Los Angeles trio Tashaki Miyaki will release their second album, Castaway, on April 23 via Metropolis Records. (Their debut, The Dream, came out in 2017.) The album was produced by singer/drummer Paige Stark (who has also produced records for Cherry Glazerr and L.A. Witch), and the band set out to change up their signature dreampop sound just a little this time. “We decided no wah pedal for most of the record,” Stark says. “We tried to incorporate new soundscapes. Like, what if there isn’t as much reverb on everything? What would be the less obvious sonic choice here? What if everything isn’t as fuzzy and smeary?”
Castaway features a few notable guests, including The Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and Jon Brion who both plays on it and ended up mixing the album with Greg Koller and Eric Caudieux. "After tracking Castaway I was having trouble mixing," Paige says. "I attempted to mix the record twice with different but it wasn’t feeling right. Jon played on a bunch of the record so was somewhat involved at that point and wanted to help me finish it. He invited me to come to his studio to mix it myself (which I had never done) and then he was going to 'check my work.' This ended up being me doing rough mixes of everything and then he and the two guys he works with -- Eric Caudieux and Greg Koller -- kind of schooling me about recording...showing me exactly what was wrong and causing problems but not in a bad way. It was very helpful. Here and there Jon would add little things -- often felt percussive things -- and they would completely fix the problem I was having. I learned a great deal and they improved the record in a massive way. Those guys are the kings of sound. I have so much respect for them and am ever grateful for the experience."