Tape Op Magazine - Issue #156

Interviews

John Cale

By Larry Crane and Madeline Marino

In his 80s, John Cale is still (thankfully) releasing interesting music. He is a founding member of The Velvet Underground and a pioneer in drone music, as well as a producer for legends like The Stooges, Patti Smith, The Modern Lovers, Happy Mondays, Squeeze, and Sham 69. His recently released new...

Interviews

Jason Livermore: The 30 Year Plan

By Larry Crane, Kevin Kirchner

The Blasting Room, a studio in Fort Collins, Colorado, has been in operation for 30 years. What began as a home base/practice room/band studio for the groups Descendents and All quickly became a busy recording spot, luring musicians from across the globe. Jason Livermore was there from the...

Interviews

Jon Markson: It's a Livin' Thing

By Sam Retzer, John Forrestal

If you've been keeping up with the explosion of popularity around hardcore and heavy alternative music, chances are you've heard the name Jon Markson. After a decade in the trenches as a producer and performer in Brooklyn's punk and indie scene, he has returned to his native...

Interviews

Yuka Honda: "Tripping in My Own Dream World"

By Ian Brennan

Yuka Honda has been a figure in the New York City avant-garde and indie-rock scenes for...

Interviews

Brad Cook: No Gatekeeping

By Graham Tolbert, Jacob Paul Nielsen

Brad Cook has been making and recording music since he was a kid growing up in Eau Claire,...

Interviews

Noah Lennox: Music Can Be Anything

By Geoff Stanfield, Ian Witchell

After Tape Op's online editor Geoff Stanfield interviewed both Noah Lennox and...

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Jon Regen & Matt Johnson: Crafting Albums Across the Ocean

BY JON REGEN & MATT JOHNSON

When singer, songwriter and pianist Jon Regen met famed UK synth wizard and producer Matt Johnson after a Jamiroquai gig back in 2018, he had no idea the two would soon begin a fruitful partnership that would take them both into acclaimed, uncharted waters. With Regen, a new parent based in NYC, and Johnson across the ocean in London, the duo set out on the seemingly Herculean task to make an entire album remotely in a pre-COVID world. Their first effort, Regen's 2019 release Higher Ground, received praise from outlets like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Four years and one pandemic later, the team is back with Regen's 2023 follow-up album, Satisfied Mind. A genre-busting ride through jazz, pop, electronica, and more, this new collection of songs features cameos by luminaries like Ron Carter, Rob Thomas, Pino Palladino, Dave McMurray, Larry Goldings, Tim Lefebvre, Jeremy Stacey, and others. We caught-up with the duo as each prepared for their own respective solo tours.

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Karriem Riggins: Making the Rounds

BY LARRY CRANE, KEVIN KIRCHNER

How does a skilled jazz drummer become a hip-hop producer, musical director, DJ, and film scorer? Working with Common, J Dilla, Madlib, Paul McCartney, and Diana Krall, Karriem Riggins has accomplished so much in the musical realm. Add to all this work his new software release, Native Instruments' Komplete Instrument Play Series: Karriem Riggins Drums, an interesting side project where he's offering up kits, one-shot hits, grooves, and patterns full of unique, tweakable sounds and feels. We caught up over Zoom while Karriem was in an airport lounge on his way to Atlanta, Georgia. As he told me, "I just did a lot of work in New York, and I'm making my rounds."

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Sonic Boom: Music Can Be Anything

BY LARRY CRANE, IAN WITCHELL

After Tape Op's online editor Geoff Stanfield interviewed both Noah Lennox and longtime collaborator Pete Kember [#46] for the Tape Op Podcast about their work together, and their recent album Reset, he wanted to dig a little deeper into Noah's musical beginnings and process. Geoff dropped editor Larry Crane a line, who decided wanted to then interview Pete Kember, and catch up with all that's happened in his interesting career over the last couple of decades. We last chatted with Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom, way back in Tape Op #46, about his years in Spacemen 3, his Spectrum and E.A.R. projects, and more. Since then, he's kept busy, including producing MGMT's Congratulations and Beach House's 7 albums, mixing Moon Duo, and producing and collaborating with Panda Bear on a number of projects, notably the recent Reset album.

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COLUMNS

by Larry Crane

by Andy Hong

GEAR REVIEWS