Jonathan Mann is the "song a day guy" of Songatron. Since January 1st 2009 he's posted a song and video a day. Septemeber 28th 2011 he'll have recorded 1000 songs. Wow. In June Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes of The Spinto Band joined up with Jonathan and did a month of live, interactive recording. Details are here. Sounds like it was fun, and I'm sorry that it took me until July to post about it. Gotta get my shit in line...
Check out the new single and video, "Vintage" from Moses Sumney. We’re big fans of Moses here at Tape Op, and his LP Aromanticism made both John and Geoff’s best of 2017 year end list. "Vintage" pulls the listener into its...
I often think about the relation of commerce and art. It's a convoluted one, but necessary. How could one continue to create the best art possible if they were destitute? They won't - they will be focused on survival instead. A recent...
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...
Our busy friends over at the Future of Music Coalition have released a study, “Same Old Song: An Analysis of Radio Playlists in a Post FCC-Consent Decree World”. Check it out - basically the major radio stations owners - Clear Channel,...
I’m normally not that into live albums, but Nils Frahm is not a normal musician. I saw him play live in 2018 when I interviewed him for Tape Op, and it was hard to believe that he was the only musician on stage. Blending electronic elements...
You saw it here first! In this video, we step into Adrian Quesada's (Black Pumas, Grupo Fantasma) Electric Deluxe Studio for an in depth breakdown of "Mentiras Con Cariño, the single from his latest release Boleros...
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...
Hello Friends of Tape Op! We have some fantasic gear giveaways happening right now. Who doesn't need a bundle of excellent plug-ins or a new interface? Eventide Elevate Mastering Plug-in BundleArturia Studio and Plug-Ins
Vintage King recently celebrated their 30 year anniversary. Like most things, there is a story behind what has now become a fantastic retailer of both vintage and modern recording equipment. I caught up with founder Michael Nehra on a Zoom call and...
