Tape Notes

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.

Episodes

November 27, 2025 89 mins
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”,...
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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 f...
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October 28, 2025 114 mins
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 car...
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October 14, 2025 107 mins
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 fri...
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September 30, 2025 97 mins
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 a...
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September 16, 2025 85 mins
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...
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September 2, 2025 122 mins
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 ...
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August 27, 2025 95 mins
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...
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August 12, 2025 86 mins
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...
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July 29, 2025 101 mins
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 Tw...
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July 14, 2025 108 mins
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 W...
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July 1, 2025 108 mins
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...
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June 19, 2025 98 mins
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 Wave...
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June 10, 2025 119 mins
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...
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May 28, 2025 110 mins
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 it...
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May 13, 2025 72 mins
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 sing...
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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 Song...
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April 17, 2025 110 mins
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 nomin...
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March 4, 2025 99 mins
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 ...
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February 20, 2025 111 mins
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 ‘Di...
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