Tape Notes

John joins the band Vök back stage at their headline show in London to talk about how they recorded and produced the album 'Figure' with producer Brett Cox.  We hear how Brett and the band teamed up over the course of a sunny Icelandic summer to work their demos (complete with minion lyrics) into the finished article, helped along the way by the generosity of the band’s home town, Reykjavik.  The...

John journeys up to Rak Studios to meet with Dan Rothman from London Grammar and producer duo MyRiot and talk about their work together on the album ‘If You Wait’.  We hear how the band adjusted from the self-produced recording environment, to working with producer stalwarts Tim Bran & Roy Kerr in the musical playground of State of the Ark Studios and then on to global success.  Dan and the boys r...

John returns to Iguana Studios once more where he is joined by The Big Moon and producer Catherine Marks to talk about their work together on the album 'Love in the 4th Dimension'.  The girls re-live some of their favourite moments in the studio with Catherine and dig into the production processes behind a few of their favourite tracks on the album.  We hear how bringing inflatable pool toys to th...

Back at Iguana Studios once more, John is joined by Australian artist/producer Jordan Rakei and producer Jim Macrae to talk about their work together on the album 'Wallflower'.  We hear how Jordan made the 10,000 mile journey from Brisbane to London to pursue a career in music and the stories behind how his sophomore album 'Wallflower' was created.  The duo discuss Algorithmic chaos, re-recording...

In this episode John is joined by Square Leg Records boss/producer Charlie Andrew and the label’s first signing Francobollo to talk about the recording and production of the band's debut album, 'Long Live Life'.  We hear how inviting fans into a sweaty studio was instrumental in capturing the band’s notorious live energy and why writing lyrics about your audience can be slightly awkward at times. ...

In this episode of Tape Notes John takes a trip to The Dairy Studios in Brixton to talk to Will Joseph Cook and his producer Hugh Worskett mid-way through recording the album 'Sweet Dreamer'.  The duo discuss their working relationship in the studio and we discover how middle 8 love, early phone demos from English classroom E and Nile Rogers impersonation all played their part in the making of Wil...

John Kennedy is back at Iguana Studios once more to talk to singer songwriter Sivu and producer Charlie Andrew about their collaboration on Sivu’s second album 'Sweet Sweet Silent'.  From early production meetings in a pub function room, to slinging microphones up in trees by a river in Kent, we learn about the duo’s unique approach to recording and hear the early demos and session audio that docu...

John Kennedy is joined by Dave Maclean and Neil Comber who reveal the working methods they used in the making of Django Django’s sophomore album 'Born Under Saturn'. We hear how Dave coped with the transition from the bedroom production of their first album to a residential stint at Angelic studios and how having Neil onboard as producer helped the band develop their sound in this more hi-tech env...

Rosie Lowe and her producer Dave Okumu join John Kennedy at Iguana Studios to discuss what went on behind the scenes in the making of her highly acclaimed debut album 'Control'.  We hear the demos that paved the way and how doing the dishes, wetsuits for pianos and Devon rain all contributed to the making of this album. Rosie shares her experience of handing one’s ideas over to another and the tru...