Kevin Renick: Not So Up In the Air
by Larry Crane
Your career of playing music is kind of more recent to the public eye. Well, yeah, I was described as going through the looking glass, 'cause for many years, even though I did music as a hobby...
interviews
We talk at length with record-makers about how they make records.
Eli Crews: tUnE-yArDs, Deerhoof, Why?
by Jonah Strauss
A longtime San Francisco Bay Area engineer and producer, Eli Crews has been quietly churning out utterly unique albums for the past decade. He is probably best known for his work with Deerhoof,...
Liam Watson (bonus)
by Larry Crane
In issue #15 we ran a rather brief interview with Liam Watson about his London-based Toe Rag Studios. In the following 12 years I always remarked that Tape Op needed to revisit Toe Rag and chat with...
Cellophane Rechordings: The Lost and Found World of Jesse Roy
by Luther Russell
While outsider music isn't for everyone, the genuine article speaks to the outsider in all of us. By its very definition, the genre is strange and impenetrable and yet inviting the same way we...
Steve Albini: Nirvana, Pixies, Stooges, PJ Harvey
by Larry Crane
He’s just a really great engineer.Illustration by Miles Hermann In issue #10 of Tape Op we ran an interview with Steve Albini by my pal John Chandler. Being that the piece was actually done for...
Greg Norman: Life at Electrical Audio
by Larry Crane
Greg Norman has worn many hats. For 15 years he's worked for Steve Albini helping build and run Chicago's Electrical Audio, but he also records at his home and takes on many other projects. And he's a...
Simon Trought & Soup Studio: London's Hippest Albums Beneath a Uke Shop?
by Larry Crane
A studio in the basement of a ukulele shop in London? It seemed like a nutty idea, but there it was, and owner Simon Trought, along with Giles Barrett, had been knocking out some of London's coolest...
Graig Markel: Recording Barton Carroll's Together, You and I
by Trent Moorman
Barton Carroll and producer/engineer Graig Markel set out to record Carroll's 2009 album, Together, You and I, entirely to a Tascam 34 4-track tape machine. Carroll, who has toured and recorded...
Beau Sorenson: Death Cab for Cutie, Garbage, Smart Studios
by Andy Brawner
Dave Jerden: Talking Heads, Stones & Herbie Hancock
by Jonathan Saxon
Dave Jerden has engineered produced and mixed some of the most cutting edge ground breaking records in studios all around the world. Just take a listen to his engineering and mixing of Brian Eno and...
Nick Lowe: Bashing it out Live
by Pete Weiss
Not many in our field can make the claim of composing a bona fide alternative anthem with "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," producing a handful of the century's most...
Neil Brockbank: w/ Nick Lowe & Geraint Watkins
by Pete Weiss
Neil Brockbank is part of a dying breed of true pros. For the past few years he has been traveling with celebrated songsmith Nick Lowe on Lowe's solo tours, tirelessly wearing the hats of driver,...