The Roads of Ruben James

Ruben James recorded a real cymbal that he was playing. The drums were compression, then overdubbed with Oxford inflator and tape distortion artifacts. It's possible to hear the drums without that stuff? Yes. And then hear it with it. So yeah, someone's had the drums.

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Thanks to SoundBetter for supporting this episode of Tape Notes.

SoundBetter is the world's leading music production talent marketplace, giving you access to the best mixing & mastering engineers, singers, songwriters, producers, and studio musicians in the industry. You can work with Billie Eilish's drummer, U2's mix engineer, or hire the topliners that wrote on the latest BTS record, these pros are keen to work with Indy artists.

Head to SoundBetter.com to find out more.

In this special live episode, John heads to Mother Advertising to chat with returning guest SG Lewis about how he wrote, recorded, and produced his new album ‘AudioLust & HigherLove’.

Starting writing after taking ten days off music making and getting bored, Sam reflects on the times spent with his collaborators in the studio and on exotic retreats, sharing the sparks of songwriting inspiration that came from their stories and lives.

In this all-round production masterclass, we’re treated to a deep dive into Sam’s process of updating sounds and processing techniques from past eras for a modern audience, as well as mixing tips including the best ways to make a kick and bass punch over iPhone speakers.

Listen to find out why the phonetics of lyrics are so important, how to create a convincing fake vocoder, and what some of the most effective ways are to gain confidence as a singer when you’re not a singer.

Tracks discussed: Lifetime, Call On Me, Something About Your Love

LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES

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Listen to ‘AudioLust & HigherLove’ here.