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PODCAST

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

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All Episodes

89:54

TN:169 Parcels

Tape Notes ·

2025/11/28

John is joined by Parcels to discuss how they wrote, recorded and produced the album “LOVED”. Parcels are an Australian electropop band consisting of Jules Crommelin, Louie Swain, Noah Hill, Patrick Hetherington and Anatole Serret. After moving from Australia to Berlin, Parcels signed a deal with French label Kitsuné. However, it was their collaboration with seminal dance duo Daft Punk, who produced their 2017 single “Overnight”, that led to their breakthrough. Since then the band have released

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95:12

TN:168 Sam Gellaitry

Tape Notes ·

2025/11/12

John is joined by Scottish musician and producer Sam Gellaitry.Described as “your favourite producer’s favourite producer”, Sam’s innovative, genre-blending electronic music and superb production skills have earned him a loyal fan following and industry respect over the past decade. Sam signed his first deal, with XL Recordings, at just 18. While early EPs were purely instrumental, Sam started to incorporate his own vocals on fifth EP, IV (2021). The track ‘Assumptions’ from the EP became his

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114:57

TN:167 Kae Tempest & Fraser T. Smith

Tape Notes ·

2025/10/29

John is joined by Kae Tempest and Fraser T. Smith to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album “Self-Titled”.Kae Tempest is an English recording artist and author. He began his career performing at open mic nights around London, quickly gaining a reputation for his powerful lyrical performances blending rap and spoken word poetry. Between 2008 and 2012 he toured internationally with his band Sound of Rum, launching a solo career with debut album ‘Everybody Down’ in 2014. It and second album

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107:32

TN:166 Hayley Williams & Daniel James

Tape Notes ·

2025/10/14

John is joined by Hayley Williams and producer Daniel James to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’. Hayley Williams is an American pop-punk and rock musician. She began writing songs in her early teens, signing a deal with Atlantic Records at just 15 years old. The label wanted her to be a solo artist, but Hayley had other ideas, instead forming the band Paramore with three school friends. Paramore released their first album ‘All We Know Is Falling’

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97:04

TN:165 The Favors (FINNEAS & Ashe)

Tape Notes ·

2025/09/30

John is joined by The Favors, a duo composed of producer/singer-songwriter FINNEAS and singer-songwriter Ashe, to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘The Dream’. FINNEAS is a Grammy Award-winning producer best known for his longtime collaboration with his younger sister, Billie Eilish. As her primary producer, songwriter and touring partner, FINNEAS has played a key role in shaping her sound, earning 10 Grammy Awards along the way. Beyond his work with Eilish, Finneas has established

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85:14

TN:164 Pomplamoose

Tape Notes ·

2025/09/16

John is joined by Pomplamoose - American indie-jazz duo Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn - to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘Photogénique’, released in July this year.The two met while studying at Stanford University and began making music together in early 2008. They first gained widespread attention in late 2009 through their inventive covers of popular songs on YouTube and MySpace, achieving their first viral hit in 2010 with their rendition of Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’. Since then,

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122:45

TN:163 CMAT & Oli Deakin

Tape Notes ·

2025/09/02

John is joined by Irish singer-songwriter CMAT and producer Oli Deakin, to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘EURO-COUNTRY’. CMAT, aka Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, is best known for her unique blend of country-infused pop music, which often incorporates humour and pop culture references. She released her debut album, ‘If My Wife New I'd Be Dead’, in 2022, produced by longtime friend Oli Deakin. Both it and second album ‘Crazymad, For Me’ were praised for their detailed lyricism. The

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95:38

TN:162 Laufey & Spencer Stewart

Tape Notes ·

2025/08/27

John is joined by singer-songwriter and musician Laufey and producer Spencer Stewart to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘A Matter Of Time’.Having performed on numerous national TV singing shows in her youth, Icelandic-Chinese artist Laufey released her first full-length album, ‘Everything I Know About Love’ in 2022. It was praised for seamlessly blending jazz influences with contemporary production. Her second album, ‘Bewitched’, continued this trend with its captivating jazz-pop

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86:07

TN:161 Rudimental

Tape Notes ·

2025/08/12

John is joined by Piers and Kesi of seminal British dance act Rudimental, at Strongroom Studios in London to discuss how they wrote and recorded new album ‘RUDIM3NTAL’.Rudimental’s three members - Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon Rolle - started as childhood friends. After releasing their debut album ‘Home’ in 2013, the trio quickly became one of the most influential dance acts of the 21st century. They have amassed billions of streams worldwide, toured extensively and released multiple

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101:16

TN:160 Djo & Adam Thein

Tape Notes ·

2025/07/29

John is joined by Djo and producer Adam Thein to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘The Crux’. Djo, aka Joe Keery, is an American musician and actor. His music career began back in 2014 as a guitarist and drummer in the Chicago psych-rock/garage band ‘Post Animal’. He left to launch a solo career as Djo, balancing music with a starring role in the Netflix global hit ‘Stranger Things’. His first album as Djo, ‘Twenty Twenty’, was released in 2019 and praised by critics for its blend of

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110:20

TN:159 Barry Can't Swim

Tape Notes ·

2025/07/14

John sits down with Scottish artist, producer and DJ Josh Mainnie, at Baltic Studios, better known as Barry Can’t Swim, and producer O’ Flynn to discuss how they wrote and recorded the album ‘Loner’.Josh first began releasing under the alias Barry Can’t Swim in 2019, releasing a stream of singles that began attracting attention for their melodic, dance-driven style. In 2023, he released his first full-length album, ‘When Will We Land?’, which became a huge success, earning him nominations for

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110:16

TN:158 Lorde & Jim-E Stack

Tape Notes ·

2025/07/01

John is joined by Lorde and producer Jim-E Stack to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Virgin’.Lorde, is a singer-songwriter and producer from New Zealand who rose to fame in 2013 with the Grammy winning global hit track ‘Royals’. Her albums 2013’s ‘Pure Heroine’, 2017’s ‘Melodrama’, and 2012's ‘Solar Power’ all showcase her sharp, raw lyrics and sophisticated production . In June 2025, after collaborations with artists including Charli XCX, Lorde released ‘Virgin’. Produced

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100:23

TN:157 Jamie xx

Tape Notes ·

2025/06/19

John is joined by Jamie xx, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘In Waves’.Jamie xx is an English musician, record producer, and DJ. He began his career as part of The xx, whose 2009 debut album ‘xx’ was instrumental in shaping the indie music scene of the 2010s. Jamie’s critically acclaimed solo debut, ‘In Colour’, arrived in 2015, earning both Mercury and Grammy nominations. In 2024, he released ‘In Waves’, a record that captures the emotional highs and hazy afterglow of

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121:45

Reissue | TN:42 Caribou

Tape Notes ·

2025/06/10

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 with Caribou, Dan Snaith, all the way back in Summer 2020.EPISODE NOTES In this episode John links up with Caribou a.k.a. Dan Snaith, to breakdown how Suddenly - his first release in five years - was written, recorded and produced. Diving deep into his hard drive Dan treats us to a plethora of demo versions, track breakdowns

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113:05

TN:156 Air

Tape Notes ·

2025/05/28

John is joined by Nicolas Godin, one half of the French electronic duo Air, to explore how they wrote, recorded, and produced their iconic debut album, Moon Safari.Formed in 1995 by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, Air rose to global fame with ‘Moon Safari’ in 1998, a critically acclaimed, genre-defining album that helped elevate French pop and inspired a generation of down-tempo electronic music. In 2025, the duo marked its 25th anniversary with Blue Moon Safari, a bold reinterpretation by

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74:00

TN:155 d4vd

Tape Notes ·

2025/05/13

John is joined by American singer and songwriter d4vd, to talk about how he wrote and recorded his debut album ‘Withered’. David Burke, aka d4vd, broke into music after beginning to produce tracks of his own to accompany Fortnite videos. Having taught himself how to make music on BandLab and uploading tracks online, he first saw success with the single ‘Romantic Homicide’, becoming a viral hit. He has since released multiple singles and two EPs ‘Petals to Thorns’, which charted on the Billboard

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76:42

TN:154 Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra

Tape Notes ·

2025/04/29

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

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112:25

TN:153 Porter Robinson

Tape Notes ·

2025/04/17

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,

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101:12

Reissue | TN:40 DJ Shadow

Tape Notes ·

2025/03/05

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

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113:34

TN:152 Olly Alexander & Danny L Harle

Tape Notes ·

2025/02/21

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

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184 results

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