We interviewed John Cale in issue #156 around the time of his previous release, Mercy. He has just released POPtical Illusion, a collection of synth and keyboard heavy tunes that carry a heavy, and at times angry message about the state of the world. That is not to say that that Cale has lost all hope and there is optimism that we can still bring about change. POPtical Illusion was produced by Cale along with longtime artistic collaborator Nita Scott.
I was fortunate enough to get an Apogee Duet 2 recently. This device hooks up to your computer's USB port (and is powered from there) and allows you to monitor audio. I'm not gonna go into all the details, see our review of the original Duet. At...
Hey, have a listen to the panel we did at SXSW.
Jesse Lauter is an American producer/mixer/engineer. He has worked with The Low Anthem, James Blood Ulmer, Ingrid Michaelson, Elvis Perkins, Marco Benevento, Smokey Hormel, Alela Diane, Diamond...
Arooj Aftab's Night Reign
Arooj Aftab is a four time Grammy-nominated artist we featured in Tape Op issue #157. With Pakistani roots, she sings in Urdu and English, and became one of my favorite vocalists the moment I saw her performing on a live...
We interviewed Mike Campbell for issue #150, right around the time he and his band, The Dirty Knobs released their second LP, External Combustion. A year on, the band has released a new collection of music, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. The Dirty...
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...
My pals have finally lost their minds. Apparently they wore blue ribbons to the Grammy Awards last week in protest of the use of Auto-Tune, and specifically mentioned Kanye West's new album, 808s & Heartbreak. Okay guys, I'm thinking of asking for a...
Ina previous blog post, we saw the beginnings of this project. Damian Wagner was in issue 64 - here's a crazy project where he's amplifying the sound of the earth! "After destroying 3 subwoofers and having to completely redesign the
playback engine I...
Thom and John had a great time at Loop 2018, so we wanted to let everybody know that Loop 2020 is open for registration now. This event always sells out way in advance, so don’t...