Interviews | No. 172
By Sam Retzer and John Baccigaluppi
It’s Sunday night in Manhattan at Irving Plaza, and Dan “The Automator” Nakamura takes the stage behind a mouthwatering wall of synths, across from Kid Koala [Tape Op#159] and his three turntables. Deltron 3030 is back to rock the same stage where they made their New York debut 25 years...
In Tacoma, Washington, a town full of rich musical history – including The Sonics, The Ventures, and The Wailers – exists a museum-like recording studio you've probably never heard of. However, unlike a museum, the artifacts of Uptone Recorders are preserved, maintained, and...
From session bassist, to songwriter, to producer, Mike Elizondo has had an interesting musical path. For 11 years he co-wrote with Dr. Dre, making hits for 50 Cent, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. His production career has encompassed Fiona Apple, Avenged Sevenfold, Switchfoot, twenty øne...
In Northern Ireland, in a certain region of the countryside, you can find Analogue Catalogue Recording Studios. This residential studio is run by Julie McLarnon, an engineer/producer with a fascinating history and a passion for analog(ue) recording. Her records for The Vaselines...
Not that long ago, the opportunities for making professional recordings were only made possible by around a dozen studio owners in each major city and far less in secondary markets, and if you were in a small town, generally you could forget about it. Record labels and a few...
In Tape Op#55 we had a wonderful chat with John Cuniberti, where we discussed everything from his ReAmp product to recording the Dead Kennedys and Joe Satriani. In this interview we asked him about his OneMic series, where, for several years, he's recorded artists performing two...
Hailing from Edmonton, Canadian electronic pop duo Purity Ring made a splash with their debut album Shrines. The release was a document of Corin Roddick and singer Megan James' long distance collaboration, as well as Corin's electronic music experimentation and exploration....
Paramore drummer Zac Farro was playing on the world's stages at an age when most of us were trying to figure out what middle school was all about. Now, at the ripe old age of 30, he has toured the world, paused his music career, taught himself photography and music video making...
Linda Perry had her first hit with "What's Up?" in 1993, as lead singer and songwriter for 4 Non Blondes. Since then, she's worked as a producer and songwriter for numerous artists, helping shape the sounds of P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Adele, and Dolly...
Ah, vintage recording equipment. Where did this world come from? In the late-'60s and into the '70s, cheaper electronics and manufacturing filled the market of pro audio. As the '70s rolled along, people like Dan Alexander and Allen Sides [Tape Op#106] sought out the best...
Engineer and mixer Geoff Swan has gone from university student, to studio owner, to producer Mike "Spike" Stent's assistant, back to studio owner, and is now a go-to engineer and mixer for some of today's most exciting artists and producers. He has had a hand in the...
In the alternate reality where everyone still reads recording credits off of their album sleeves as the record spins, we would see the name Leon Michels on many of them. Having worked with household names such as Lana Del Rey, Dr. John, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, The Wu-Tang Clan, and Adele, as...
