[Edit - The Beatles have been mentioned several times in the comments on my "LCR Mixing Sucks" post, and I was reminded of this post from way back - if you haven't already watched the video, I strongly recommend it !]
I’ve already labelledGeorge Martin as a “god-like-genius” amongst producers – although, after watching Elizabeth Gilbert’s inspiring TED talk on nurturing creativity, perhaps I should use different terminology…
Either way, his work with the Beatles means that over 30 years later he is still regarded by many as the ultimaterecord producer. A musician, engineer and inspirational collaborator, without whom the Beatles’ music would have been unrecognisable, and – in my opinion – nowhere near as fascinating, important or influential.
Yes – another Brian Eno post ! But it’s completely worth it. This Arena documentary about possibly my favourite music producer is simply outstanding – partly because it contains plenty of Eno snippets for the enthusiast, but also because it’s beautifully made and put together – fascinating, intelligently chosen visuals and audio accompany the interviews throughout.
It’s also great for me to see Eno in his Suffolk habitat, because that’s where I grew up, too – and seeing the familiar serene, slightly surreal landscapes accompanied by his music and words somehow makes perfect sense in a way that hadn’t registered with me before.
Here’s an intriguing episode of a 1997 BBC documentary called “Modern Minimalists“, combining two of my favourite musical things: Björk and minimalism.
I fell in love with minimalist music when I first heard Steve Reich’s “Different Trains” (video here) at college, along with the stunning “Electric Counterpoint“. This fed happily into my later appreciation of The Orb’s “Little Fluffy Clouds” (which samples Reich heavily) and on into techno and the “ambient revival”, savouring delights like Philip Glass’ awesome “Koyaanisqatsi“ soundtrack and the work of Michael Nymann along the way.
I discovered Björk a little later, when I heard her solo album “Debut” in 1993 – which is one of my favourite years for music, as it happens.
Close the curtains, switch off the ‘phone and prepare to lose several hours of your life.
Legendary Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich has launched a new website and it’s awesome. I tried to finding an equivalent British superlative, but I couldn’t ! “Awesome” is the only word for it.
The site is called From The Basement and features exclusive live performances (all shot in gorgeous HD) of artists like Beck, Fleet Foxes, Eels, Gnarls Barkley, Iggy And The Stooges, Jarvis Cocker, Jose Gonzalez, P J Harvey, Queens of The Stone Age, Sonic Youth, Sparks, Super Furry Animals, The White Stripes and Radiohead themselves, all produced by the inimitable Mr. Godrich himself.
If this video doesn’t make you want to own your own analogue synthesiser, nothing will !
David Vorhaus will forever be part of my own musical history for creating the album “An Electric Storm” as part of legendary band The White Noise – along with Delia Derbyshire, of “Doctor Who Theme” fame. This mad, tuneful collage of tape loops, analogue synths and sound effects was released in 1969, and provides proof, if you needed it, that the Beatles weren’t nearly as cutting edge as they thought they were.
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