Clarke Rigsby: A Varied Career
by Larry Crane
A longtime staple of the Phoenix recording scene, Clarke Rigsby runs Tempest Recording out of a modest-looking but impressively outfitted space behind his home in Tempe, Arizona. He’s worked...
articles
Interviews, tutorials, etc. All about the art of music recording.
Xenia Rubinos: Regaining Spirit
by Geoff Stanfield
Xenia Rubinos could just as easily be on a bill with Flying Lotus and The Boredoms as she could with Erykah Badu and Esperanza Spalding [Tape Op #147]. Her unique genre-mixing of soul, punk, jazz,...
The Boxmasters are…: Billy Bob Thornton & J.D. Andrew
by Larry Crane
You might be most familiar with him as an actor, but Billy Bob Thornton has been playing drums, singing, and writing songs since he was a teen, long before he stepped in front of a camera. His early...
Gaelynn Lea Tressler
by Ian Brennan
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...
Jesse Ray Ernster & Bob Clearmountain on Mixing: “We’re in!”
by John Baccigaluppi
Bob Clearmountain is no stranger to the pages of Tape Op, as we’ve chatted with him in issues #84 and #129. But when Marlene Passaro at Apogee Digital asked us if we’d be interested in a...
Niko Bolas: No Right or Wrong
by Nicolay Ketterer, Roman Sokal
Niko Bolas is a class act. For over 40 years he has operated as an engineer, mixer, and producer. One look at his extensive discography immediately evidences the fact that he is beyond skilled and...
Suzy Shinn: Soaking Up the Sun
by Sadie Dupuis
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...
Lyle Lovett
by Larry Crane
During the early pandemic lockdowns my wife, Jenna Zine, and I searched out interesting online streaming performances as a way to keep connected to the experience of going out to see live...
Jacob Collier: It's Proper Special
by Andy Hong
I first heard of Jacob Collier when I watched his arrangement and multitracked solo performance of Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" on YouTube almost a decade ago. Jacob's creativity...
Craig Leon: Repeated Listening
by Ian Brennan
Craig Leon produced a host of who’s who New York band debuts in the mid-1970s, including Blondie, Richard Hell the Voidoids, and Suicide. He went onto work with many stalwart artists such as Guy...
Will Yip: Sheer Will Power
by Sam Retzer
Will Yip’s rise to fame is the stuff of legend. After digging for production credits on locally-produced hip-hop by Schoolly D and Fugees, he discovered that Studio 4’s Phil and Joe...
Shahzad Ismaily: Filling in the Rest of the Puzzle
by Larry Crane
I first heard about Shahzad Ismaily when our pal and Tape Op contributor, Eli Crews [Tape Op #88] told me he was moving to New York to help his friend Shahzad open a studio. Soon, I realized...