Dark and light are a false binary; that's what I came to realize during my conversation with composer, fiddler, and vocalist Zosha Warpeha. In familiarizing myself with her work, perhaps drawing from my own macabre-leaning sensibility, I got so swept up in its details that could be construed as spooky that I nearly missed its truer focus. Though her recent album I grow accustomed to the dark indeed references darkness in its title, the emphasis is not to be placed there but on the "grow accustomed" part. Though Orbweaver, Warpeha's collaboration with Mariel Terán, may reference a spider, oftentimes considered scary, what is an orb-weaver but a small animal, its spiderly brethren strewn across the globe; one that builds intricate webs that catch dew and glow brightly in the sun; one that adapts to a changing planet and finds its ways to thrive?

It has become increasingly common for YouTubers and other online creators to pivot to music—some for a brief season, to sing their heart’s song and experience the joy of bringing an original composition or two into the world, and some for a long-term shift (Addison Rae being, perhaps, the most famous example of someone pursuing this path). In many of these cases, the common, perfectly acceptable practice is to find a producer to work with who can midwife songs along with each artist to help them to live out their musical dreams. But this is not how Gabi Belle does things.

Charlotte Cornfield's album 'Hurts Like Hell' maps a songwriter's life from drink-ticket gigs in Montreal to the steadier ground of family, community, and creative confidence in Toronto.

Kito, whose given name is Maaike Kito Lebbing, has a music production career spanning three continents, from Australia, to Europe (London), and to the United States by way of Los Angeles. In that time, she has produced music for many iconic artists, such as Mabel, Jorja Smith, and Empress Of, but 2025 found her landing her first executive production credit on Lily Allen’s much buzzed-about album, West End Girl. We spoke about songcraft, the importance of maintaining a sense of fun while making dance music, and the previous night where she had attended the 2025 ARIA Awards (Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards) with many Aussie music industry friends in Sydney.

Rachel White is an engineer, guitarist, and producer who has lent her talents in the studio to Weezer and Panic! At the Disco, among others (she has even contributed backing vocals to the latter on tour). Now mostly keeping busy as a producer in her own studio space in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, she has worked alongside studio legends such as John Congleton [Tape Op #81], Jake Sinclair, Eva Reistad, Ethan Gruska [#141], and Suzy Shinn [#151]. We chatted about what it’s like to grow up in L.A., seeking out women-led organizations that create opportunities in audio, and, of course, her process and gear.

Clarissa Connelly, the Scotland-born, Copenhagen-based composer, first captured audiences’ attention with her 2018 release, Tech Duinn, and has been creating medieval-tinged multidimensional soundscapes ever since. Informed by her masters' level composition studies at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory and influenced by ancient mythologies and holy landmarks alike, Connelly’s work has drawn comparisons to Kate Bush as well as Hildegard von Bingen. With the sonic spaces she has structured since Tech Duinn, from 2020’s The Voyager to 2024’s World of Work (the primary focus of this conversation), Connelly has been moving from exterior to interior sources of inspiration.

Longtime friends and Chicago scene veterans, Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart have turned 'BODY SOUND' into a record of real-time improvisation, physical tape manipulation, and an unexpected kinship with Yoko Ono's 'Grapefruit'.

Though their debut album as the duo Sibyl was only just released into the world in February of this year, Chloe and Lily Holgate have been singing together their entire lives, often at the bidding of their loving parents—"Girls, sing for us!" they would say. That's just the kind of thing sisters do, especially when raised by parents who have forged careers in the world of musical theater. The two fondly recount their vocal origin story with joy and gratitude, knowing that the early coaxing they experienced together has allowed them to tap into a deeply attuned state only accessed through harmonizing together, something Chloe describes as a "grounding and magical experience."

The classically trained string player recorded her new album across 15 wilderness locations in British Columbia, embracing imperfection, improvisation, and the unpredictable feedback of the natural world.

“I don't want a record to sound like what everyone else is trying to sound like,” Scout Gillett says, and that means keeping her various inspirations close, allowing Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, and The Deftones to share space in her imagination. Gillett joined us virtually on a sunny Wednesday morning from her home in Los Angeles to discuss her new album, Tough Touch . . .

Having familiarized myself with the Jason P. Woodbury oeuvre through the years via his editorial home Aquarium Drunkard (to which I sometimes contribute), his funky A/V project Wastoids, and his guest appearances on podcasts including Bandsplain and my very own Wilco Will Love You, it has been great fun to sort the Easter eggs hidden within his latest album, Jason P. Woodbury & The Nightbird Singing Quartet, releasing March 13th, 2026. J

There is some cool-as-hell history in the Civil War-set series The Gray House, the kind that bears further geeking out over post-watch. However, as compelling as TGH aspires to be, and often is, it can’t seem to decide what aspect of its storytelling to emphasize, instead leaving it all in there, resulting in eight episodes of television that feel as overstuffed as a 19th century socialite’s skirt.  

Ratboys frontwoman Julia Steiner discusses how 'Singin' to an Empty Chair' grew from a grief practice into a collection of bright, aching songs that never settle for just one feeling at a time.

Meredith Hobbs Coons and Carolyn Zaldivar Snow of The Tonearm compare notes on 'Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,' the documentary film that turns feminist music history into something closer to evidence.

After three years of touring more than 200 days annually, the guitarist and Jeff Tweedy sideman recorded 'Pilot Light' to recreate, musically, what constant travel had taken away.

The fiercely independent songwriter's EP 'daisy' honors their late childhood dog while exploring patterns of loyalty and mistreatment across romantic, familial, and pet relationships—all released exclusively on Bandcamp as an act of self-determination.

When I first heard about the Resonator Awards in 2024, I had recently interviewed artist/producer SASAMI [Tape Op #157] and production great Jennifer DeCilveo [#161] for Tape Op (the former had signed on to perform, the latter was to receive the All-Star Award), and I was simultaneously thrilled to learn of its existence and gutted to realize that I could not attend. What do you mean We Are Moving the Needle, an organization helmed by legendary mastering engineer Emily Lazar, hosts an award show honoring women, nonbinary, and trans engineers, producers, and artists as well as allies in the music industry as the Grammys continue to (mostly) overlook them?! This might just be the only awards show I care about now!

The Montreal electroacoustic artist spent three decades distributing sound through pirate radio and public space performances before releasing 'Vowel Jams', an album that spotlights her personal vision over public appeal.

Silvia Ryder discusses her album 'Monday's Child', the unconventional instruments that define her music, and how leaving Sugar Plum Fairies led her to build a new identity from Omnichords and archival film.

Throughout his career, Will Epstein has amassed film scoring credits, including an IDA Documentary Award nomination for his score for Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV (2023), by attuning to the micro-moments on screen and crafting the music to match them. So it comes as no surprise that, with the release of his latest lyrics-forward album Yeah, mostly (out on Fat Possum Records), he applies this focused attention as well, sourcing his imagery and subject matter from life’s small moments that may otherwise go unnoticed as a person goes on living . . .