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.
After reading Larry's "Eliminate Variables" End Rant from last issue, I was compelled to write a response. Don't get me wrong, I agree completely with everything he said; so before you read any further, revisit the back page of issue #92.
I...
During this year's SXSW music festival someone asked me how many times I'd been to Austin, Texas, for this event. I had no idea. Eight? Ten? Since the mid-'90s I've certainly attended many times, most as a panelist, but always as a music fan. And...
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...
After 20 years at the Davis Square location (and a previous 15 years on Albany Street), Boston’s Q Division Studios had to close its doors in July of 2021. Through the years, Q Division was host to a diverse group of artists, including Aimee...
by John Baccigaluppi
It may not be obvious, but as this magazine’s graphic designer, the recently passed Vaughan Oliver was a major influence on the look of Tape Op Magazine. Being someone who’s not involved with social media, and as...
I recently have been digging through the Tape Op archives looking for writing, reviews and stuff we can post online. And I just found this snippet of hilariousness from Issue #7 in the Fall of 1997. Oh man, maybe I shouldn't post this... all...
Last week Cycling 74 released the tremendous version 6 update to Max/MSP, their flagship multimedia programming platform, which provides an appealingly artistic interface into audio, MIDI, and video focused logic at a nonetheless ...
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...