About this episode
John is joined by Scottish musician and producer Sam Gellaitry. Described as “your favourite producer’s favourite producer”, Sam’s innovative, genre-blending electronic music and superb production skills have earned him a loyal fan following and industry respect over the past decade. Sam signed his first deal, with XL Recordings, at just 18. While early EPs were purely instrumental, Sam started to incorporate his own vocals on fifth EP, IV ( 2021). The track ‘Assumptions’ from the EP became his biggest hit to date, reaching No. 5 on the US Dance Chart. In 2022, Sam’s collaboration with Pink Pantheress, ‘Picture in my Mind’, brought him to mainstream attention. The same year, he released his mixtape VF VOL II and was named by EDM as one of the 10 best producers of the year. Sam has toured extensively with artists including Kaytranada and Justice whilst continuing to release singles and selling out a multiple-night residency at cult London club Phonox. Sam’s debut album, ‘ANYWHERE HERE IS PERFECT’ was released on 7th November 2025. Sitting down at Baltic Studios in London, Sam talks John through how the gear he uses has evolved over the years and the bespoke approaches he takes to create his unique, 80s-influenced sound. Sam talks about how having synaesthesia (experiencing music as colours) since childhood has been central to his creative process, his techniques for producing vocals and string sounds on the album, and much more! Tracks discussed: ON&ON, DON’T TRY, YOU MIGHT FIND THE ONE TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or use the promo code TAPENOTES in the app to get 20% off. LANDR Get 20% off LANDR Distribution and Studio at landr.com/tapenotes MUSIVERSAL Skip the waitlist and get your discount HERE LISTEN to ‘ ANYWHERE HERE IS PERFECT’ here LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES linktr.ee/tapenotes Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective GEAR MENTIONS Reason Studios Ableton Live Magix Acid Pro Audacity FL Studio UVI Falcon UVI Vintage Vault NI Kontakt RME Babyface RME UFX ii Shure SM58 Neve 1073 Brusfri Klevgrand Neumann U87 Furman power supply Antares Autotune Klevgrand Korvpressor Klevgrand De-Esser Soundtoys Echoboy Emu Emulator 2 Digitech Talker Sequential OB-6 Moog One Moog Matriarch Fender Mustang Fender Jaguar Fender Mustang Bass EastWest Quantum Leap Virharmonic Bohemian Violin OUR GEAR https://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgear HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW If you'd like to help support the show 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: Patreon: Tape Notes YouTube: Tape Notes Podcast Instagram: @tapenotes Discord: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, 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