Nov/Dec 1998

Welcome to issue #11 of Tape Op.

 

If you're a long time reader you may notice a difference; more pages, ads for gear, and a new look. This is because we have a new publishing deal with my friends at Substance Media Works. They've agreed to take on the design, ad sales, printing and distribution of Tape Op and I'll retain the editor's role. This is a good thing since the business end of the magazine has become a bit overwhelming, and this will allow us to print more pages and more copies. This means we'll reach lots more people and allows us to offer Tape Op free to qualified readers like you! Adam Selzer, who helped dig us out of the overload, remains a fixture at the Portland office, filling back orders, picking up the mail and checking out new CDs. There's also a lot of new writers; some of them avid readers and some former interviewees. We thank them all.

There's many projects still in the works here at Tape Op World Headquarters. The proposed collection of back issues into a big magazine compendium will now include issues 1 through 10 and we'll be trying to get that together soon. Until then, only 8 through 10 are available as back issues. We're also collecting the final tracks for a Tape Op compilation CD. This will be out soon, available separately from the magazine via mail order or from your favorite local record store. There is a great variety of artists and recording mediums on this album, from Bill Fox's 4 track cassette work to Robert Poss' Akai 16 track digital recording. The cool thing is that a lot of these songs were recorded at home or at private studios and they all sound great! Look for it soon. Anyway, enjoy Tape Op, and I hope everyone learns something new and starts tracking!

Larry Crane, Editor

P.S. If this is your first issue of Tape Op; Hi and welcome aboard!

— Larry Crane, editor

In This Issue See more →

Neutral Milk Hotel

by Larry Crane, Leigh Marble

Neutral Milk Hotel began in the early 90's as a 4 track cassette project by Jeff Mangum. Since then, he's released a couple of albums on Merge records (On Avery Island, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea)...

Scott Colburn

by Curtis Settino

In just a few short years, Scott Colburn's Gravelvoice Productions has been involved with a wonderfully diverse collection of artists and recordings. His Seattle, Washington studio offers an analog...

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Columns See more →

End Rant

JUST LISTEN!

by Larry Crane

Tape Op gets a lot of CD's in the mail. Some are great, and we play them to death, but many just plain stink. Why? Maybe nobody is listening. The recording process is great. You can create amazing...

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Music Reviews See more →

Music Reviews

Secret Luminaries CD

by The No-No’s | reviewed by Larry Crane

There's several ways to run a commercial studio. You can be outspoken, you can be highly visible on the local "scene" or you can quietly stay in and do some great work. In Portland, I sometimes feel...

Music Reviews

In New Zealand CD

by Barbara Manning | reviewed by Larry Crane

The first thing I noticed about this CD is that it is short. Less than 32 minutes, and that made me wonder. Would I know if it was on vinyl? Between flipping the sides and not having a digital counter...

Music Reviews

More You Becomes You CD

by Plush | reviewed by Larry Crane

Plush is Liam Hayes, a keyboardist, song- writer, singer and Mellotron fanatic. Unlike his highly orchestrated singles, we get no Mellotron on this outing - just Hayes mostly singing and playing...

Music Reviews

I Hear a New World CD

by Joe Meek and the Blue Men | reviewed by Larry Crane

Joe Meek. The name haunts anyone who researches record production of the 60's. His secretive and forward-looking production techniques presaged what many others developed later on. I mean some of this...

Music Reviews

Hooray for Tuesday CD

by The Minders | reviewed by Larry Crane

Ever since the Apples (In Stereo) made their self-recorded splash on the indie music scene, a lot has been said in praise of Robert Schneider and his Pet Sounds Recording Studio and we here at Tape Op...

Music Reviews

Beep, Kiss CD EP

by Holland | reviewed by Larry Crane

It took me some time to figure this out, but Holland is our pal, Trevor, formerly the Sea Saw/Magnetophone guy. Holland is in a similar vein - Kraftwerkian drum sounds, lush analog synths and sad,...

Music Reviews

Ini-dependence LP

by A Minor Forest | reviewed by Dewey Mahood

AMF's new one follows in the soft/loud direction of their first record, but manages to keep the some- times generic formula sounding fresh-inspired even. They push everything to the extreme; the low-...

Music Reviews

New Eyes on the Universe CD

by David Tollefson | reviewed by Larry Crane

I'm a big fan of Brian Eno. Not of everything he writes, records and produces, but of the way I perceive that he thinks about music and recording. Systems approaches, how a system (a complex effects...

Music Reviews

December 96 CD

by Rod Poole | reviewed by Dewey Mahood

Poole improvises on a Martin acoustic guitar using an alternate tuning of his own invention. He is concerned with the perfect fourth, the neutral third, and the micro uneven intervals between. This...

Music Reviews

Train Songs CD

by Two Dollar Guitar | reviewed by Dewey Mahood

According to the disc technical notes, this music was "captured by veteran field engineer Gene Holder [ex dB's], in a studio/bohemian flophouse called the Jolly Roger". Sound is on the lo-fi side of...

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