Ian Brennan interviewed Tunde Adebimpe for Tape Op #155, and he has just released Thee Black Boltz, a beautifully conceived album full of interesting sonics and great songs. Many will recognize Tunde as the lead singer of TV On The Radio, the...
Listening to SABLE, fABLE, the new release from Bon Iver, it dawned on me that he and co-producer Jim-E Stack, have created a collection of songs that are deeply rooted in two american songwriting traditions without sounding like a traditional...
We interviewed David Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors back in 2013 for Tape Op issue #93. His new release, Songs of the Earth, is a return to a sound and vibe reminiscent of 2010's Mount Wittenberg Orca, a collaboration with...
Members of Tortoise have graced the pages of Tape Op for years. We interviewed John McEntire in 2001 for issue #23, and more recently we covered Jeff Parker's ETA IVtet album Way Out Of Easy. Although it is just one song, I was excited to see...
We interviewed producer and guitarist Blake Mills in Tape Op #115 and for our podcast in 2019. He’s produced newly-released records for both Lucy Dacus – Forever is a Feeling – and Perfume Genius...
Brian Bovinizer is the Marketing and Sales Director at Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon. Being a Tape Op reader, some 11 years ago he spotted Tape Op’s founder/editor Larry Crane enjoying a few pints at the brewery’s Lovell Tap...
Released in 2024, Mdou Moctar's Funeral for Justice is a raucous, distorted guitar-driven album that, along with bands such as Tinariwen, turns the idea of "world music" on its head. The heavy tones of Moctar's guitar plus driving and trancey...
It's always a good day when I discover that there is new music from Panda Bear. It hits all the marks for me; nods to the classics, modern concepts, sounds and presentations, and exceptional vocals and vocal harmonies. Panda Bear's (aka Noah...
We had Rafiq Bhatia as a guest on our DISCussion podcast in June of 2023. His new release, a collaboration with pianist Chris Pattishall, Each Dream, A Melting Door, is a mind-melting work that pushes the boundaries of "jazz". It takes me back...
Bon Iver has released a single and video from the upcoming album, SABLE, fABLE, “Everything is Peaceful Love.” The video was directed by John Wilson who hosts How To With John Wilson on HBO. The track and video are a nice upbeat way to...
The Weeknd has a special knack for making catchy and accessible pop music that is also sonically interesting, dark, and melancholy. It's hard to believe that his first release, Beauty Behind the Madness, was released almost a decade ago, but if...
With hindsight, you could look at Wilco’s A Ghost is Born as a transitional album. Much has been written about their previous LP, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and a documentary film, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, chronicles how during the making...
Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, has just released his 27th album, The Purple Bird. Fans will find the album sits in a familiar country/Americana groove, but The Purple Bird seems to have a touch more fit, finish, and...
