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 MENTIONSAkai MPC MPC SamplerAlesis AndromedaDeckard’s DreamE-mu SP-1200Intellijel MetropolisIntellijel AtlantisRoland Juno 60Korg MonoPolyKorg PolySixLexicon ReverbMake Noise Modular Synthesiser NIIO Analogue Filter Nyle FilterRoland SH-101Roland JupiterRoland Super JDRoland TR-909Roland TR-808Tiptop Audio RS-909 RimshotVerbos Harmonic OscillatorWaldorf MicrowaveYamaha PortasoundYamaha CS-80 Eventide EffectsValhalla ReverbsCasio KeyboardAbleton 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  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