Welcome to issue #174 of Tape Op.

This issue features producers, engineers, and artists with seemingly very different approaches and paths. But, as I was editing everything, I began to notice commonalities: Keeping ideas flowing, capturing creativity when it strikes, and making the artist feel comfortable, yet challenged and focused. These are all relatively easy goals to bring up, but what practical steps actually make them happen and lead to the best music?

Cate Le Bon had Devendra Banhart and Dry Cleaning go "residential" to stay focused on the music and be present. Kenny Blume settled into a way of co-producing an album with Nigel Godrich that included a lot of back-and-forth collaboration that potentially changed the way they both work. Steph Marziano hunkered down as an engineer for years. But she eventually became known as a songwriter and producer where she could step in and offer even more of her skills. Hrishikesh Hirway picked Philip Weinrobe [Tape Op #167] to produce his new record in a completely different way than he was used to, performing live on the floor. Tod A. Maitland had to find ways to capture live music in a film, all while making his process sound seamless and look invisible. Oli Jacobs finds himself in friendships with his clients, but also "pushing the boundaries and not settling," as he told me.

As a musician, the importance of collaborating with the right people goes straight back to why I started Tape Op in 1996. Throughout the '80s and early-'90s, I would find myself hanging with many artists and bands, and we'd always come back to the discussion of, "Where will you make your next record? Who are you going to work with?" We all wanted to find sympathetic engineers and producers. When we found people to work with that understood what we were doing, allowed us to explore ideas in the studio, yet also kept our music on track, that was invaluable. I want to encourage every music-maker to understand that who we collaborate with is an important choice. And if we do it all on our own, that's a choice too. Now, read about all the ways we can do this, and then go make some music!