Tape Op Magazine - Issue #157

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

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AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Ryan Hadlock: Bear Creek and Beyond

BY LARRY CRANE

Not far outside of Seattle, Washington, there's a converted old barn out in the woods named Bear Creek Studio. It's been there for well over 40 years, making it one of the oldest continuously running residential studios in the world. Joe and Manny Hadlock, with help from their friends, built this studio in 1978. Their son, Ryan Hadlock, has been engineering and producing from Bear Creek and all over the world for decades, with artists like Zach Bryan (including "Something Orange," a Grammy-nominated single in 2023 for Best Country Solo Performance), The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy, The Black Heart Procession, Blonde Redhead, The Afghan Whigs, Stephen Malkmus [Tape Op #15], Gossip, and Ra Ra Riot. Ryan's story is a unique one, and, though I've known him for many years, I learned a lot more about him in this discussion.

AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS

SASAMI: Conjuring the Space

BY MEREDITH HOBBS COONS, KYLE THOMAS

SASAMI, born Sasami Ashworth, has been a sought-after "jack of all trades" in the indie music world since returning to her hometown of Los Angeles following graduation from classical conservatory at Eastman School of Music. From playing in Cherry Glazerr, to touring with Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail, Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, and HAIM, to producing records by King Tuff (Smalltown Stardust) and Hand Habits (Fun House), not to mention producing, writing, arranging, and engineering her own genre-bending work, her skills and sensibilities have enlivened an industry that can often feel uninspiring. With her 2022 second solo album, Squeeze, and tours to support it, SASAMI confronted the mostly male landscape of metal and has brought theatrics, haunted house lighting, and playful aggression to both dive bars and arena stages alike. Now based in West Marin, California, she's exploring the poetic language of naturalists as well as Britney Spears's early aughts "guilty pleasure" (minus the guilt) aesthetics as she weaves together new material.

AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Arooj Aftab: Making Music for Everybody

BY LISA MACHAC, BLYTHE THOMAS

A compelling Brooklyn-based Pakistani composer, vocalist, and producer, Arooj Aftab's 2021 album, Vulture Prince, brought her voice and music a lot of attention, as well as a Grammy for Best Global Music Performance. Her recent collaboration, Love in Exile, with Shahzad Ismaily [Tape Op #151] and Vijay Iyer, was tracked and improvised live in the studio and is a beautiful work of art that deserves focused listening. She recently chatted with Lisa Machac, of Omni Sound Project, about her path in music and sound.

AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS

David Brown of Soyuz Microphones: Behind the Gear

BY JOHN BACCIGALUPPI

David Brown, along with his business partner Pavel Bazdyrev (aka Pasha), is the co-founder of Soyuz Microphones. In the past ten years, Soyuz has established themselves as one of the best condenser microphone brands in a crowded field. Uniquely, the microphones are manufactured in Russia. I had a chance to sit down and chat with David at the recent 2023 NAMM show in the quietest place at the show; a three story cement parking garage. In between Harley-Davidson motorcycles passing by, I got the story of how David went from being a touring musician to a mic maker.

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