TN:114 James Ellis Ford

Thanks to Highnote for supporting this episode of Tape Notes. Highnote is the best way to share, store, and discuss your recording projects, a kind of bespoke Dropbox for audio specifically built for communication. Think time-stamped voice comments directly over your audio, nesting versions to toggle and compare in real time, and instant notifications when people comment or listen to a track you’ve shared. Highnote accounts are completely free and include 4 gigabytes of storage to get your started, plus there's a special offer for Tape Notes listeners of 3 months of their 200GB plan for free. Head to highnote.fm/tapenotes to find out more. ------- In this episode, John ventures over to Clapton to join James Ellis Ford and talk about how he wrote, recorded, and produced the album ‘The Hum’.

His debut solo release after almost two decades working with some of the world's biggest artists, James looks back on how his approach to music has changed over the course of the album, reflecting on the different mindsets and decisions that come with producing his own work compared to that of others.

As well as a deep dive into his vast studio setup and hybrid system of new and old creative techniques, we’re treated to thoughts on the fine line of ironing out the humanness of mistakes, and how more often than not, pieces of gear can give you back ideas that you’d never have expected.

Listen to find out which undiscovered mics are used across almost all of the records he works on, how to implement a Frippertronics-style tape setup, and what you can create when you push a bass clarinet to its limits.

Tracks discussed: I Never Wanted Anything, Squeaky Wheel, The Yips

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Listen to ‘The Hum’ here. Warp Records

Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective

GEAR MENTIONS FabFilter Pro Q Soundtoys PrimalTap Soundtoys DevilLoc UAD Fairchild Plugins UAD 1176 UAD LA2A K-Devices Plugins ARP 2600 Cirklon Sequencer Roland TR-808 Korg Maxi-Korg Synth Hohner Clavinet Philicorda Beezneez Microphones Melodium Ribbon Mic Shure SM7B Gibson ES-125 Guitar Burns Bass Ebow Mutron Auto Wah Mutron Phasor Eventide H3000 Chorus Space Station Reverb Grampian Spring Reverb MicMix Master Room Reverb MR-II Selmer 60s Fuzz Altec Preamp Tascam 4TRK J37 Tape Machine Nagra Tape Machine Studer Desk

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HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :) Donate

TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & Editor Tim Adam-Smith - Executive Producer Will Lyons - Editor Videographer - Andy Tindall Guy Nicholls - Production Assistant