Tape Notes

• TN:154 Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra

  John is joined by Hollywood royalty and Jazz sensation Jeff Goldblum along with producers Alex Frank and Scott Gilman to talk about how they recorded and produced ‘Still Blooming’. A lifelong pianist, Jeff formed The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra in the 1990s, performing in and around LA for over 20 years. The band’s fourth album released in May 2025, ‘Still Blooming’, blends Broadway classics and tracks from the great American Songbook with guest vocals from Scarlett Johansson, Maiya Sykes, and Jeff’s Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo. The record was arranged, recorded and produced by band members Alex Frank and Scott Gillman. In this episode, Jeff, Alex, and Scott walk us through each track’s creation, from spontaneous singing on set, to detailed musical arrangements and figuring out keys over the phone. They share the production tricks used to balance pop vocals with jazz recordings, the moments they all jammed together in the studio, and how they plan to bring it all to the stage. Tracks discussed: I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do), We’ll Meet Again, The Best Is Yet To Come 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. LANDR  Get 20% off LANDR Distribution and Studio at landr.com/tapenotes TRINITY LABAN  Find out more about Trinity Laban's Songwriting MA here. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Still Blooming’ here. ‘Decca’ LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective - https://lynkify.in/song/sunshine-buddy/YT47TLFI  GEAR MENTIONS FabFilter Pro-Q 4 Steinway Pianos Coles 4038 Neumann U67 Neumann U87 Logic Pro Tools 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 Evan Lawday Francis Hartgrove

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• TN:153 Porter Robinson

  John sits down with electronic producer and DJ Porter Robinson, to discuss how he wrote and recorded his third album ‘SMILE! :D’  Having begun self-producing at just twelve years old, Porter Robinson has since risen to become one of the most acclaimed artists within the EDM world, performing alongside artists such as Skrillex and Tiësto. His work has seen him tour extensively around the world and has even earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording, back in 2019. In this episode, Porter dials in from North Carolina to chat about how he came up with his signature synth sounds, some of his favourite gear, including giving a guitar demo, and drawing inspiration from Coldplay tracks.  Tracks discussed: Cheerleader, Is There Really No Happiness?, Russian Roulette 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. TRINITY LABAN  Find out more about Trinity Laban's Songwriting MA here. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount here LISTEN to ‘SMILE! :D’ here. 'Mom+Pop' LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS U-He Diva Polyverse Manipulator D16 Tourverb Soundtoys EchoBoy Line 6 Helix Native Kilohearts Trance Gate FL Studio FL Studio Sequencer 3X OSC FL Studio Harmor CLA Plugins Warm Audio Mics Spectrasonics Omnisphere 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 Evan Lawday

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• Reissue | TN:40 DJ Shadow

  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 Summer 2020, with Josh Davis, better know as DJ Shadow. EPISODE NOTES In this episode, John ventures over to Wendy House Studios to catch up with hip-hip royalty Josh Davis AKA DJ Shadow, to talk through how he recorded and produced his latest album ‘Our Pathetic Age’ and his chart-topping album ‘The Mountain Will Fall’.   Josh gives us a full insight in to his largest most diverse project yet, breaking down his writing process from the moment he randomly dips in to his vast record collection for inspiration, to discovering unlikely source material such as an abandoned record collection rescued from a friend of his father's. We get to hear the original samples that form the basis of some of his biggest hits as well as the raw vocal stems of Nas and Pharoahe Monch rapping at each other from different studios.   Listen to find out about Josh’s meticulous sample editing process, what mixing mistake meant he had to sneakily rerelease a track, and why he had to gate-crash a Run the Jewels gig.  Tracks discussed: Nobody Speak, Rocket Fuel, Drone Warfare TAPE IT Thanks to our partners at TapeIt! Click here for 20% off TapeIt Pro. TRINITY LABAN  Find out more about Trinity Laban's Songwriting MA here. LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  https://linktr.ee/tapenotes  Listen to 'Our Pathetic Age' here. Listen to 'The Mountain Will Fall' here. 'Our Pathetic Age' and 'The Mountain Will Fall' - Mass Appeal/Reconstruction Productions, Inc.   Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective    GEAR MENTIONS Akai MPC Sampler Pioneer PLX 1000 Sonos Speaker Technics SL-1200 Technics SL-1210 ProTools Ableton   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

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• TN:152 Olly Alexander & Danny L Harle

  John is joined by Olly Alexander and producer Danny L Harle, to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced ‘Polari’ Olly Alexander is an English singer, actor, and LGBTQ+ activist, best known as the frontman of Years & Years. The band found global success in the mid 2010’s with the hit ‘King’ and released two UK #1 albums before Olly transitioned to a solo career. As well as representing the UK at Eurovision in 2024 with ‘Dizzy’, Olly has collaborated with numerous pop icons including Elton John and Kylie Minogue. His 2025 album Polari was co-written and produced by Danny L Harle, a sought-after British producer known for his work on P.C. Music, and with artists including Charli XCX, and Caroline Polachek and many more. Catching up at Strongroom Studios, where Olly recorded most of the album’s vocals, the conversation explores the stories and sounds behind each track. Along the way, they share early demos featuring Olly’s first vocal musings, while Danny discusses songwriting habits, optimising a producer’s workflow, and techniques for achieving a creative flow state. Tracks discussed: Whisper In The Waves, Cupid’s Bow, Beautiful, Polari 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. TRINITY LABAN  Find out more about Trinity Laban's Songwriting MA here. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Polari’ here. LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective - https://lynkify.in/song/sunshine-buddy/YT47TLFI  GEAR MENTIONS Korg Triton Rhizomatic Synthesis Plasmonic Waves Tune Valhalla Room Tenor Viol Korg MS-10 Yamaha RX5 Drum Machine Roland GAIA Audacity Logic Varispeed Logic 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

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• TN:151 Maribou State

  This week, John is joined by electronic music duo Maribou State to discuss the making of their third studio album, ‘Hallucinating Love’. Maribou State first gained traction after releasing a string of EPs back in 2011, but truly broke through with their debut album, ‘Portraits’, propelling the duo to international recognition. Since then, they’ve become a staple of the global dance music scene, selling out tours across the UK, Europe, and North America. Sitting down at Strongroom Studios, the pair discuss their immersive writing retreats, the challenge of creating over 25 demos for a single track, and their ‘sound harvest’ sessions - entire studio days focused on building custom sample libraries from everyday objects and experimenting with an array of gear. Tracks discussed: Blackoak, Otherside, Rolling Stone 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. TRINITY LABAN  Find out more about Trinity Laban's Songwriting MA here. MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE LISTEN to ‘Hallucinating Love’ here - https://lynkify.in/album/hallucinating-love/9fqbKqy9  LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective - https://lynkify.in/song/sunshine-buddy/YT47TLFI  GEAR MENTIONS SOMA Laboratory ETHER Teenage Engineering TP-7 Marantz Cassette Tape Portable Field Recorder Korg MS-200 Korg MS-20 Sequential Prophet 8 Grampian 636 Spring Reverb Moog Matriarch Moog Sub 37 Moog MF-104M Analog Delay Moog Synths Roland SP-404  Roland TB-303 Roland SPD Roland SRE-555 Chorus Echo Neural DSP Digital Effects Modeler 1176 Compressor Native Instruments Kontakt Nord Stage Neumann U87 Coles Mic EMT Plate Reverb SVT Ampeg Bass Amp Ludwig Drums Ableton Cubase Logic 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

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