Kevin Morby: on Sam Cohen

BY JACOB PAUL NIELSEN, JOHNNY EASTLUND

Sam Cohen: Comfortable in All the Roles

BY D. GOODWIN, JACOB PAUL NIELSEN, D. JAMES GOODWIN

For Sam Cohen, what started as a means to an end as a teenager in a band has blossomed into a long, fertile career in record production. Sam and I spoke about his recent works with Curtis Harding, his brand-new studio, and his new record, Slow Fawn. One of Sam's key collaborators, Kevin Morby, also talked about working with Sam on Kevin's new record, This is a Photograph.

Shahzad Ismaily: Filling in the Rest of the Puzzle

BY JONATHAN FORSYTHE, LARRY CRANE

I first heard about Shahzad Ismaily when our pal and Tape Op contributor, Eli Crews [Tape Op #88] told me he was moving to New York to help his friend Shahzad open a studio. Soon, I realized we'd worked with some of the same musicians, such as Jolie Holland, Carla Kihlstedt, and Indigo Street. Years later, Portland-based songwriter Laura Veirs booked some time at my studio, Jackpot! Recording, and had Shahzad fly out to co-produce her recent album, Found Light. It was an honor to be invited to drop by, get to hear some of her songs in progress, and to chat with them both. Shahzad owns Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn, New York, and has an impeccable history as a session musician (Yoko Ono, Marc Ribot, Bonnie "Prince" Billy) and as a producer (Cass McCombs, Xiu Xiu [#77], Sam Amidon, Jolie Holland). He's always quite thoughtful, so I knew interviewing him would be something unique.

Themes: Converting a City to Music: An Interview with Alex Maiolo About Themes for Great Cities

BY TOM MAXWELL

In 1955, Louis Hardin (better known as Moondog) released a 7" single of field recordings called On the Streets of New York. In it, we hear the street musician performing on –– and almost duetting with –– the bustle of 51st street, the murmuring traffic of West 46th street, and a fog horn on the Hudson. Writer, recordist, historian, and musician Alex Maiolo devised a similar, though more technologically complex concept, which would involve collaborating with Danish musician Jonas Bjerre (Mew, issue #108), Estonian composer and musician Erki Pärnoja, and musical all-rounder Jonas Kaarnamets. Themes for Great Cities was then performed in Tallinn, Estonia, in September of 2021, for the opening of Tallinn Music Week. Tape Op recently interviewed Alex on the premier performance's one year anniversary, in advance of the vinyl release.