Tape Notes

In this very special live episode in partnership with AIM, MPG and Transgressive, John is joined by Let’s Eat Grandma’s Rosa Walton and producer David Wrench at Signature Brew to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the band’s third album ‘Two Ribbons’. Taking us back to the album’s very beginnings, Rosa and David chart each song’s development, from early bedroom demos complete with mu...

Thanks to SoundBetter for supporting this episode of Tape Notes. SoundBetter is the world's leading music production talent marketplace, giving you access to the best mixing & mastering engineers, singers, songwriters, producers, and studio musicians in the industry. You can work with Billie Eilish's drummer, U2's mix engineer, or hire the topliners that wrote on the latest BTS record, these pros...

In this episode, John heads to Fiction Studios to catch up with Jon and Alex of Everything Everything to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Raw Data Feel’. Taking us through the very first scraps of ideas, Jon and Alex pull apart the elements within each demo they often endeavour to carry into the final songs, from the qualities found within their raw desk mixes to the hid...

In this episode, John links up with Lykke Li and producer Bjorn Yttling to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Lykke’s latest album ‘EYEYE’. Digging into the truly multi-dimensional record, Lykke and Bjorn look back on their process of creating the sonic world in which the tracks all live, from finding different angles to songs by playing them on different instruments, to the breakthr...

In this episode, John is back at Spitfire Audio to catch up with Yannis and Jimmy of Foals, to discuss how they wrote, recorded and produced their new album ‘Life Is Yours’. Giving us a fascinating insight into their process and how they adapted it for their current 3 piece line up, the pair look back on how they kept their creativity organic and spontaneous, as well as the impact of each new prod...

In this episode, John heads over to Spitfire Audio to chat with Mahalia and producer JD. Reid about how they wrote, recorded and produced the EP ‘Letter To Ur Ex’. Looking back on their early writing sessions together, the pair reflect on their very first meeting and the approach they took to get the best out of one another. From scatting line after line over a beat and jamming ideas until somethi...

In this episode, John links up with Chaz Bear, the mind behind Toro y Moi, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘MAHAL’. Digging into jam sessions dating back to 2015 with all of the original recordings to hand, Chaz gives us the lowdown on how his musical ideas formulate, and the simple yet impactful journey they undertake to arrive as fully fleshed out tracks. Reflecting o...

Thanks to SoundBetter for supporting this episode of Tape Notes. SoundBetter is the world's leading music production talent marketplace, giving you access to the best mixing & mastering engineers, singers, songwriters, producers, and studio musicians in the industry. You can work with Billie Eilish's drummer, U2's mix engineer, or hire the topliners that wrote on the latest BTS record, these pros...

Thanks to SoundBetter for supporting this episode of Tape Notes. SoundBetter is the world's leading music production talent marketplace, giving you access to the best mixing & mastering engineers, singers, songwriters, producers, and studio musicians in the industry. You can work with Billie Eilish's drummer, U2's mix engineer, or hire the topliners that wrote on the latest BTS record, these pros...

In this episode, John heads to Bristol to chat with Yard Act’s James, Sam and Ryan along with producer Ali Chant about how their debut album ‘The Overload’ was written, recorded and produced. Catching up after a big night on the Bristol stop of their tour, the band reflect on their process of bringing the album together, from solitary lockdown demos and recording over WhatsApp videos, to learning...

In this episode, John is joined by Dave, Donny and Jung from Gang of Youths to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the band’s new album ‘Angel In Realtime’. Taking us on a global tour, the trio guides us through the wealth of sounds, people and places that had such a huge influence on the album, from London street ambience and the goings-on outside their studio window, to Pacific Isla...

In this episode, John ventures over to Alt-J’s band studio to chat with Joe, Gus and producer Charlie Andrew about how they wrote, recorded and produced their new album ‘The Dream’. Unearthing early demos and some very special voice notes, the trio look back on forming the sonic world encapsulated within the record, reflecting on the importance of their individual roles within the writing process...

In this episode, John heads over to Bastille’s West London HQ to catch up with Dan Smith and producer Mark Crew about how the band wrote, recorded and produced their latest album ‘Give Me The Future’. Having written most of the tracks in remote lockdown sessions, Dan takes us all the way back through his initial ideas and the random voice notes of inspiration that came to him at the most unexpecte...

Find out more about Tape It and redeem 50% off any Pro plan - tape.it/tapenotes ------------------------------ Welcome to part two of the Best Of Season 9. We pick up where we left off, looking back and pulling out our selection of highlights and memorable moments from the season.  If you haven’t heard every episode from season 9, this is a good way to introduce yourself to more of the guests we’v...

Season 9 has been so full of amazing albums that we’ve decided to split this Best Of into two parts. Welcome to Part One! In this episode, we look back across the season picking out a selection of highlights from our conversations with the artists and producers we were lucky enough to speak to. If you haven’t heard every episode from the last season, this is a good way to introduce yourself to som...

In this episode, John links up with Simon, Perrin and Bender of Hiatus Kaiyote, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Mood Valiant’. Having written the album across the globe, from Rio De Janeiro to Byron Bay, the trio reflect on the development of their writing process, discussing how the effects of taking road-hardened demos to South America pushed their creativity into...

In this episode, John links up with Chet Faker aka Nick Murphy, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Hotel Surrender’. Diving into the tracks initially found within one of his numerous demo playlists, Nick looks back on his variety of music making processes, sharing thoughts on slingshotting around different creative mediums and maximising inspiration. From scrapbooking and...

Thanks to SoundBetter for supporting this episode of Tape Notes. SoundBetter is the world's leading music production talent marketplace, giving you access to the best mixing & mastering engineers, singers, songwriters, producers, and studio musicians in the industry. You can work with Billie Eilish's drummer, U2's mix engineer, or hire the topliners that wrote on the latest BTS record, these pros...

In this episode, John links up with Courtney Barnett and producer Stella Mozgawa to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Courtney’s album ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’. Ready with the keys to Courtney’s archive of sofa voice notes and Garageband demos, the pair talk us through the entire album process, from their most valuable moments within pre-production, to the hours in the studio w...

In this episode, John joins Orla Gartland and producer Tom Stafford to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Orla’s debut album ‘Woman on the Internet’. From the early stages of throwing musical ideas at the wall to the almost infinite list of recording secrets picked up from their time at Middle Farm Studios, Orla and Tom look back on trying to capture and emulate the original magic fr...

In this episode, John links up with Lauren, Iain and Martin of CHVRCHES to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Screen Violence’. Largely working remotely from different parts of the world, the trio look back on how they adapted their writing process, discussing how the effects of the pandemic ended up shaping some of the themes and meanings within the album. Sharing some of...

In this episode, John ventures over to Baltic Studios to catch up with Frank and Dean of Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes about how they wrote, recorded and produced their latest album ‘Sticky’. Unearthing demos and recordings from their time in a Norfolk holiday cabin, the pair look back on how their process has changed over the years, sharing thoughts on broadening their horizons and blurring t...

In this episode, John catches up with Mr Jukes, aka Jack Steadman, and Barney Artist to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced their joint album ‘The Locket’. Breaking the elements down to their very beginnings, Jack talks us through his sampling process, from YouTube crate digging and detailed editing, to processing and pitching individual hits from his vault of free sample packs. As we...

In this episode, John heads over to Jungle’s West London HQ to catch up with Josh Lloyd-Watson about how the band wrote, recorded and produced their latest record ‘Loving in Stereo’. Having written a lot of the album in their shed over the last two years, Josh takes us all the way back to the almost 30-minute demos, talking through the process of cherry-picking the best parts and forming the track...

In this episode, John links up with Dan and Wayne of Imagine Dragons to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced their latest album 'Mercury - Act 1. Having spent almost three years writing almost 300 demos, Dan and Wayne look back on the process of whittling down the tracklist and forming the album, from capturing their ideas as quickly as possible, through to working with legendary produ...