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...
Mike Viola is a musical powerhouse, in every sense. His fearless approach to songcraft and record making is uncanny. He also has the ability to deliver them with an impressive vocal performance. Mike has worked as a producer, engineer, songwriter, composer, performer, and A&R for...
Terry Manning [Tape Op#58] had already changed my life before I ever met him. Like many of us in the recording and record-making community, his work with Big Star, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s, along with countless others, had shaped my listening ahead of my even...
Jules De Martino and Katie White are The Ting Tings. Their debut record, We Started Nothing, featured the hit song, “That's Not My Name,” one you may have heard in Apple iPod ads and many films over the last several decades. Home is their fifth and newest album, produced, recorded...
I'm not even sure of when or how we met, but I've known film composer and musician/producer Michael Andrews quite a while. We co-interviewed John Stephens, the brains behind the Stephens Electronics tape decks, in Tape Op#54 nearly 20 years ago, and have kept in touch since...
Being in motion while at rest is a good way to describe Detroit’s Zach Saginaw, better known as Shigeto. The self-avowed “jazz school dropout” possesses a critically vetted track record, delivering meticulous records where jazz, hip-hop, and IDM elements blossom from casual bedroom...
Originally from Mexico City, Felipe Castañeda is the senior house engineer at Sonic Ranch [Tape Op#94]. Felipe is currently working with two critically acclaimed indie artists at Sonic Ranch studios – Blackwater Holylight, Rachel Eckroth, Portugal. The Man, Strawberry Guy, and a...
He might be one of the best producers and artists out there, but it’d be hard to tell from Charlie Peacock’s humble demeanor when you get to talk with him. His recent book, Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music, is an engaging read, chronicling a life growing up in Northern California’s...
After studying Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music, Vanessa Parr headed to L.A. and promptly jumped into studio work. After almost 13 years at The Village as an assistant and engineer, she's now freelancing and teaching. Her experience is wide, having...
Paul Malinowski is a cornerstone of the Kansas City, Missouri rock scene. His production beginnings from the 1990s and 2000s, plus his presence in the close-knit late-'80s scene, helped spawn the now-iconic KC sound. Paul is an engineer, producer, and musician who was a founding...
I met Chris Tabron in New York at the AES Convention in 2019. We stayed in touch over social media, and I started to realize this was a compelling music maker whose discography was as all over the place as my own. When I asked Larry and John at Tape Op if they’d be up for an interview...
Bob Blank built his own Blank Tape Studio in downtown New York City in the mid-‘70s out of spare parts and eventually grew the operation into a multiroom facility. Blank Tape recorded everything, from gold and platinum selling disco records to the Talking Heads, Television, The B-52s...
