In this episode, John links up with Dan and Wayne of Imagine Dragons to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced their latest album 'Mercury - Act 1.Having spent almost three years writing almost 300 demos, Dan and Wayne look back on the process of whittling down the tracklist and forming the album, from capturing their ideas as quickly as possible, through to working with legendary producer Rick Rubin and deconstructing everything to its purest essence.As well as sharing their thoughts on creativity, songwriting and their life experiences in the world of music, the pair speak openly about the inspiration and meaning behind some of their most honest tracks to date, while also demonstrating how they let the subject of each song help define its production.Listen to find out why samples can sometimes work better than a live performance, how raw magic often is captured on a first take, and the wealth of instruments that Dan can create using only his mouth.Tracks discussed: Dull Knives, It’s Ok, Wrecked LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES https://linktr.ee/tapenotes  Listen to ‘Mercury - Act 1’ here.‘Mercury - Act One’ - Interscope Records, KIDinaKORNER  Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective  GEAR MENTIONSAnalogue Design Black Box PluginApTriggaSoundtoys Devil-Loc TrackSpacer PluginFab Filter Pro-Q3MelodyneAntares Auto-TuneGoodhertz Wow Control UAD E SSL Channel StripValhalla ReverbsNative Instruments Guitar RigNative Instruments Drum Lab Native Instruments RickenbackerGibson Les PaulEbowVox AC30Marshall ShredMaster PedalShure SM57Royer MicrophoneNeumann U47Neumann U67Neve 1073Kemper Profiler RackFender TelecasterFender Princeton AmpRoland TR-808Ableton Tube AmpAbleton CompressorAbletonCakewalkLogic ProCubase OUR GEARhttps://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear  HELP SUPPORT THE SHOWIf 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 DATEFor behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on: Instagram: @tapenotes Twitter: @tapenotes Facebook: @tapenotespodcast  YouTube: Tape Notes PodcastDiscord: Tape NotesTo 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