ISSUE ARCHIVE
NO. 171 | Nov 2025
NO. 170 | Sep 2025
NO. 169 | Sep 2025
NO. 168 | Jul 2025
NO. 167 | May 2025
NO. 166 | Mar 2025
NO. 165 | Jan 2025
NO. 164 | Nov 2024
Jan/Feb 2016
There's a subtle, interesting thought that pops up several times in this issue. Dave Pensado mentions, "I hate it when I hear somebody trying to be clever." Andrija Tokic notes that his "least favorite thing is when you listen to a record and it sounds very 'engineered in the studio.' I love stuff that transcends where it came from." Recording music might be the biggest magic act around, where we find ourselves setting up artificial environments to create recordings that try to sound natural. What is the conundrum of using electronic samples in order to make a recorded drum kit have more impact and grab a listener's attention? We sneak in all sorts of tricks and techniques trying to make a recording seem organic, real, and inviting; but the language of music recording — and what an audience expects — is a constantly evolving dialect. And sometimes clever studio trickery makes record buyers sit up and take notice. You never know...
— LARRY CRANE,EDITOR & FOUNDER
Partway through my chat with world-renowned mix engineer Dave Pensado he said,"Be careful that you don't confuse advice with opinion." Hanging with Dave you realize he is a veritable fountain of advic...
Ariel Rechtshaid is busy. Last year alone he released productions with Charli XCX, Tobias Jesso Jr., Brandon Flowers, Little Boots, Carly Rae Jepsen, Adele, Lower Dens, and some pop singer named Madon...
Dropping in at Andrija Tokic's Bomb Shelter Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, one might be forgiven for assuming they fell through a time warp. Wood and stone walls harken back to another time, and vint...
I caught Leo Abrahams at his London home after a soundtrack session at Abbey Road and before heading over to play guitar on a recording with Jarvis Cocker of Pulp. It's all in a day's work for this pr...
Way the heck back, in issue #19 ofTape Op, we interviewed Chris Walla, then an integral part of the up-and-coming Death Cab For Cutie. Now Chris is off on his own, and his first music expedition (and...
Doomtree is a hip-hop collective base in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The seven-member band and record label is known for its homegrown DIY ethos, wide range of musical influences, and lyrical complexity a...