Podcast

Lord Huron first caught our ear with their 2012 release, Lonesome Dreams. The album's lush presentation, harmonies, and tinges of surfy guitars made it both  decidedly West Coast-sounding and, at the same time, otherworldly. Over a decade on, the band has released its fifth album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, another fully-formed concept album of sorts that, like all of Lord Huron's releases, tells a story, is beautifully produced, recorded and mixed, and is another step forward in the band's development. Geoff Stanfield caught up with founder, songwriter, guitarist, and frontman Ben Schneider to discuss the new album, their Whispering Pines recording studio, and more. Enjoy!

A handful of years ago, I was interviewed for a book about recording equipment and how we interact with it. That book, Gear: Cultures of Audio and Music Technologies [Tape Op #168], is out now via MIT Press, and I gathered up its authors, Eliot Bates & Samantha Bennett, to discuss the origins of this study, what they learned along the way, and what people's relationships to recording gear might be in the future. Enjoy!
-LC

The story of Regina Spektor is one of a truly self-made artist. In 1989, at nine years old, Spektor and her family emigrated from Moscow to the Bronx in New York. Her love and affinity for playing the piano found her studying in high school at the Manhattan School of Music, and as she continued her classical studies she was also being exposed to and fell in love with pop music, hip-hop, and punk rock. Her self-released albums 11:11 and Songs led to a growing audience and opening slots for The Strokes and Kings of Leon. She was soon signed to Sire Records, who released her third album, Soviet Kitsch. Fast forward many years, and the list of accolades and accomplishments for Regina is long. She has released eight studio albums, featured at the Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Glastonbury festivals, performed at the White House for the Obamas, wrote the theme song for the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, and has had songs appear in multiple films. 
She recently reissued her albums Begin to Hope, Far, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, Remember Us To Life, and Live in London all exclusively on vinyl.
Geoff Stanfield caught up with Regina from her home in New York to discuss her early years, her passion for the craft, and takeaways from working with producers such as Jeff Lynne [Tape Op #92] , Jacknife Lee [#149], John Congleton [#81], and Mike Elizondo [#144]. 

Enjoy!

The Connecticut-based band Goose has had what would seem a meteoric rise into the public consciousness, but the group has been building a loyal fan base the same way that artists like the Grateful Dead and Phish had before them, with nearly a decade of endless touring. Their latest release, Everything Must Go, and 2022's Dripfield were both produced and engineered by D. James Goodwin [Tape Op #138]. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Goose frontman Rick Mitarotonda and Goodwin to chat about the recording of Everything Must Go, capturing the energy of a live band experience, experimentation in the studio, and D. James Goodwin's quest to make the greatest jam band studio album of all time. Enjoy!

Singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins, collectively comprise the powerhouse trio I'm With Her. Their 2018 album, See You Around, garnered them Grammy and Americana Music Association nominations, taking awards for Best American Roots song for "Call My Name," and Best Duo/Group of the Year. Their second release, Wild and Clear and Blue, is a collection of deeply personal songs and incredible playing, produced by Josh Kaufman and engineered by D. James Goodwin. Geoff Stanfield caught up with the band to talk about the making of the record, their collaborative songwriting process, influences, and more. Enjoy!