I just finished reading your article, "My Unwritten (Until Now) "Rules" in the studio," Tape Op #85. Let me offer up a few words of wisdom on your well-written points. - Don't play music by other artists: In 1978 I was working with a...
by Alex Maiolo The term “linchpin” tends to get chucked around pretty liberally when we discuss music scenes, but Ed Ackerson, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer on October 4th, was the very embodiment of it. Ed was one of those...
On May 31st, 2022 we lost synthesis pioneer Dave Smith. Tape Op contributor Alex Maiolo wrote this lovey tribute to remember him by.-GS Don Buchla, Robert Moog, Tom Oberheim, Delia Derbyshire, Peter Zinovieff, Roger Linn, Hiroaki Nishijima,...
I’ve been a fan of the band Nada Surf for several decades now. They’re one of the few bands from the 1990s that have continued to make catchy, smart, guitar-based pop music that also managed to stay relevant, releasing records in 2024...
Listen One of my favorite records of 2024 to date is Phosphorescent’s Revelator. It’s a beautifully recorded album, featuring Matthew Houck's timeless songwriting and lyrics plus gorgeous arrangements. I was hooked the first...
My pal David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven) has been doing a cool blog called 300 Songs, telling stories of how songs came about and other crazy stories. The most recent one is about the late Don Smith, who produced and engineered a bunch of...
***This is a guest "re-post" from the SoundGirls website (courtesy of SoundGirls and Ainjel Emme)*** THE DOUBLE GLAZED GLASS CEILING: Women and the Grammy for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical" by Ainjel Emme (originally...
As we close the page on 2010 and its miserable economy, there was one bright spot for music lovers: VINYL. That's right, vinyl. That analog medium that just won't die. According to Rolling Stone* vinyl sales were up in 2010....
Video Release: James Supercave "Burn" What follows may be one of the best answers to the "So, how'd you guys meet?" question we have ever heard. Producer, engineer, and oft-recorded bassist (Black Keys, Ryan Adams, Norah Jones) Gus Seyffert was...
