Tape Op Podcast

We interviewed Maryam Qudus, aka Spacemoth, in 2022 for Tape Op #148, as well as for episode #8 of our DISCussion podcast. In addition to her own albums, she is busy working with artists such as La Luz, Toro y Moi, Frankie and the Witch Fingers [Tape Op Podcast #91], and others. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Maryam from her studio in Oakland, CA, to discuss her early influences, producing other bands, the making of her latest Spacemoth album, Inward Eye, and more. Enjoy!

Producer Marc Urselli is the chief engineer at New York City's EastSide Sound, as well as the owner of his own studio, Audio Confidential. He has worked with pop, rock, and jazz artists ranging from U2, Foo Fighters, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Sting, Keith Richards, Kesha, Jeff Beck, Les Paul, Buddy Guy, Luther Vandross, Børns, The Black Crowes, Frank Sinatra, Joss Stone, Mike Patton, and of course, John Zorn, with whom he has made over 120 albums! Geoff Stanfield chatted with Marc from Audio Confidential about his early days recording in Italy, his move to New York, an internship at EastSide Sound, his approach to sessions, working with U2, and his recent collaboration with JZ Mics on their new MU-1 large diaphragm condenser/ribbon hybrid microphone. Enjoy!

We interviewed Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma of the German electronic duo, Mouse on Mars, way back in issue #46 of Tape Op. June 5th, 2026 brings the release of Spatial, No Problem, a collaboration with the late reggae and dub pioneer, and icon, Lee "Scratch" Perry. Geoff Stanfield caught up with the pair from their Berlin studio to discuss the four days of marathon sessions that resulted in this excellent and interesting album. Enjoy! Episode made possible with support from Soundtoys.

Producer, engineer and artist Sarah Tudzin is busy. In addition to her own band, Illuminati Hotties, she has worked on pivotal records from Weyes Blood, Amen Dunes, Slowdive, Logic, and Boygenius. In 2021, she launched her imprint label for Hopeless Records, and has continued to release her own albums while maintaining a full schedule of production, engineering, and mixing for other artists. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Sarah from her home in Los Angeles to discuss her formative years in Southern California, her time at Berklee in Boston, maintaining perspective on her own music, and working with Chris Coady, John Congleton , and Boygenius. Enjoy!

Drawing from a wide-ranging pool of influences—from punk and hardcore to authors like evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and ethicist Peter Singer – José González has forged a unique place for himself in the music scene. He has released records by his band Junip, but his multiple solo albums feature a stripped down "mid-fi" sound consisting mostly of a nylon string guitar, his voice, and the occasional tapping of his foot. His 2003 album, Veneer, gained significant popularity in Sweden, the UK, and the United States. His songs have been featured in films and television shows such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, One Tree Hill, The Blacklist, Friday Night Lights, and many others. His new release, Against the Dying of the Light, is in González's own words, "a collection of songs I hope will age badly, in the sense that humanity finds a way to unite and steer clear of its most self-destructive tendencies." Geoff Stanfield caught up with José from his home in Gothenburg, Sweden, to discuss this new album, his approach to recording, and more. Enjoy.

Texas native and Los Angeles-based producer/engineer, Phillip Broussard, has had a long and storied career. He has worked on pivotal records from a wide-ranging list of artists like Adele, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down, Jay-Z, Linkin Park, The Chicks, Neil Young, and more. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Phillip from his studio in Southern California to discuss his early years in Austin, engineering at Daniel Lanois’ Kingsway studio in New Orleans, his eventual move to Los Angeles, and his longtime working relationship with Rick Rubin. Enjoy!

North Carolina native, Stuart White, has had a steady and event-filled career path, one that has led him to engineering for some of today’s biggest artists. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Stuart from his mix room in southern California to discuss his formative years, studying at Full Sail University, getting hired by New York City’s Quad Studios, and working alongside and being mentored by Russell Elevado and Ann Mincieli, getting hired as Alicia Keys’ personal engineer, main house engineer at Mincieli’s Jungle City Studios, and becoming Beyoncé’s primary and full-time engineer. He has won six Grammy awards to date, and he has worked with FKA Twigs, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Sia, Megan Thee Stallion, and more. Enjoy! Episode made possible with support from AMS-Neve

Happy New Year and welcome to season nine of the Tape Op Podcast! For this episode, we welcome Yves Jarvis, the moniker of Canadian musician Jean-Sébastien Yves Jarvis. His latest release, All Cylinders, won Canada’s Polaris Music Prize for best album of 2025, a record on which Jarvis wrote and performed all of the 16 tracks. Made entirely using Audacity and a half-broken laptop, the collection showcases his love of ‘60s and ‘70s classic rock, soul, and folk music, but it also shines a light on his post-modern approach to music making. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Yves from his home studio in Montreal for this engaging, and often philosophical, conversation. Enjoy!

Since 2006, the Portland, Oregon-based Portugal.The Man have released ten full length studio albums and various EPs. Their 2017 song, “Feel it Still,” garnered them a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, but that might put them into a musical category in your mind that would be way off base. The band’s singer, frontman, and principal songwriter, John Gourley, is on what seems a mission to never rest on what he’s done before, continuing to push his music into new realms. Portugal.The Man’s latest album, Shish, is a wild-ride tapestry of pop music infused with metal, noise, punk, and electronica. His co-producer, engineer, and drummer on the project, Kane Richotte, holed-up with Gourley at the band’s studio outside of Portland, and made one of the most interesting records we have heard this year. Geoff Stanfield caught up with John and Kane while they were out on tour, to discuss the making of Shish, the band’s previous work with producers Jeff Bhasker, Danger Mouse, Mike D, and John Hill, and letting mixers like John Congleton and Andy Wallace do their thing. Enjoy!

Eric Sarafin, first interviewed in Tape Op #34 in 2003, is a producer, engineer, and mixer, known for his work with artists such as Ben Harper, The Pharcyde, Jeff Lorber, Tone Loc, Barenaked Ladies, Amy Grant, and even Foreigner. Eric is also known as Mixerman, the name he used as he chronicled the events of a somewhat fictional album session in Los Angeles as The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, now available in book and podcast form. His following books, like Zen and the Art of MIXING, were very helpful, and his recent tome, Mixerman’s Ultimate Guide to PRODUCING Records, Music & Songs, is a nearly 600 page bundle of advice anyone making music should read. We had a nice chat, so enjoy!

With their latest album, *is*, My Morning Jacket handed over the production reins to storied producer Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Pearl Jam. The result of this collaboration is a focused collection of songs that showcases the band's development and musical diversity. Geoff Stanfield caught up with My Morning Jacket’s frontman and principal songwriter, Jim James, and Brendan to discuss the making of this stellar release. Enjoy!

Lord Huron first caught our ear with their 2012 release, Lonesome Dreams. The album's lush presentation, harmonies, and tinges of surfy guitars made it both decidedly West Coast-sounding and, at the same time, otherworldly. Over a decade on, the band has released its fifth album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, another fully-formed concept album of sorts that, like all of Lord Huron's releases, tells a story, is beautifully produced, recorded and mixed, and is another step forward in the band's development. Geoff Stanfield caught up with founder, songwriter, guitarist, and frontman Ben Schneider to discuss the new album, their Whispering Pines recording studio, and more. Enjoy!

Larry Crane interviews Authors Eliot Bates & Samantha Bennett on their book, Gear: Cultures of Audio and Music Technologies

The story of Regina Spektor is one of a truly self-made artist. In 1989, at nine years old, Spektor and her family emigrated from Moscow to the Bronx in New York. Her love and affinity for playing the piano found her studying in high school at the Manhattan School of Music, and as she continued her classical studies she was also being exposed to and fell in love with pop music, hip-hop, and punk rock. Her self-released albums 11:11 and Songs led to a growing audience and opening slots for The Strokes and Kings of Leon. She was soon signed to Sire Records, who released her third album, Soviet Kitsch. Fast forward many years, and the list of accolades and accomplishments for Regina is long. She has released eight studio albums, featured at the Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Glastonbury festivals, performed at the White House for the Obamas, wrote the theme song for the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, and has had songs appear in multiple films. She recently reissued her albums Begin to Hope, Far, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, Remember Us To Life, and Live in London all exclusively on vinyl. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Regina from her home in New York to discuss her early years, her passion for the craft, and takeaways from working with producers such as Jeff Lynne, Jacknife Lee, John Congleton, and Mike Elizondo. Enjoy!

The Connecticut-based band Goose has had what would seem a meteoric rise into the public consciousness, but the group has been building a loyal fan base the same way that artists like the Grateful Dead and Phish had before them, with nearly a decade of endless touring. Their latest release, Everything Must Go, and 2022's Dripfield were both produced and engineered by D. James Goodwin. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Goose frontman Rick Mitarotonda and Goodwin to chat about the recording of Everything Must Go, capturing the energy of a live band experience, experimentation in the studio, and D. James Goodwin's quest to make the greatest jam band studio album of all time. Enjoy!

Singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins, collectively comprise the powerhouse trio I'm With Her. Their 2018 album, *See You Around*, garnered them Grammy and Americana Music Association nominations, taking awards for Best American Roots song for "Call My Name," and Best Duo/Group of the Year. Their second release, *Wild and Clear and Blue*, is a collection of deeply personal songs and incredible playing, produced by Josh Kaufman and engineered by D. James Goodwin. Geoff Stanfield caught up with the band to talk about the making of the record, their collaborative songwriting process, influences, and more. Enjoy

Atlanta-based producer and songwriter, Turbo (aka Chandler A. Great), has been behind hits from Travis Scott, Gunna, Lil Baby, Nav, and Young Thug. His signature productions are easily recognized, and he has an innate ability to distill songs and their presentations down to their essence and a feeling. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Turbo from his home in Atlanta to discuss his early days, production process, genre-bending collaborations, and how he strives to always be evolving. Enjoy!

Baltimore, Maryland, native Josh "Deakin" Dibb is probably best known as a member of the indie rock legends Animal Collective, but he is also a producer, engineer, and mixer, helming projects for Avey Tare, Tickley Feather, Herald, his own album Sleep Cycle, and most recently a co-production venture with his Animal Collective bandmate, Panda Bear, on the fantastic release, Sinister Grift. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Josh from his studio, The Rabbit Hole, in Baltimore. Enjoy.

For over four decades, David Lowery has been an innovator and thought leader in the music business. As musician, he’s the founder and leader of both indie rock legends Camper Van Beethoven and the successful band Cracker. He’s also a writer, producer, studio owner, educator, and as a champion of artists rights in the digital age he even led a successful $112 million dollar lawsuit against Spotify. His new album, *Fathers, Sons and Brothers*, is a sprawling 28 song release that he offers as an alternative to writing an autobiography. It is a beautiful collection of deeply personal and often quite funny stories that span his history from childhood and family, to the origin stories of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, to relationships and more. Geoff Stanfield caught up with David to chat about this new record, being a studio owner, producing, and his thoughts on record labels, digital technology and copyright, quantitative finance, and more! Enjoy.

We interviewed producer, engineer, and mixer, Chris Coady, back in 2016 for Tape Op issue 113. He has worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future Islands, Beach House, DIIV, The Drums, Porches, Amen Dunes, Sasami, Hand Habits, and countless other artists. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Chris from his studio in Glendale, CA, to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from his formative years in Baltimore, his days at New York City's Quad Studios, and his approach to recording and mixing. Enjoy!