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.
Reader Mike Petkau dropped a line about the cool site and collaboration he started:
"I wanted to point you to a project I've currently wrapped up. For 16 weeks, every Wednesday, I've brought 3 very different musicians from different backgrounds to...
Joe McGinty has Carousel Studio in New York. Here his pal Amy Hobby gathered 20 young ladies to knock out a great version of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" on film featuring Joe's INSAME collection of vintage keyboards. This film is the best...
For his new release, Honey, Caribou's Dan Snaith (Tape Op #35, #105) wears his Detroit techno influences on his sleeve, and uses AI to explore and reimagine vocals as well as manipulate his voice, to create an album of dance tracks that...
With news of Neil Young pushing to get studio quality audio out to the consumer, it occurred to me that it would be good to get some perspective on how we go about comparing audio quality. One of the most problematic issues surrounding audio...
I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that we have finally published Phill Brown's book. In issue #12 Larry Crane and Chris Eckman interviewed Phill Brown, a producer/engineer with credits like Mott the Hoople, David Bowie, Sly Stone, Led...
A band I work with is two weeks away from their release date. They've worked tirelessly to prepare for this release, hired an excellent publicist, shot videos, toured....they've done it all right and without fatigue. That record is the most...
Many of us appreciate the need for acoustic treatments, but few really understand some of the reasons behind it all. The problem is acoustics is a discipline of physics, and physics is often enshrouded in math, complex calculations, and...
Gear is not the answer to all your problems, but you are going to need it to record! When you buy it from one of our advertiser retailers via the Tape Op website or our social media channels, Tape Op receives a small commission, which, like our...
There have been so many great releases in 2017 that it is hard to pick just a top five or ten! This is no way definitive year end wrap-up, but here are a few of this year's Tape Op staff favorites. Happy listening!
Larry Crane
Roger Waters-...