Tape Op Podcast

We first interviewed Ann Mincieli back in 2012 for Tape Op issue #89, but ten years is an eternity these days so Geoff Stanfield caught up with Ann to chat about her early studio days, mentors, immersive audio, her work with Alicia Keys, and ever expanding studio ventures. Enjoy! Sponsored by Antelope en.antelopeaudio.com

Grammy award-winning songwriter and musician Aoife O'Donovan has released three critically-acclaimed solo albums, is co-founder of the bands I’m With Her and Crooked Still, and has spent a decade contributing to the radio variety shows "Live From Here” and “A Prairie Home Companion”. Her new album, "Age of Apathy," was produced from a distance by Joe Henry during the pandemic lockdown, but you'd never know it from the incredibly cohesive sound and "in the room" energy of the recordings. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Aoife to chat on the eve of the record's release. Enjoy! Sponsored by Sonnox https://sonnox.com

Melbourne Australia's Amyl and the Sniffers are a punk rock, metal, hip-hop, post punk mashup served with a heaping spoonful of Eff You and a cheeky smile. The band's singer Amy Taylor described the band like this: "In Australia we call poppers Amyl. So you sniff it, it lasts for 30 seconds and then you have a headache – and that's what we're like!" Their 2021 release *Comfort to Me* is a pedal to the metal collection of songs recorded during the pandemic by producer Dan Luscombe and mixed by Nick Launay. Geoff Stanfield caught up with the band's singer Amy and guitarist Dec Martens for a chat and to listen to some tracks off the new record. Enjoy! Sponsored by ATO Records https://atorecords.com

In 2002, for issue 27 of Tape Op Magazine, I visited Jim Eno and Britt Daniel of the band Spoon at Jim's converted 2-car garage studio in Austin, Texas, to talk about making records. It's now 20 years later, and Spoon's 10th album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is out. I talked to Jim about his Public Hi-Fi Studio – the multi-story building that replaced his garage – Spoon's new album, and gender inequality in the studio over Zoom. Enjoy! Sponsored by Audix https://audixusa.com

Chicago's Neal Francis recently released In Plain Sight, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Changes. It is an album filled with personal stories wrapped in a deep pocket of funky grooves, classic tones and masterful songwriting. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Neal to chat about recording In Plain Sight, discuss some of the record's tracks, and they even get a call from the album's mixer, Dave Fridmann! Enjoy! Sponsored by Cloud Microphones https://cloudmicrophones.com

Producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin has worked with a staggering list of top artists including Adele, Pink, Paul McCartney, The Foo Fighters, Sia, Beck and many more. For this episode Geoff Stanfield chatted with Greg specifically about his recent work producing Greta Van Fleet's latest release, *The Battle at Garden's Gate*. Enjoy! Sponsored by Retro Instruments http://retroinstruments.com

For his most recent release *Uneasy*, pianist and composer Vijay Iyer is joined by Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. The album is masterfully recorded and captures the tension, somberness and dark before the dawn sentiment of compositions that address subject matter ranging from the Flint, Michigan water crisis to the Black Lives Matter movement. By setting the stage, animating tones into vivid thoughts, and creating dialog between instruments, the trio creates a canvas for conversations around these topics and invites the listener to both engage and reflect. Geoff Stanfield chatted with Vijay about the recording of *Uneasy* and it's socially relevant subject matter. Enjoy! Sponsored by Distrokid http://distrokid.com

2008 was an event filled year. Barack Obama was elected president, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the concept of Bitcoin, Spotify was launched in Sweden and an extra “leap second” was added to the end of the year. It was also the year that Portland, Oregon band Blitzen Trapper released their album Furr and the single of the same name. 21 years, 42 million streams, and heaps of critical praise later, the band’s singer, guitarist and writer Eric Earley discusses “Furr” and the song’s humble beginnings. Enjoy! Sponsored by Overstayer http://overstayeraudio.com

Laraaji (born as Edward Larry Gordon) may be most well-known for his 1980 album Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, a collaboration with Brian Eno for his legendary ambient series of recordings, but Laraaji's career has actually spanned more than 40 years and includes over 50 releases. However, music is only one element of this laughter artist, meditation practitioner, and mystic traveler. As Eno says, "Laraaji is one of the calmest and most serious people I have ever met, and also one of the most lighthearted. It's an unusual combination, but somehow both qualities show in his work – it's deep and bright at the same time." Geoff Stanfield had a conversation with Laraaji from which excerpts were pulled for an article in Tape Op issue #141, but actually hearing the words and wisdom is an experience all its own. Enjoy! Sponsored by Focusrite https://focusrite.com

Xenia Rubinos could just as easily be on a bill with Flying Lotus and The Boredoms as she could with Eryka Badu and Esperanza Spalding. Her unique genre mixing of soul, punk, jazz, pop and latin music grooves planted her firmly in a musical space all her own. Following Xenia's first two albums, 2013's *Magic Trix* and the wide success of 2016's *Black Terry Cat* and the extensive touring and hustle to promote it, she visited a "curandero" who diagnosed her with "a loss of spirit". Though uninspired and unmotivated to make music, she was encouraged by her longtime collaborator and co-producer Marco Buccelli to continue working. Rubinos' new release *Una Rosa*, is her own novella. It is a rediscovery of her musical self that explores new sonic territory, leaning heavily on the use of synths and drum machines to frame her stories, reflections and expressions. Geoff Stanfield chatted with Xenia from her home in Brooklyn. Enjoy! Sponsered by Radial Engineering https://radialeng.com

In this episode we chat with Producer/Engineer Mitch Easter about working on the song that launched R.E.M.'s career, "Radio Free Europe"! The version of R.E.M.'s Radio Free Europe that we have all come to know and love was released in 1980 on the band's 2nd album, Murmur, but there was an earlier version of the song recorded at Mitch's humble Drive-In Studios. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Mitch to talk this seminal track and working with the band in their early days. Enjoy! Sponsored by Rupert Neve Designs rupertneve.com

Jim Keller first made his mark co-penning the 80's hit "867-5309 (Jenny, Jenny)" as a member of the band Tommy TuTone. In a long and storied career he has managed Philip Glass, become a staple of the New York music scene and released several acclaimed albums. His most recent release, By No Means, was produced and recorded by Mitchell Froom and David Boucher and features David Hidalgo, Michael Urbano and Bob Glaub. Geoff Stanfield caught up on a 3 way Zoom call with Jim in New York and Mitchell in New Zealand to discuss. Enjoy! Sponsored by McDSP https://mcdsp.com

Italian engineer and mixer Riccardo Damian has had a hand in the music of a staggering list of artists. Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Sampha, Lily Allen, Yebba, Ezra Collective, Alicia Keys, Drake and the list goes on. From interning in a small town in Italy to cutting his teeth in London's more prestigious studios and being Mark Ronson's main engineer, he has learned from mentors and carved a path and created a sound that is decidedly his own. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Ricky earlier this year to discuss his early days, the importance of being prepared and making sure technology never gets in the way. Enjoy! Sponsored by Antelope Audio https://antelopeaudio.com

What is the common thread between Spike Lee, The Grateful Dead, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Pat Metheny, Justin Vernon, James Mercer, Branford Marsalis, Snoop Dog, Polo G and countless other music luminaries? That'd be Bruce Hornsby. His collaborations, songwriting, performances and oft sampled hit "The Way It Is" have kept Bruce Hornsby a vital force in the music community for almost four decades. Online publisher Geoff Stanfield caught up with Bruce recently to chat about his early days, scoring films for Spike Lee and the joys of a stolen Rhodes piano. Enjoy! Sponsored by Soundtoys https://soundtoys.com

Hey Tape Op Podcast Listeners! We know that there are some "standard of quality" issues with Linda's audio for this podcast segment. It was delivered over-compressed and even after some restorative work it remains a bit crunchy at times. Our judgment was that the content's quality outweighed the audio quality. It is worth bearing with it just to hear Linda's Dolly Parton impersonation, bluntness and infectious enthusiasm! Linda Perry had her first hit with “What’s Up?” in 1993, as lead singer and songwriter for 4 Non Blondes. Since then, she’s worked as a producer and songwriter for numerous artists, helping shape the sounds of P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Adele, and Dolly Parton, to name a few. In 2015, Perry was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and in 2019 she received a historic Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, one of only nine women to ever be nominated, and the first female producer unattached to a production team. It’s hard to summarize her career, but sh

Daniel Lanois: If you have been a fan of music during the past 30 years, you have heard his production work with U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and countless others. In addition to helming these albums, he has had a long and storied solo career, releasing 21 albums since 1989 (release of Acadie). We've interviewed Daniel several times over the years, and it's always a great conversation, full of insights and pearls of wisdom. Geoff Stanfield caught up with him recently to discuss his latest release, Heavy Sun. Enjoy! Sponsored by oeksound https://oeksound.com

We first interviewed producer and engineer Joel Hamilton back in 2011 in Tape Op issue #85. Joel has worked on records with Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Highly Suspect, Pretty Lights, Iggy Pop, The Black Keys, Matisyahu, Dub Trio, Bonobo and the list goes on. Online publisher Geoff Stanfield has worked on several projects with Joel going back a decade, so he decided to give him a call and have him go on the record about teaching in India, thoughts on asymmetry and a recent project with Rick Rubin and Paul McCartney. Enjoy! Sponsored by Burl Audio https://burlaudio.com

Welcome to Tape Op’s DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. This week we chat w/ singer and songwriter Jolie Holland about Buck Meek’s 2021 release Two Saviors. Enjoy!

Welcome to Tape Op’s DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. This week we chat w/ producer and engineer Mark Rubel about The Band’s 1969 Release The Band. Enjoy!

Welcome to Tape Op’s DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. This week we chat w/ singer Rahill Jamalifard about The Electric Prunes 1968 album, Release of an Oath. Enjoy!