In this milestone 100th episode of Tape Notes, John is joined by the Finneas at Lightship95 Studio, to talk about how he wrote, recorded and produced his album ‘Optimist’ and his new single ‘Mona Lisa Mona Lisa’. Reflecting on the fluidity of his writing process, Finneas talks us through the varied methods and circumstances in which his tracks took shape, from the very first synth sounds that kick-started ideas, to the detailed sonic decisions that helped each element work towards a cohesive goal. Alongside the production masterclass, Finneas looks back on his career so far, discussing his family’s involvement with his music and the impact they’ve had on his creativity. We hear stories from the early days of making music videos with his mum, vocal mic shootouts with Billie, and the essential advice that he still lives by. Listen to find out why mediocrity isn’t a bad thing, how finishing a song isn’t too dissimilar to finishing a meal, and why the correct way to do something isn’t always the correct way. Tracks discussed: How It Ends, Medieval, Mona Lisa Mona Lisa   Listen to ‘Optimist’ here. Listen to ‘Mona Lisa Mona Lisa’ here. OYOY Inc, Interscope Records   Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective.   GEAR MENTIONS Arturia Farfisa Output Analogue Strings FabFilter Twin 2 Spectrasonics Trilian Spectrasonics Omnisphere Soundtoys Decapitator Soundtoys Little AlterBoy Soundtoys Tremolator Antares Autotune Native Instruments Bundle Native Instruments Massive Valhalla Room Neumann TLM103 Chandler REDD Telefunken ELA M 251 Audio Technica AT2020 Shure SM7B Shure SM57 M-Audio Venom Sequential Prophet X Novation UltraNova Synth Elektron Synth Fender Acoustasonic Tube-Tech CL1B Compressor Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter Sweetwater Best Seller List Ableton Logic Pro Logic - Compressor Plugin   OUR GEAR Sennheiser HD 280 Pro  Neumann Studio Headphone NDH20  Neumann TLM 103 Rode NT2 RME Babyface Pro RME Fireface UFX+ Focusrite Clarett 8Pre ART Headamp 6 Merging Technologies Pyramix FabFilter Pro-Q 3 FabFilter Pro-DS iZotope RX Waves RVox  Waves L2 Waves Maxx Volume iZotope RX   KEEP UP TO DATE For behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on:  Instagram: @tapenotes  Twitter: @tapenotes  Facebook: @tapenotespodcast   YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Discord: Tape Notes 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  HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If 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   TAPE NOTES TEAM Will Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & Editor Tim Adam-Smith - Executive Producer Will Lyons - Editor Herbie Elton-Rowley - Videographer Rob Leedell - Camera Assistant and Photographer George Durston - Production Assistant Nathan Hetherington - PR Rebecca Ibbotson - Digital Marketing