What we can learn from Radiohead jamming in Nigel Godrich’s basement

Its pure coincidence that the last two blog posts have been Nigel Godrich related

I love Radiohead. I think they are one of the truly great bands of my generation. OK Computer is an iconic album that I have a feeling people will be listening to long after we are all dead and gone. It blew me away on the fist listen. Their latest on the other hand disappointed me on first listen, but I kept getting drawn back to listen to it again. Then one day I was out for a long walk with my ipod shuffle listening to it and it clicked. I had been listening to it wrong. Its a beautiful album but one that requires listening in a different way then OK Computer or even Kid A. I realized, at least for me, that this was an album to experience passively where as OK computer is a work that is better served by careful attention and really engaging the journey.

Since then “In Rainbows”, my ipod shuffle and I have taken many long walks together and I love the album. That sounds romantic, but its probably because I am writing this on Valentines day.

I was really excited to hear that producer Nigel Godrich had started filming bands in his (very large) basement studio and that there was a film of the band performing the songs from ‘In Rainbows”. As I was watching, something really struck me.

It sounded like the album!

Sure there were some differences in tone and the level of a few effects, but the overall feel of it, and signature sounds were intact in the live performance. This would not cause a second thought in a live performance of a typical rock band, but “In Rainbows” is full of swirling effects and backwards loops and a constantly evolving landscape. This is the kind of album that one would assume is is the work of using the studio as an “instrument”. Studio Trickery. When I listened to this album I attributed so many of unique sounds, effects and soundscapes to brilliant mixing and post production, but as I watched the guys from Radiohead playing those songs and stomping on pedals and sitting on the floor spinning knobs I realized that as great as that recording is, its actually seems to be a fairly simple recording of brilliant sounds.

This got thinking about the mantra that almost all experienced producers and engineers know. Its all about the source. There are many tricks and techniques we can use later in the recording process to try and enhance and alter things, but a very important thing to remember is that so many of the great and most  creative albums are actually fairly straight forward recordings. The magic is happening before the mic.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that magic is something that you add later in the recording processes and neglect to put the effort in where it really matters most, which is at the source. When people focus on great sounds, great performances and finding the magic before the mic, its amazing how easy the rest of the process can be. If you are fan of radiohead, check out this video for recording inspiration.

nigel godrich from the basement