I’m still shocked at the passing of Martin Phillips of The Chills. He made a number of songs and albums that truly inspired me and many others. Please check out the interview I did with him in 1997, and listen to his song “Pink Frost” if you’ve never heard his music. You’ll find the beauty and sadness of this song quite fitting. It’s one of many great songs from a great writer. -Larry Crane
Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.
Here's a clip of a rare Rolling Stone interview with the Lizard King talking about making records around 2 1/2 minutes in.
“I could never produce ... because I don’t have the patience for it. I think that’s the main thing. Who's...
A Guided Tour of High Vis’ Guided Tour at Holy Mountain Studios.
By Sam Retzer
Engineer Stanley Gravett is retreating down the stairs to Holy Mountain Studio after being ‘bullied’ upstairs at the Crypt of the Wizard record...
Producer, mixer and engineer Eric Valentine has a video series out that digs into making records. This video takes a look at his approach to mixing drums. Enjoy!
Craft Recordings has just released a select compilation of Miles Davis' recordings from 1954 for the Prestige label. I just got the Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings vinyl release, and it is a beautiful box set package with four discs, a...
Some Maybe Not-So-Obvious Items Every Studio Needs
In the past we've run a few columns about items every studio should have, like Sharpie pens and masking tape, but here I decided to look around me and think about all the items that aren't...
Photo: Larry Crane
The recent passing of Ed Cherney sent me to my archives. I'd interviewed Ed many years ago and he asked me not to run it. We went back and forth about it, and I never understood why he didn't want this interview in Tape Op....
My friend, sts is the Program Director and an instructor at The Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls. They’re currently building up their recording program, Rock Camp Studio and the "Recording Engineer Track" studies and are looking for...
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...
I'm in the middle of cataloging 1.5 TB of audio files. This is the work I do for the Estate of Elliott Smith. Two computers keep Pro Tools on the top one and FileMaker Pro and Excel for track sheets on the bottom one. Otherwise the MacBook Pro...