Nilüfer Yanya’s LP Painless was one of my faves of 2022 with its blend of guitar based songwriting, her unique singing voice, and forward leaning production and arrangements. I’m pretty over the Roland Jazz Chorus guitar tones, but...
Bass player Herbie Flowers had a front row seat for some of the most iconic recordings of the late sixties and seventies. He played on a staggering number of classic albums from artists such as David Bowie, Elton John, George Harrison, Harry...
I dropped by Powell’s City of Books last night to say hello to Daniel Levitin and hear him talk about his new book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine. I interviewed him in Tape Op #74 way back in 2009. There’s a lot of...
The husband and wife partnership of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker will forever be remembered for their work in the band Low. Their remarkable vocal harmonies always told a story of a long and storied relationship that went far beyond the music and...
It's no secret that we are serious Pink Floyd fans here at Tape Op. We have interviewed Floyd drummer Nick Mason, producer/engineers John Wood, Bob Ezrin, Alan Parsons, John Leckie, Youth, and Joe Boyd, and, of course, the band's...
Bay Area native Scott Hansen, a.k.a. Tycho (Tape Op #123), has just released his sixth album, Infinite Health on Mom+Pop Records/Ninja Tune. Fans familiar with Tycho will hear Infinite Health as a logical progression in a sequence of...
Woodland is the name of Gillian Welch and David Rawling’s studio in Nashville, and it’s also the name of their new album. On Woodland, the duo continue to show their deep connection as collaborators. The album has a wide open sound that...
August 17th marked the release of a new Joe Meek restrospective. The full album's title is Joe Meek: From Taboo to Telstar 1962: A Year In The Life of 304 Holloway Road (Joe Meek's Tea Chest Tapes). This is not necessarily "new" music from...
Bassist, singer, and songwriter, esperanza spalding, (Tape Op #147) has just released new music, a collaboration with Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento. Milton + esperanza is a delightful listen that has foundational roots in Brazilian...
Across more than 100 tracks, MEMPHIS captures Elvis from the earliest stages of his career at Sun Records/Memphis Recording Service to his final recordings in Graceland’s Jungle Room, with stops at other iconic studios such as American and...
An Osees album with no guitars??? Yes, you heard that right, but fans of the band need not worry! SORCS 80 has all of the experimental punk rock attitude and delivery the band is known for, only on this album it's framed by heavy synths, bass,...
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Here’s a fun and upbeat track from an unlikely collaboration between John Legend and Sufjan Stevens. Check out the first single “L-O-V-E” that features Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen and their children along with Sufjan...
