Last issue, #88, Liam Watson opined, "using older equipment or simpler recording techniques doesn't necessarily mean you intend things to sound 'lo-fi.'" In Tape Op #67 we interviewed Lewis Durham, the young guitarist of this British-based family band. The album was...
As a recording engineer I can't even count the number of albums I've worked on where my participation didn't end up on the final album - hell, some records never even came out. I'm by no means saying that I'm a bad engineer - I'm just pointing out how the record-making...
I just sat through several hours of SiriusXM's "The Coffee House" radio station while I was grabbing some Internet and espresso at a tiny café. The endless parade of shitty cover songs, neutered music, stupid lyrics and over- emoted phoney-ass singers was too much to take. I get the...
Brian Joseph "Danger Mouse" Burton co-wrote and co-produced the seventh Black Keys studio album with band members Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach. There's something really great and crunchy about listening to this record on pro headphones. Bumpy low-end, wide panning of mid-range...
With a name like Intergalactic Spiral you know it's going to be a journey into [sonic] space. Think Stomu Yamashta's GO project, featuring a little King Crimson and some out there Miles Davis. The drums, woodwinds, guitars, fluid bass and keyboards all improvise but leave a lot of open...
In Tape Op #76 I interviewed drummer, producer, engineer, songwriter Alan Evans of the band Soulive. He's recently formed this ready- to-tour combo to record and play a batch of his new tunes. Wanna hear hot, funky, groovy organ/drums/guitar music? Here it is! In the vein of Soulive, and most...
are really just two, Terri Moeller (Walkabouts drummer) and Paul Austin (Willard Grant Conspiracy). They recorded this at Flora Ave Studio with the fabulous Tucker Martine (look for an article on him soon). This record is like a journey, and the mood is perfect. (www.transmissionarysix.com)
Who would have guessed that Pink Floyd fans would have John Coltrane to thank for the band opening its storied vaults to the masses?
"We were always of the mind that whatever we put out in the day, on the original albums - well, that was it," Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason told me...
Forming a band in Hawaii and shooting for national recognition must be a difficult undertaking. Even to tour around your home state requires flights or travel by sea, and living in a tourist-based economy means that the majority of "entertainment" opportunities are certainly not looking...
Crock is Sam Coomes of Quasi [Tape Op #2] and Spencer Seim of Hella. Those rock credentials should indicate that the music might not be laid back or easy listening. Much of the album was initiated by sessions in Spencer's Nevada City, CA, basement while he played drums.
Spencer: "I took an...
I've known Richard since the '80s when we both played in bands in California. Sometime in 2001 or so, Richard, J.D. Foster [Tape Op #34] and I began what was to be his sixth album. It was never completed. Richard returned home, and with a modest recording setup completed the excellent...
I was wandering around Rough Trade Records in London recently, when a small contraption caught my eye. Looking like a see through plastic AM radio, and the size of a pack of smokes, I recognized the "Chan Fang" (or Buddha Machine FM3) as a self-contained music player. It was a music gizmo...