Carol Kaye is one of the most recorded bass players of all time, with 10,000 sessions and 40,000 songs under her belt, including a staggering list of hits for Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers,...
SASAMI, born Sasami Ashworth, has been a sought-after “jack of all trades” in the indie music world since returning to her hometown of Los Angeles following graduation from classical...
A compelling Brooklyn-based Pakistani composer, vocalist, and producer, Arooj Aftab's 2021 album, Vulture Prince, brought her voice and music a lot of attention, as well as a Grammy for Best Global...
Photo by Sean Ono Lennon Yuka Honda has been a figure in the New York City avant-garde and indie-rock scenes for decades. Releasing her first album in 1989, she has amassed over 268 recording...
A songwriter, producer, mixer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, director, and actress, Hill Kourkoutis is based in Barrie, a small town outside of Toronto, Canada. In addition to her recording and...
Experimental and classically-trained percussionist Evelyn Glennie has released almost 50 albums and collaborated with the likes of Björk, Mark Knopfler [Tape Op #97], Fred Frith, Béla...
Along with Ana da Silva, Gina Birch led The Raincoats from 1977 to 1984 in England, reforming in 1993, and still collaborating to this day. Their unique approach to music inspired many, including...
With a start at New York City's Record Plant in the mid-'70s, Julie Last continued with her career at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles. Now living in Woodstock, NY, she runs her own Cold Brook...
A pure obsession with sound drove a young woman from her rural Italian home to the UK and into London’s recording studios. A relentless drive to learn how everything in audio works then set her...
A producer, songwriter, and a founding member of the alternative pop band Caveboy, Isabelle Banos is based in Montreal, Canada. Her passion for empowerment through education has led her to become a...
Gaelynn Lea is one of the most original musicians and songwriters working today. She also happens, by chance, to be a wheelchair user. Incredibly prolific, she has released three solo albums, as well...
Suzy Shinn was just a little kid in Wichita, Kansas, when she began exhibiting the instincts that have since made her a rising star producer and songwriter. “I forced all my friends to be in...
Recording engineer Bella Blasko has worked with bands like The National, Big Red Machine, Feist, and Bonny Light Horseman. Additionally, she earned a Grammy nomination for her work on Taylor...
Or, conversely, The Anchoress is Catherine Anne Davies, a Welsh-born talented songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, producer, engineer, mixer, and more. Her debut album, Confessions of a...
Many folks who work in the studio straddle the line between musician and engineer on any given day. Sami Perez has kept her feet in both worlds since her teenage years. The result is a sparkling body...
I’ve known Beau Sorenson for close to ten years now, and around two years ago I met his wife, Maryam Qudus. They are recording engineers and producers, and both create their own music. They work...
Suzanne Ciani is one of my neighbors (who has become a good friend), so it's almost too easy for me to overlook how massive her contribution to music and record production is. That is also due in...
My good friend, engineer/producer and occasional Tape Op contributor Robert Cheek, turned me on to the group Loma. Their music didn't grab me initially, but a few months later I went back to their...
A multi-instrumentalist, performance artist, educator, programmer, and author, Sandy Stone’s lived a full enough life to fill several books. With a list of credits that includes Jimi Hendrix,...
With her eighth album, Songwrights Apothecary Lab, vocalist, bassist, and fearless explorer Esperanza Spalding blends input from various disciplines and asks the question, “What do we need a...
With over four decades of experience, Lenise Bent has worked in almost every field of audio engineering, from studio recordings, to post-production, to film sound and foley. Lenise chats with Lisa...
Brittany "Chi" Coney and Denisia "Blu June" Andrews have been working together as the songwriting and producing duo NOVA WAV for over a decade. Based in Los Angeles, the Grammy-winning pair has...
Sarah Tudzin loves solving sonic puzzles, in a quest to bring unexpected depth to her clients’ albums as well as her own. With Illuminati Hotties, Tudzin’s main songwriting outlet in which...
In Northern Ireland, in a certain region of the countryside, you can find Analogue Catalogue Recording Studios. This residential studio is run by Julie McLarnon, an engineer/producer with a...
Linda Perry had her first hit with “What’s Up?” in 1993, as lead singer and songwriter for 4 Non Blondes. Since then, she’s worked as a producer and songwriter for numerous...
Who is Sadie Dupuis? A writer, singer, and guitar player in the band Speedy Ortiz. Producer, writer, and collaborator behind Sad13. Label owner of Wax Nine Records. A writer, with a book of poetry...
A drummer turned mastering engineer, Piper Payne is a Bay Area audio professional who I’ve long admired. She has worked with the likes of The Go-Go’s, Shannon & the Clams, Third Eye...
At 29, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sarah Jarosz has already had a lifetime's worth of musical accomplishments. Signing her first deal at 16 with Sugar Hill Records, she has since released...
Anne Gauthier is a producer, engineer, and drummer who cut her teeth in the Montreal punk scene, touring with bands like TR/ST and The Frenetics. In 2015 she relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, and...
Brian Silak and I had the honor of visiting engineer/studio owner Denise Barbarita and her husband, drummer/music educator Rich Kulsar – both recent Grammy winners – at their Long Island...
What do Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, Liturgy, !!!, The Mars Volta, Deerhunter, Explosions in the Sky, serpentwithfeet, and Ryuichi Sakamoto all have in common? Mastering and mixing engineer...
A frequently overlooked part of hip-hop history and culture, the story of the mixtape deserves to be archived, preserved, and celebrated. Beginning with cassette-recorded board tapes of early...
I met Emily Wells years ago and we immediately hit it off, talking about gear and careers. She's released a number of albums of her unique compositions and excellent musicianship (her violin playing...
Grant Avenue Studio, based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a prestigious, fabled, and legendary studio originally built by the brothers Bob and Daniel Lanois [Tape Op #37, #127]. In 1985, musician...
Last year I had the opportunity to pay a visit to Atlantic Records, right off of Times Square in New York City, to have a conversation with their Senior Engineer, Ebonie Smith. We talked about her...
In 2019, I was asked to moderate a panel at Music Expo Miami, and luckily for us one of the panelists was Maria Elisa Ayerbe, a local recordist, producer, and mixer I had heard much about and wanted...
Erin Barra – nicknamed "Mamma Barra" by her many clients and students due to her nurturing, hands-on approach – is a woman of many hats. She is the founder of Beats By Girlz, an...
From the early days of touring with indie luminaries The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, to releasing six albums as St. Vincent and recently wrapping up production on a record for...
I have a habit of getting low key obsessed with certain artists, especially producers and engineers. For months I just can't stop listening to records they've touched. Earlier this year I had a few...
A young intern fresh out of Full Sail University gets a big break (and a nickname) from Missy Elliott, works alongside producers and engineers like Timbaland, Jimmy Douglass [Tape Op #130], Demacio...
In March of 2018 I met Holly Herndon at a hotel on the outskirts of Berlin, just two weeks before she was set to defend her Doctor of Musical Arts Music Composition dissertation from Stanford...
Since 2006 Catherine Vericolli has run her Fivethirteen Recording in Tempe, outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Along with long-time engineer Dominic Armstrong, she's kept the studio busy and growing in a...
The Miami-based songwriter, producer, and fashionista known as Suzi Analogue lives with synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes one sensory pathway (i.e., hearing) to influence another...
Julie Kathryn is I Am Snow Angel, a sobriquet under which she composes, performs, produces, engineers, and mixes her own music. She also produces many other artists, such as Grace Lachance and ESS...
As you walk into the offices of ABKCO Music & Records on New York's Fifth Avenue, you're immediately aware that you are entering the center of a rock 'n' roll universe. Winding through the middle...
Her bio states, "SassyBlack is a space aged singer, songwriter & producer," and that is a great starting point in digging into her career, one that also includes the titles of freelance writer,...
We got to sit down with Neko Case at Brooklyn, NY's The Honey Jar recording studio to discuss her career so far, as well as her production experiences while tracking and mixing her most recent...
Julien Baker is more visible than ever. After her low-budget debut, Sprained Ankle, made nearly every best-of 2015 list, the 21-year-old Baker signed with Matador Records and went home to Memphis to...
German composer and performance artist Christina Kubisch has created electronic and acoustic music for installations since the '70s. Her work focuses on finding sounds where no one expects, and her...
Irene Trudel might just be one of the most private people in public radio. A self-professed introvert, Irene has worked in public and commercial radio for over 30 years, and is now a head engineer for...
A major star in her native land, via her successful acting and music careers, Argentina’s Juana Molina should be a household name in the rest of the world. In 2000 a friend passed along a copy...
Not only is Susan Rogers a record producer, engineer, mixer, and audio electronics technician, she has a doctorate in psychology (having studied music cognition and psychoacoustics) from McGill...
I remember the first time I heard Lush. Their sound was dreamy, frenetic, layered, and sounded unlike anything I had ever heard before. They were different, but had a strong pop sensibility. When I...
Annette Cisneros is a highly experienced engineer and studio manager. Her credits are long and her knowledge is deep. For several years she was Dave Jerden's [Tape Op #86] assistant engineer. When...
Kim Rosen built up her mastering skills and reputation at West West Side Music, before branching off in 2009 to set up her own Knack Mastering in Ringwood, NJ. Since going out on her own, she' s...
In 1985, when I was 15 years old, my best friend's older brother gave me a cassette tape that said "Throwing Muses Demo" on the label. The first time I played it I was completely blown away —...
An Australian architecture student bumps into famous producer/engineer Flood while studying in Ireland, returns home to start playing in bands, and eventually moves to London and becomes an...
Under the leadership and vision of EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs has created and built some of the finest studio equipment (and high-end home audio components) over the last two decades. Studios across...
Almost four years ago, after a 19-year run, the studio savvy group Stereolab went on hiatus. Here's a look at the co-founders, Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane as well as their thoughts on recording and...
Some time back I was given the interesting job of restoring tapes and 7-inch singles on a unique project for the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs. I enlisted the aid of Jamie Howarth and his...
It just seemed like too interesting of an interview to pass up. A new, luxurious studio in Manhattan? An engineer/producer who made her name working with the talented Alicia Keys? I had to meet Ann...
Merrill Garbus is the founder and central figure of tUnE-yArDs, an extraordinary band that I have had the honor of traveling with over the past year in support of their fantastic album w h o k i l...
I've always been a big fan of Gillian Welch's albums. She and her musical partner, Dave Rawlings, made two records (Revival and Hell Among the Yearlings) for Almo Sounds with producer T Bone Burnett...
Years ago I met a young woman who was assisting at several studios and working with music people around New York City. She hooked Tape Op up with an interesting interview with stomp box designer John...
The Rock 'n' Roll Camp For Girls of Portland, Oregon was founded in 2001 with the intent of bringing girls and young women together to learn more about music and encourage creativity. Girls aged 8 to...
The audio business is deeply personal for me, as it is for many of us. When I first met Leslie Ann Jones in 1991, I was thrilled to finally meet a female engineer. To see a woman in the boys'...
Going into the studio as an artist, there's nothing I look for more than magic. When producing someone else's music I get deep into the mechanics of "how", but when it's my own tune, voice and guitar,...
I met with Christina Files on a crisp sunny afternoon at Peninsula Park in Northeast Portland. We discussed her past and present experiences as a live sound engineer, studio engineer and musician....
Located near Mount Shasta in Northern California is a thriving complex known as RadioStar Studios. In four different rooms people are making music — mixing, tracking and overdubbing constantly....
I first met Gina Fant-Saez at an AES show where she was showing her new Internet-based start-up company called eSession.com. eSession has been in development since winter of 2004 and went into...
Sally Browder is a producer/engineer working in Los Angeles. The path to her career was an odd one, paved with lots of luck along the way, but the results are impressive. Initially working with...
Juliana Hatfield is an independent songwriter, musician, writer and artist who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She has recorded well over a dozen albums, first with the Blake Babies and later as a...
Singer Susana Baca first came into listeners' consciousness in 1995, when she appeared on the album The Sound of Black Peru. This Afro-Peruvian anthology had come about after Luaka Bop Records...
I first worked with Leanne Ungar in 1992, when I was an assistant engineer at The Complex in West Los Angeles. The record was Leonard Cohen's The Future. Leanne has been engineering records for...
Meg Lee Chin has been recording since her college days in San Francisco, when she recorded Faith No More's first ever recording on her 4-track, and the vocalist was one Ms Courtney Love! An...
Wendy Schneider started Coney Island Studio in Madison, Wisconsin, over two years ago, after doing audio/visual post production, doing live sound, interning at the local famous studio (Smart) and...
Throughout her career, Ani Difranco has put out albums at an amazing rate, averaging about one release every nine months. Her fourteen albums have all been self-produced, and released on her own...
Hillary first came to Tape Op's attention when she e-mailed us, from New York, with some hot "snapple-micing" tips (see the letters in issue #3). I was impressed with her rockin'...
