Tape Notes

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...

Back in summer 2020, John headed over to The Church Studios to catch up with James Vincent McMorrow, Paul Epworth and Lil Silva to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced James’s album ‘Grapefruit Season’. Taking tracks from Dublin to London to LA and back, James talks us through the myriad of iterations the songs went through, exploring the different writing situations and how all of his...

In this episode, John returns to Pixel studios to chat with Maisie Peters and producer Joe Rubel about how they wrote, recorded and produced Maisie’s debut album ‘You Signed Up For This’. Going through their WhatsApp log of voice notes and ideas, Maisie and Joe look back on the chaotic methods of bringing an album together over lockdown, pulling apart how they carefully married Maisie’s original a...

In this episode we look back over Season 8 picking out a selection of highlights and some of the most memorable moments from 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 some of the guests we’ve had on and hear some of their top studio tips, writing processes and all-round philosophi...

In this episode, John is reunited with Murray Matravers from Easy Life and producer Rob Milton, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the band’s debut album ‘Life’s A Beach'. From recording in and around lockdowns, in basements, bedrooms and studios, Murray and Rob reflect on the writing process, singling out the sounds, ideas and samples that encapsulate the meaning within the songs...

In this episode, John catches up with Fred Gibson, better known as Fred Again.., to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)’. Having written and produced almost all of the album outside of the studio, Fred talks us through his recording and sampling process, digging into the ways in which each new environment helped shape the individual s...

In this episode, John ventures up to The Old Workshop Studio to catch up with Johnny Flynn and producer Charlie Andrew about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Lost in the Cedar Wood’. From the summer walks with co-writer Robert Macfarlane to tracking the bones of the album in a solar-powered woodland cottage, Johnny recalls shaping the world of the record, combining both timeless so...

In this episode John heads over to Pixel Studios to chat with Dodie and producer Joe Rubel about how the album ‘Build A Problem’ was written, recorded and produced. Unearthing Dodie’s first phone recordings made in her bedroom, the pair dig into the ways in which they preserved and developed her DIY/scrapbook sound in the studio.  As well as lots of sumptuous album easter eggs, Joe indulges us in...

In this episode, John catches up with Rostam to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced his new album ‘Changephobia’. Giving us a full tour, Rostam talks us through his incredibly varied songwriting processes, from demoing beats on a Japanese bullet train and jamming with the TV, to improvising parts in the studio and simply writing without his brain.  Going in deep, we’re treated to beat c...