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 the Mercury Prize and at the BRIT Awards. ‘Loner’ released in July 2025, sees him reflect on his newfound fame and place in the industry, whilst maintaining his signature high energy beats and captivating soundscapes.

Sitting down with Josh, and later with collaborator O’Flynn, the conversation dives into the album-making process. They explore Josh’s sampling techniques, the ideal mindset and headspace for creating great music, and the stories behind capturing sounds from unexpected places, like the toilets of an Indian restaurant, and turning them into tracks.

Tracks discussed: Still Riding, Wandering Mt. Moon, Kimpton

TAPE IT

Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast.

Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 20% off.

Recorded at Baltic Studios

LANDR

Get 20% off LANDR Distribution and Studio at landr.com/tapenotes

MUSIVERSAL

Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE

LISTEN to ‘Loner’ here

‘Ninja Tune’

LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES

linktr.ee/tapenotes

Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective - https://lynkify.in/song/sunshine-buddy/YT47TLFI

GEAR MENTIONS

Oek Sound Soothe 2

Cable Guys Snap Back

XLN Audio Life Plugin

Spectrasonics Keyscape Double Felt

Valhalla Plugins

Make Noise Morphogene

Korg MS-20

Ableton Prehistoric VHS (Wavetable Preset)

OUR GEAR

https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear

HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you'd like to help support the show you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns.

KEEP UP TO DATE

For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:

Instagram: @tapenotes

Twitter: @tapenotes

Facebook: @tapenotespodcast

YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast

Discord: Tape Notes

Patreon: Tape Notes

To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear!

Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.uk

Loner

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 1 episodes

The AI-powered Podcast Player