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In this milestone 100th episode of Tape Notes, John is joined by the Finneas at Lightship95 Studio, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced his album ‘Optimist’ and his new single ‘Mona Lisa Mona Lisa’.
Reflecting on the fluidity of his writing process, Finneas talks us through the varied methods and circumstances in which his tracks took shape, from the very first synth sounds that kick-started ideas, to the detailed sonic decisions that helped each element work towards a cohesive goal.
Alongside the production masterclass, Finneas looks back on his career so far, discussing his family’s involvement with his music and the impact they’ve had on his creativity. We hear stories from the early days of making music videos with his mum, vocal mic shootouts with Billie, and the essential advice that he still lives by.
Listen to find out why mediocrity isn’t a bad thing, how finishing a song isn’t too dissimilar to finishing a meal, and why the correct way to do something isn’t always the correct way.
Tracks discussed: How It Ends, Medieval, Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES
linktr.ee/tapenotes
Listen to ‘Optimist’ here.
Listen to ‘Mona Lisa Mona Lisa’ here.
OYOY Inc, Interscope Records
Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective.
GEAR MENTIONS
Arturia Farfisa
Output Analogue Strings
FabFilter Twin 2
Spectrasonics Trilian
Spectrasonics Omnisphere
Soundtoys Decapitator
Soundtoys Little AlterBoy
Soundtoys Tremolator
Antares Autotune
Native Instruments Bundle
Native Instruments Massive
Valhalla Room
Neumann TLM103
Chandler REDD
Telefunken ELA M 251
Audio Technica AT2020
Shure SM7B
Shure SM57
M-Audio Venom
Sequential Prophet X
Novation UltraNova Synth
Elektron Synth
Fender Acoustasonic
Tube-Tech CL1B Compressor
Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter
Sweetwater Best Seller List
Ableton
Logic Pro
Logic - Compressor Plugin
OUR GEAR
https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear
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TAPE NOTES TEAM
Will Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & Editor
Tim Adam-Smith - Executive Producer
Will Lyons - Editor
Herbie Elton-Rowley - Videographer
Rob Leedell - Camera Assistant and Photographer
George Durston - Production Assistant
Nathan Hetherington - PR
Rebecca Ibbotson - Digital Marketing