In this episode, John is joined by Olivia Dean and producer Matt Hales to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced Olivia’s Mercury-nominated debut album ‘Messy’.Taking us back to the very start of their story, the pair discuss the inspiration for the album, sharing their approach to marrying different musical cultures and the importance of the chats they had before writing.As well as playing their writing session voice notes showing the exact moments each song took shape, we hear stories of mouth trumpet demos, creating artefacts to make instruments sound sampled, and the thought process behind choosing mix engineers. Listen to find out why so much of what makes a good record can come from turning things off, why it’s so valuable to just have things around the studio, and why tea can be such an integral part of the creative process.Tracks discussed: UFO, Messy, Carmen----------------Thanks to Tape It for supporting this episode. Tape It is a recording app designed specifically for musicians and songwriters. Among many of Tape It's incredible features, you can record straight from lock screen, set markers and have complete control over your record settings, and that just the start.To find out more and get the full app free for a month, head to www.tape.it/tapenotes----------------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).----------------LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  linktr.ee/tapenotes Listen to ‘Messy’ here - https://songwhip.com/oliviadean/messy2023 EMI, Universal MusicIntro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective - https://songwhip.com/laurelcollective/sunshinebuddy   GEAR MENTIONSAudioThing ReelsShure SM7BBoss CE1 PedalMoog SynthsSteinberg CubaseOUR 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 - EditorNico Varanese - Videographer, EditorHerbie Elton-Rowley - VideographerGuy Nicholls - Production Assistant