In this episode John catches up with Benny Sings and producer Kenny Beats to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Young Hearts’. Linking in from their studios in Amsterdam and LA, Benny and Kenny look back on their time spent writing and how each environment had an impact on the music. From experiencing the ‘Kenny Beats Thing’ in LA along with his wealth of collaborators, to spending a solitary week writing in Amsterdam locked in the studio with Covid. As well as sharing the voice notes that initially inspired Kenny to become involved in the project, the duo dig deep into the lessons they’ve picked up over the years. We’re treated to some tips and tricks behind effortless lyric writing, stock plugin gold, along with a deep dive into mixing and balancing drums and bass. Listen to find out how to create definition between yourself and a character within a song, how to efficiently keep track of all your sessions, and what the definitive definition of ‘slap’ is. Tracks discussed: Young Hearts, Pyjamas, Distance LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES   linktr.ee/tapenotes  Listen to ‘Young Hearts’ here. Stones Throw Records Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective    GEAR MENTIONS Fab Filter Pro Q3 Oek Sound Soothe Valhalla Chorus Goodhertz Midside Goodhertz Vulf Compressor Eventide Instant Phaser Plugin Eventide Instant Phaser Outboard Oliver Samples Packs Beyerdynamic M500 Mic Altec Outboard Mixer Roland TR-55 Rhythm King Drum Machine Yamaha CP-70 Hofner Club 50 Stylophone Whurlitzer Ableton Ableton Drum Buss - Stock Plugin Splice OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear 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 Or 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 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 Patreon: 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 Guy Nicholls - Production Assistant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices