We've been sent a lot of CD's, vinyl and tapes since starting Tape Op. Here's a rundown of some of the more interesting ones and their recording origins.
LILYS
Better Can't Make Your Life Better (Che/Primary)
The Apples (in Stereo) mentioned this as a favorite new record in issue #2 of Tape Op, and rightfully so. It shares the same feel of vintage sixties recordings like the Apples stuff and has great pop hooks. It was recorded at studio .45 in Hartford, Connecticut, by Michael Demming who claims, "We analyzed the harmonic spectrum of records from the fifties and sixties on an oscilloscope and matched the frequencies to achieve a similar sound." I kinda doubt it was so scientific but when the results are this fun to listen to, who cares.
SHEILA CHANDRA
ABoneCroneDrone (RealWorld/Caroline)
Sheila used to be in Monsoon, a spacey, droney band that showcased her beautiful, Indian voice. She's released a good handful of solo albums, most in a poppier vein, but here she stretches out with six drones with no percussion and shades of ornamental voices and bits of didgeridoo, bagpipes and synths. It all comes out real dreamy. The super clean recording equipment and high-tech synth stuff actually works quite well in creating late-night ear candy and I'm sure the mixing sessions at Peter Gabriel's wonderful Real World Studios didn't hurt the sound any!
PETER JEFFERIES
Elevator Madness (Emperor Jones)
I'll fib you not, Peter and I are good pals who stay up every night he's in town and drink beer and chat til 4 AM. I'm just putting this plug in to say that any of his 3 solo records are very, very good and examples of using small studios to their best advantage. And the songs are good. We'll get an interview out of the guy someday!
SCENIC
Sage/Another Way (Independent Project Records)
Acquatica (World Domination)
Scenic is the new band of Bruce Licher, who used to be in the huge Savage Republic. Scenic is similar in feel but scaled down to a smaller combo and is purely instrumental. The music is beautiful desertscapes put to sound, a bit of atmospheric reverb, heroic drumming and it evokes imagery in the same way as a movie soundtrack. The recording seems fairly simple and unobtrusive, giving the music room to breathe, and fits near perfect with the mood. Bonus item: Great IPR cardboard and letterpress packaging as usual.
SPOON
"Telephono" (Matador)
Next time your friends in some "up-and-coming" alt-rock band tell you they have to record in a 24 track studio play this little masterpiece for them. Spoon are a great band but let's talk about John Croslin who recorded this on his 8 track. Yeah, this guy John used to be in The Reivers, a great folkish/rock/pop band from Austin that never really got enough attention. I remember one time he kicked Andy Metcalfe (of Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians) out of the producer's seat during a Reiver's recording session, which must have taken some guts. Anyway, this is an ideal example of using an 8 track setup to the max with super-full, well worked out sounds and an honest "live" feel that most CD's certainly lack these days. Look for other things John's recorded and keep an eye out for Spoon records too.
EAST RIVER PIPE