In quite possibly one of the most synth-heavy episodes ever, John catches up with Matt and Andy of Bicep to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced their latest album ‘Isles’.

Unravelling the mystery of how they do what they do, Matt and Andy talk us through the countless demos and subsequent iterations, exploring the abundance of sounds and samples sent to them from collaborators and how this influenced the direction of their music. 

From hours spent experimenting in the studio to what they did when creativity hit a low, we hear stories of mixing vintage gear with the latest kit, the intricacies of using drum machines to trigger synths, and anecdotes on how they both became masters of the modular synthesizer.

Listen to find out how they ended up with a ‘Kenny G’ version of a track, why they bought every kids Casio keyboard they could get their hands on, and why there is no such thing as a warm-up set in Belfast.

Tracks discussed: Atlas, Apricots, Saku, Lido

LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES 

https://linktr.ee/tapenotes 

Listen to 'Isles' here.

'Isles' - Ninja Tune 

Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective 

GEAR MENTIONS

Akai MPC MPC Sampler

Alesis Andromeda

Deckard’s Dream

E-mu SP-1200

Intellijel Metropolis

Intellijel Atlantis

Roland Juno 60

Korg MonoPoly

Korg PolySix

Lexicon Reverb

Make Noise Modular Synthesiser

NIIO Analogue Filter

Nyle Filter

Roland SH-101

Roland Jupiter

Roland Super JD

Roland TR-909

Roland TR-808

Tiptop Audio RS-909 Rimshot

Verbos Harmonic Oscillator

Waldorf Microwave

Yamaha Portasound

Yamaha CS-80 

Eventide Effects

Valhalla Reverbs

Casio Keyboard

Ableton

OUR GEAR

https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear 

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

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  

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