropped me a line about the work he and many other scholars are doing with the Art of Record Production folks. Be sure to read The Journal for the Art of Record Production online. It's densely full of articles, interviews, reviews...
by John Baccigaluppi
The music industry trade shows, and the NAMM Show in particular, have always been a mixed bag for me. Every year, for the last 20 years or so, Larry and I, along with Geoff, Scott, and Marsha (We miss you Andy, Dave, and Laura!)...
Larry Crane and Geoff Stanfield discuss mixing analog vs. in the box vs. a hybrid approach in the latest episode of Creative Recording With Tape Op!
This episode is made possible with support from our friends at BURL Audio.