We interviewed Gina Birch for Tape Op #154 around the time of her 2023 release, I Play My Bass Loud. Her new album, Trouble, again produced by Youth, [Tape Op #154], is a joyful listen full of electronic grooves mixed, acoustic elements, dubby mix treatments, and wild vocals. Trouble is an interesting listen, filled with the sonic and musical references of two experienced, life-long music makers. Although this album sounds very little like Birch's band The Raincoats, there are still plenty of hints that she is a product of the London's late '70s and early '80s DIY and punk music scene. Like Youth has proven through his project with Paul McCartney, The Fireman, collaborations are one of his strong suits. The worlds he creates for his partners to exist within are rich and multi-dimensional, but always full of his musical persona and unique sonic imprint.
Trouble was mixed and engineered by Michael Rendall.
A new book about The Raincoats, Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats, by Audrey Golden, will be released July 15th, and there is a reading for it at Powell's Books in Portland on Friday July 18th. You may even catch a glimpse of Larry Crane there!
Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.
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