This new release from Adrian Younge [Tape Op#119] is a modern day Afrobeat offering that has some modern sensibilities, but a foot firmly planted in the era of the genre's classics from Fela Kuti [#173] and Tony Allen. Afro-Disco Makossa was conceived by Younge from the question, "What would a Ghanaian producer in '76 have made if he set out to create an American disco record for his hometown?" The result is an up-tempo, trancey...

Our new book, Making Music: Conversations With Record Producers, is out now and you can find it at your favorite book store and online!

If you want to buy a copy online, we’d appreciate it if you buy it directly from our publisher, the fine folks at Akashic Books:
https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/making-music/

It’s also available at these online retailers:

Powell's Books
Bookshop.org
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Here’s more info on the book from Larry’s...

We did an article on Daniele Luppi back in Tape Op#40, and since then he’s released quite a bit of music including the very cool 2011 Rome collaboration with Danger Mouse, Jack White [Tape Op#82], and Norah Jones. 

He has a new LP, Wilma, being released October 8th, and you can hear the first single, “To Some Degree,” a collaboration with Michael Kiwanuka [#140].  The tracks on Wilma are built on archived library...

In April of this year, Sam Shepherd, aka Floating Points, was in San Francisco for 11 performances of his piece for the San Francisco Ballet, Mere Mortals. I caught one of the shows and it was amazing, both musically and visually. Sam was in the pit with his Buchla modular synthesizer, joining a 70-piece orchestra playing live as 40 dancers performed on stage with additional visuals and staging. It was a huge production in every sense of the word...

Our book reviewed by James Barber on his Substack (subscribe!)

Making Music: Conversations With Record Producers

Larry Crane established his underground bona fides in ’80s Chico, CA band Vomit Launch before moving to Portland, where he opened Jackpot! Recording in 1997. His resumé is impressive, including sessions with Elliott Smith, Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus, Quasi, and the Go-Betweens.

He’s also the genius who merged the underground music fanzine...

Although the album title is listed as simply Weezer, it is being referred to as The Gold Album, due to its, well, gold cover. The record has big, loud, and sometimes abrasive guitars, raucous drums, and performances that sound and feel like a band banging out the tracks live in the same room. It has rough edges, tempos that push and pull, and a brash, youthful energy welcome in a world where sanitized and predictable productions are...

Vinyl records may not be the most convenient way to listen to music, but I am convinced they are the best way to listen to music. I am more intentional about what I want to listen to, and I sit down in front of the speakers and listen. I love looking at the cover art, and reading the liner notes. Sure, I stream music in the kitchen while cooking and listen in the car, but it's just not the same. I also like the process of creating a vinyl...

Over the weekend, I stumbled on the new single and video “Apocalypse” by Porcelain and noticed that it was produced, recorded, and mixed by Tape Op contributor Scott Evans. The song sounds awesome; big, heavy, and riff driven. Scott did some skillful work capturing it. Guitar, bass, and drum sounds are all super solid, but not at all stock sounding. Check out the video for "Apocalypse" below.

I reached out to Scott to find out more about...

Jonathan Meiburg is busy person. He’s an author and musician who has written for Tape Op, and who we interviewed in issue #148 on his work with his group Loma. Meiburg is also the principal songwriter in Shearwater along with Emily Lee and Dan Duszynski. Dan is also in Loma, and they have a new LP, The New World, out July 31st.

Much of the album reflects Jonathan’s experiences on an ocean voyage to Antarctica aboard Expedition PS152 in December of...

Laura Veirs has a new LP, Temple Songs, coming out August 14th. Here's a video on the making of the album, the first she has recorded on her own.

Here's a video for the song "Pulse" for a taste of the awesome songs and sounds.

And look for an interview with her in Tape Op soon!

Tod A. Maitland has worked as production sound mixer on over 100 films since 1978, with known directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, and Oliver Stone. His work has been nominated six times for an Academy Award for Best Sound (including Bob Dylan’s music biopic, A Complete Unknown) and (important to us) he has done 14 music-based films to date, starting with The Doors in 1991. In addition, he is the former Head of Sound at...

A founding member of The Fab Faux, a highly regarded Beatles tribute band, Jack Petruzzelli has an even longer path as a session and touring musician. He has collaborated extensively with artists such as Joan Osborne, Patti Smith, Ian Hunter, Rufus Wainwright, Vanessa Paradis, Curt Smith, and Sara Bareilles. Over the years, Jack has added engineering and producing to his list of diverse talents. I had a chance to chat with him for a bird’s eye view...