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.
76
TN:80 Jungle
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...
78 min
77
TN:79 Imagine Dragons
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...
109 min
78
TN:78 James Vincent McMorrow, Paul Epworth & Li...
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...
112 min
79
TN:77 Maisie Peters & Joe Rubel
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...
96 min
80
Best of Season 8
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...
52 min
81
TN:76 Easy Life & Rob Milton
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,...
100 min
82
TN:75 Fred again..
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...
112 min
83
TN:74 Johnny Flynn & Charlie Andrew
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...
103 min
84
TN:73 dodie & Joe Rubel
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...
89 min
85
TN:72 Rostam
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...
94 min
86
TN:71 girl in red & Matias Tellez
In this episode John links up with Marie Ulven, aka girl in red, and producer Matias Tellez, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced her debut album ‘if i could make it go quiet’. With Marie’s original bedroom recordings to hand, the...
93 min
87
TN:70 Royal Blood
In this episode, John heads down to Royal Blood’s secret studio near Brighton to catch up with Mike and Ben about how they wrote, recorded and produced their chart-topping album ‘Typhoons’. Having written the majority of the record apart from...
104 min
88
Best of Season 7
In this episode we pick out a selection of highlights from Season 7. If you haven’t heard every episode from the last season, this is a good way to introduce yourself to some of the artists and producers we’ve had on and hear some of their top...
57 min
89
TN:69 SG Lewis
In this episode, John catches up with Sam Lewis AKA SG Lewis to get lost in the disco grooves of his album ‘Times’. Digging deep into the writing and production, Sam charts the development of the tracks right the way through from the demos and...
115 min
90
TN:68 slowthai & Kwes Darko
In this episode, John is joined by slowthai and producer Kwes Darko at Iguana Studios, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Tyron’. With voice messages, demos and stems in hand, Ty and Kwes lay out the development of each...
106 min
91
TN:67 Fontaines D.C. & Dan Carey
Catching up on some much-needed studio goodness, John returns to Mr Dan’s studio to chat with Conor and Tom of Fontaines D.C. and producer Dan Carey, about how they wrote, recorded and produced the albums 'Dogrel’ and ‘A Hero’s Death’. With...
82 min
92
TN:66 Adam Buxton
In this very special episode John steps inside the jingle factory of podcaster, comedian, writer, actor and musician Adam Buxton. Digging into the depths of his archive, Adam charts his life and career breaking down the songs and jingles that...
122 min
93
TN:65 Paul Weller, Stan Kybert & Charles Rees
In this episode, John heads to Black Barn Studios to chat with Paul Weller along with producer Stan Kybert and engineer Charles Rees, about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘On Sunset’. From recycling and resampling old tunes to...
77 min
94
TN:64 King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
In this episode, John catches up with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard frontman and producer Stu Mackenzie to talk about how the band wrote, recorded and produced the albums, ‘K.G.’ and ‘L.W.’ Armed with various living room demos, phone...
88 min
95
TN:63 IDLES, Nick Launay & Adam Greenspan
In this episode John is joined by Idles guitarist Mark Bowen along with co-producers Nick Launay and Adam “Atom” Greenspan to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the band’s latest album ‘Ultra Mono’. Unearthing backstage phone...
131 min
96
TN:62 Bicep
In quite possibly one of the most synth-heavy episodes ever, John catches up with Matt and Andy of Bicep to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced their latest album ‘Isles’. Unravelling the mystery of how they do what they do, Matt and...
109 min
97
Best of Season 6
A selection of our highlights from Season 6
65 min
98
TN:61 Lianne La Havas, Sam Crowe & Beni Giles
In this biscuit fuelled episode, John is joined by Lianne La Havas along with producers Sam Crowe and Beni Giles to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Lianne’s latest album ‘Lianne La Havas’. Delving into Lianne's most personal...
102 min
99
TN:60 Haim, Ariel Rechtshaid & Rostam Batmanglij
In this episode, John catches up with Danielle from Haim along with co-producers Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Haim’s latest album ‘Women in Music Pt. III’. With recordings of jams,...
113 min
100
TN:59 Glass Animals
Returning for his second outing on Tape Notes, John links up with Glass Animals frontman and producer Dave Bayley, to talk about how the band wrote, recorded and produced their latest album ‘Dreamland’. Born out of an emotional time of uncertainty...
108 min