Tape Notes

In The Woods
  • 5.0 (9)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • TWICE MONTHLY
Tape Notes

Tape Notes is a podcast about the art and craft of music production. Hosted by John Kennedy, each episode reunites an artist and producer to talk about the highlights of their collaboration in the studio. Their conversations lift the lid on every stage of the creative process, from kindling the first spark of a song idea, through decisions on style and instrumentation, to finessing the final product. Full of fascinating anecdotes, the conversations also feature early demo versions and stems from the original session recordings. The result is a unique insight into the working methods of some of the most innovative and exciting talents in music.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    TN:146 Pixies & Tom Dalgety

    John is joined by Pixies, Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis), and producer Tom Dalgety, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the band’s latest album ‘The Night The Zombies Came’. The Pixies are an American alternative rock band widely acclaimed as one of the pioneers of the late 1980s rock movement. Their first three albums - Surfer Rosa (1988), Dolittle (1989) and Bossanova (1990) - defined an era as well as earning the band much critical success. The Pixies have influenced numerous prominent artists including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, The Strokes and Weezer. Since re-forming in 2004, they have maintained a steady creative output, working closely with producer Tom Dalgety. Catching up at Strongroom Studios, Charles and Tom share stories from their album writing process, including the last minute track that Tom snuck onto the record, the inspiration that came from trips around the English countryside, and the creative results of Charles’s temper tantrums (which included his songwriting notebook ending up on the studio roof!). Tracks discussed: The Vegas Suite, I Hear You Mary, Jane (The Night the Zombies Came) TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 20% off. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE LISTEN to ‘The Night The Zombies Came’ here. Pixies Recordings, BMG Rights Management Limited LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Eventide H9 Max Shure SM7B MXC Carbon Copy TC Electronic Bucket Brigade Fender Reverb Tank Vox Practice Amp AC30 Amp Takamine Guitars Martin Guitars Avid ProTools OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM John Kennedy Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Ali Lewis

    1h 50m

  2. 16 OCT

    TN:145 Clean Bandit (Part 2)

    John is back with Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto of Clean Bandit, for part two of their conversation, this time, talking about how they wrote, recorded, and produced some of their more recent hits.  Clean Bandit are an English electronic group formed in 2008, known for blending classical music with electronics and pop. While they gained early attention with the track ‘Mozart’s House,’ their 2014 hit ‘Rather Be,’ featuring Jess Glynne, won a Grammy and earned the band global recognition. Now pop mainstays, they have released numerous chart-topping collaborations, including ‘Rockabye’ and ‘Symphony.’ With two studio albums to their name and new music on the horizon, their most recent work sees them teaming up with Anne-Marie and David Guetta. In this, part two of our conversation, Jack and Grace take us through the early versions and of their track ‘Symphony’ (following its resurgence on TikTok), and discuss how their creative process has changed over the years, taking apart ‘Cry Baby’, and digging into the multiple remixes of the track.  Tracks discussed: Symphony, Cry Baby TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. (Valid until 29th November 2024) MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Symphony’ here.  LISTEN to ‘Cry Baby’ here. Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Korg Polysix Korg MS-20 Alicia’s Keys Ilya Efimov Plugins Spectrasonics Keyscape Ample Sounds Guitar 808 Warfare Antares Autotune Xfer Serum Nexus XLN Audio RC-20 Valhalla Vintage Verb Universal Audio Teletronix LA-3A Audio Leveler Pultec EQP‑1A CL1b Compressor Neumann U87 1176 Limiter Neve PreAmp 1073 Ableton Operator Synth Ableton Avid ProTools OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Ali Lewis Jessica Clucas

    1h 6m

  3. 1 OCT

    TN:144 Bonobo

    John sits down with English musician, producer, and DJ Simon Green, better known as Bonobo, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced works from across his back catalogue. Bonobo first caught attention with his 1999 debut. Over the years, his evolving sound, often including elements of world music, nu-jazz and electronica, have earned him a devoted following. This popularity surged with the release of critically acclaimed albums including 'Black Sands' and 'The North Borders', released via Ninja Tune, which earned him multiple Grammy nominations and solidified his status as one of the biggest names in dance music. His latest work, the single, ‘Expander’ released in August 2024, is a slice of fresh yet unmistakable Bonobo, weaving organic vocals and instrumentation with vibrant dance floor energy. Catching up at Baltic Studios, not too far from where Simon recorded his early work, the conversation digs into Bonobo’s creative process, discussing how he builds his unique drum patterns as well as exploring the essential plugins and sounds that shape his distinctive style.  Tracks discussed: Expander, Sapien, Cirrus, Black Sands TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. (Valid until 29th November) MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Expander’ here. LISTEN to ‘Fragments’ here. LISTEN to ‘Black Sands’ here. Ninja Tune LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Knock Drum Buss Plugin Soundtoys Decapitator Soundtoys Little Alterboy Valhalla Room Valhalla Vintage Verb Miroslav Philharmonik Strings Slate & Ash Landforms Slate & Ash Cycles Slate & Ash Choreographs TB Reelbus Intellijel Plonk Module Make Noise Optomix Noise Engineering Basimilus Oberheim Xpander Oberheim OB8 Roland TR-808 Ableton Operator Ableton Logic X OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Katie-Louise Buxton  Seb Brunner-Stolovitzky

    1h 49m

  4. 5 SEPT

    TN:143 Rex Orange County, Teo Halm & Jim Reed

    John sits down with Rex Orange County and producers Jim Reed and Teo Halm, to talk about how he wrote and recorded his latest album ‘The Alexander Technique’.  Alex O'Connor, better known as Rex Orange County, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Teaching himself music production at 16 years old, within a year he released his debut album ‘Bcos U Will Never B Free’. Since then, Alex has been consistently releasing successful music, including his fourth album, ‘Who Cares?’, which became his first to top the UK album charts, alongside platinum-certified hits like ‘Sunflower’, ‘Best Friend’, and ‘Loving Is Easy’.  In conversation with Rex and his producers, Jim Reed and Teo Halm, they dig into the creative process behind his new album, sharing original demos, discussing the plugins that shaped the album, and demonstrating how some synthesizer parts were created using Teo’s iPhone. Tracks discussed: Guitar Song, 2008, Much Too Much TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. (Valid until 29th November 2024) MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘The Alexander Technique’ here.  Atlantic Records UK LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Keezy App Koala App Soundtoys Crystallizer Soundtoys Effects Rack Celemony Melodyne Goodhertz Vulf Compressor Neumann TLM 103 Neumann KM54 Coles Ribbon Mic Sony C800 Moog Model D Chase Bliss Mood Chase Bliss Blooper Spitfire Strings Blank Forms Tape Loops Logic Sampler Logic Pro X Avid ProTools OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas

    1h 46m

  5. 20 AUG

    TN:142 Clean Bandit (Part 1)

    John is joined by Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto of Clean Bandit to talk about how they wrote, recorded, and produced some of their early hits. Clean Bandit are an English electronic group formed in 2008, known for blending classical music with electronics and pop. While they gained early attention with the track ‘Mozart’s House,’ their 2014 hit ‘Rather Be,’ featuring Jess Glynne, won a Grammy and earned the band global recognition. Now pop mainstays, they have released numerous chart-topping collaborations, including ‘Rockabye’ and ‘Symphony.’ With two studio albums to their name and new music on the horizon, their most recent work sees them teaming up with Anne-Marie and David Guetta. In this, part one of our conversation, Jack and Grace look back at their process of creating ‘Rather Be’ and ‘I Miss You.’ In addition to discussing how they programmed the synth at the very centre of their early music, the pair recount stories of writing on the Tube and possibly one of the most intense vocal sessions of their career. Tracks discussed: Rather Be, I Miss You TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Rather Be’ here.  LISTEN to ‘I Miss You’ here. Atlantic Records UK LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Antares Harmony Engine Soundtoys Little Alterboy XLN AUDIO RC-20 reFX Nexus Synth That Sound Drumline Ilya Efimov Plugins Spectrasonics Keyscape Mellotron AKAI EWI Midi Controller Native Instruments Kontakt Conny Plank's SSL Desk Ableton Operator Synth Ableton Avid ProTools OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Katie-Louise Buxton  Seb Brunner-Stolovitzky  Jonathon Coughlin

    1h 36m

  6. 6 AUG

    TN:141 A. G. Cook

    John is joined by Alex Cook, better known as A. G. Cook, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Britpop’. A. G. Cook, is a London-based artist and producer. After studying at Goldsmiths University, he founded PC Music, a label shaping hyper pop with artists including Hannah Diamond and Danny L Harle. His debut solo albums, ‘7G’ and ‘Apple’, arrived in 2020. In addition to his own music, Alex has shared his production talents with numerous pop icons, including Jonsi, Madonna, and Caroline Polachek, and Charli XCX. In May 2024, he released his third studio album, ‘Britpop’, a 24-song exploration blending pop, experimental electronics, and acoustic sounds. Catching up at Strongroom Studios, Alex guides us through the three distinct chapters of the album, digging into the production and song writing approaches he took to make them stand out. As well as sharing some intricate plugin demos, we hear stories of developing a harmonic style, meticulous automation and what it means to be an aggressive listener.   Tracks discussed: Heartache, Serenade, Lucifer TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Britpop’ here. New Alias LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Soundtoys Filter Freak Waves MetaFlanger Deamtonics Synthesizer V  Reveal Sound Spire Xfer Serum Xfer OTT Sonic Charge Synplant 2 Logic Compressor Native Instruments Reaktor Native instrument Razor IK Multimedia Mixbox Udo Super 6 Synth Sonic Academy Kick 2 Arturia Vocoder V Melda Productions M Bit Fun Electro Harmonix Pitch Fork Roland TR-606 Roland Juno Synth Rode Microphones Sony C800G Shure SM58 Arturia DX-7 Soma Synths Lyra 8 Logic Pro OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Katie-Louise Buxton  Seb Brunner-Stolovitzky  Jonathon Coughlin

    2h 2m

  7. 30 JUL

    Reissue | TN:29 Floating Points

    We’ve been having a look back through the Tape Notes archive to bring back some of our favourite early episodes that you may have missed. This selection is our conversation from November 2019, with Sam Shepard, Floating Points. EPISODE NOTES In this episode John heads to EMS4 studios in Shoreditch to chat with Floating Points a.k.a Sam Shepherd, about how he recorded and produced his latest release, Crush.  Talking from deep within Sam’s musical laboratory, we peer behind the curtain and find out how Floating Points music is created and crafted, pulling apart some of the tracks from his second album along the way. We get to hear how live performance and classical music are a serious influence in his writing process in addition to experimenting with the impressive number of synths he’s collected over the years. Geekery is in abundance in this episode.  Listen to find out why space was scant in Sam’s student bedroom, who sick Anna actually is and why sometimes all you need is a Yamaha Reface CS in your backpack.  Tracks discussed: Last Bloom, Annasickmodualr, Bias. TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE   LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  https://linktr.ee/tapenotes    Listen to 'Crush' here. 'Crush' - Pluto Records, Ninja Tune. Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective    GEAR MENTIONS Logic Pro Ableton Sibelius Akai S950 Sampler API Desk  ARP 2600 ARP Rhodes Chroma Buchla Synth Korg Volca Beats Marshall Time Modulator MAM ADX1 Dunlop MXR Flanger Neve Preamps Publison Infernal Machine Multi-Effects Processor Roland EV-5 Expression Pedal Yamaha CS-70 Yamaha Reface CS   OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Katie-Louise Buxton  Seb Brunner-Stolovitzky  Jonathon Coughlin

    1h 24m

  8. 16 JUL

    TN:140 Four Tet

    John is joined by Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Three’, along with a selection of his other work. Following his start in music writing and recording as part of post-rock band ‘Fridge’, Kieran released his debut solo album as Four Tet ‘Dialogue’ in 1999. Since then, his constant experimentation and blend of hip-hop, jazz, krautrock, electronica, dance, and folk have seen him become one of the most innovative producers of today. He has released twelve albums as Four Tet, remixed artists like Radiohead and Bjork, and collaborated with Burial, Fred Again and Skrillex, among many others.  Sitting down together, Kieran breaks down his production journey and writing process, sharing the samples at the core of each track and reflecting on his approach to the most important element, the arrangement. Digging into the production details, he shares tips on keeping loops alive, making kicks pop, and the subtle textures that help place a track in its own world. Tracks discussed: Daydream Repeat, Skater, Looking At Your Pager TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 50% off. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your 25% discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Three’ here. Text Records LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Soundtoys Little Alterboy Soundtoys Microshift FabFilter Pro-L2 Izotope Ozone Maximiser Native Instruments Kontakt Spectrasonics Omnisphere Roland TR8 Arturia DrumBrute ATH-M50X Professional Monitor Headphones Sennheiser HD25 OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns. KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes Patreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!  Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown  Tim Adam-Smith  Will Lyons  Nico Varanese  Guy Nicholls  Jessica Clucas Katie-Louise Buxton  Seb Brunner-Stolovitzky  Jonathon Coughlin

    1h 57m
See All (158)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Tape Notes is a podcast about the art and craft of music production. Hosted by John Kennedy, each episode reunites an artist and producer to talk about the highlights of their collaboration in the studio. Their conversations lift the lid on every stage of the creative process, from kindling the first spark of a song idea, through decisions on style and instrumentation, to finessing the final product. Full of fascinating anecdotes, the conversations also feature early demo versions and stems from the original session recordings. The result is a unique insight into the working methods of some of the most innovative and exciting talents in music.

Information

  • Creator
    In The Woods
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2024
  • Episodes
    158
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © In The Woods 2020
  • Show Website
    Tape Notes

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