Thanks to Audiomovers for supporting this episode. Their Listento Plugin has been a gamechanger for us and we use it across all of our remote interviews and recordings.To see their full range of plugins, visit audiomovers.com and use the promo code TAPENOTES1 at checkout to get your free month (usually only two days).In this episode, John is joined by James Blake to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’.With the idea of simplifying his solo work primarily with synths and drums, James shares his process of crafting an album with the purpose of getting away from the computer, reflecting on the impact it had on his creativity and mental health.A true master of modular synths, he talks us through the long journey learning to create ‘listenable’ music with them, discussing the ways in which they are able to create sounds that he couldn't have imagined. Listen to discover the enlightening advice James received from Universal's Head A&R, how to best record your voice if you plan to pitch it, and how to adopt the mindset of making music for fun.Tracks discussed: Loading, Big Hammer, Playing Robots Into HeavenLINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  linktr.ee/tapenotes Listen to ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’ here.Republic Records, Polydor Records, UMG RecordingsIntro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel CollectiveGEAR MENTIONSThermionic Culture Fat BustardSequential Prophet 8 Native Instruments MassiveIntellijel MetropolisMake Noise MATHSMake Noise Black and GoldSoma Pulsar-23Roland SH-101Roland TR-8SRoland TR-909Erica Synths LX-02OEK Sound SootheFXpansion GeistValhalla ReverbsValhalla Vintage VerbAPI DeskLogic ProOUR GEARhttps://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgearHELP 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 :) DonateOr you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns.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 NotesPatreon: 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.ukTAPE NOTES TEAMWill Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & EditorTim Adam-Smith - Executive ProducerWill Lyons - EditorAndy Tindall - VideographerGuy Nicholls - Production Assistant