Malian guitarist Mdou Moctar's new release, Funeral for Justice, is a wild ride. From the almost Iron Maiden-sounding moments of the title track "Funeral for Justice", to the frentic energy of "Sousoume Tamacheq", to the ethereal and more traditional sounding tracks "Takoba" and "Imajighen", the album pushes the Toureg blues/rock genre into new territory, both sonically and musically. Funeral for Justice was produced by Mikey Coltun, who also plays bass in the band, and the album was mastered by Heba Kadry.
It's always a good day when I discover that there is new music from Panda Bear. It hits all the marks for me; nods to the classics, modern concepts, sounds and presentations, and exceptional vocals and vocal harmonies.
Panda Bear's (aka Noah...
Interviews, Stories, and the Truth
by Larry Crane
In Tape Op issue #53 I interviewed Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, authors of the then-recently released book, Recording The Beatles. One of the topics we discussed was interviewing...
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...
Maybe its a party. Maybe its a dinner party. Maybe you run into people on the street. But you know the situation: You are with your significant other. And you run into another audio-type with his/her/its significant other. Instead of being...
I dropped by Powell’s City of Books last night to say hello to Daniel Levitin and hear him talk about his new book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine. I interviewed him in Tape Op #74 way back in 2009. There’s a lot of...
It is often challenging within a review period to fully explore a piece of gear and integrate it into the daily workflow. It's not that reviewers won't use the feature set and put it to task in at least a few applications, but to truly get to know...
Here's a recent email I received:
"I am interested in what you do and how you do it. I guess I am not the average person looking to get into audio engineering. I am 44 and I am an anesthesiologist looking for a second career. I am an audiophile,...