Nigel Godrich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nigel Godrich | |
| Born | 28 February 1971 England |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Recording engineer Record producer |
Nigel Godrich, (born 28 February 1971 in England), is a recording engineer and record producer. He is best known for his work with the English alternative rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band.
Godrich has also worked with acts such as Paul McCartney, Travis, Beck, Ultrasound, Jason Falkner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pavement, Brazzaville, Air, Natalie Imbruglia, The Sundays, U2, and R.E.M. His production technique is notable for its dense "layers" of sound.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Radiohead (1994-present)
Nigel Godrich is sometimes informally credited as the "sixth member" of Radiohead due to his longtime collaboration with the Oxford band. He has gained notice for helping to define Radiohead's distinct sound, which established them as one of the more acclaimed rock bands in the world during the 1990s and 2000s. He is younger than all members of Radiohead, except Jonny Greenwood, which is a rare situation among producers for popular acts. When working on OK Computer at improvised studios without the close supervision of longtime veterans or record labels, both he and the band learned as they went along, ultimately crediting the open process with the record's success.
Godrich's first collaborations with Radiohead were on certain songs on the 1994 My Iron Lung EP, such as "The Trickster" and "Permanent Daylight". He went on to engineer Radiohead's second record The Bends (1995) and co-produced "Black Star" from the same album. Later in 1995, after the band found they got on well with him, he produced Radiohead's charity single "Lucky" (later to appear on OK Computer) as well as the tracks "Bishop's Robes" and "Talk Show Host" ("Street Spirit" b-side which also appeared in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet).
Godrich has been co-credited with Radiohead as producer on every one of their albums since OK Computer (1997), on which he made his name. He also produced singer Thom Yorke's 2006 solo album The Eraser. Beginning new work in 2005, Radiohead initially tried collaborating with other producers for the first time in a decade, but they returned to the studio with Godrich late in 2006 to record their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007). Colin Greenwood has confirmed that Godrich is working with Radiohead on the follow up to In Rainbows.[2]
[edit] Other projects (1998-present)
Coming off his success with OK Computer, Godrich mixed most of Natalie Imbruglia's hit Left of the Middle (1997) and R.E.M.'s largely electronic Up (1998). He also produced Pavement's final album Terror Twilight (1999).
Godrich has collaborated with American singer-songwriter Beck several times, on Mutations (1998), Sea Change (2002) and The Information (2006). The former two of these albums, particularly the highly acclaimed Sea Change, were noted for their atmospheric folk/pop sound, a major departure from the sample-heavy, spontaneous style Beck was best known for. He has also worked with Travis three times, producing the Scottish band's commercial breakthrough The Man Who (1999), the follow-up The Invisible Band (2001) and The Boy With No Name (2007), although the band also worked with Brian Eno and Mike Hedges on the latter album.
In 2001, Godrich remixed U2's track "Walk On" for its single release. Godrich also mixed and contributed additional production on the French electronic group Air's 2004 album Talkie Walkie, their latest Pocket Symphony (2007) and on the Band Aid 20 charity single in 2004.
In 2002, Godrich was hired by The Strokes to record their follow-up to Is This It, but was fired when their recording sessions together proved, in the band’s word, “soulless".[3]
Godrich received his greatest visibility in 2005 for his work on Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, a job he got after being recommended by legendary Beatles producer George Martin. According to interviews, the idea of bringing in a younger producer was for McCartney to challenge himself, and accordingly Godrich fired McCartney's touring band on the first day's sessions, and demanded the star abandon songs Godrich felt to be clichéd, over-sentimental or subpar [4]. The resulting album was nominated for several Grammys including Album of the Year, and Godrich was nominated for Producer of the Year. Time Magazine claimed it was McCartney's first worthwhile album since the breakup of The Beatles.
[edit] From the Basement (2006-2009)
In September 2006, it was announced that Godrich, along with creative director Dilly Gent, producer James Chads and John Woollcombe, were shooting the music series From the Basement, filmed from London’s Maida Vale Studios.[5]
The series was to focus on intimate, live performances by musicians without a host or an audience. Godrich told Pitchfork in an interview, "We’ve got a lot of people that I’d like to see on the show [that] we’re talking to. [But] I don’t want to mention their names. Obviously, I’m really interested to capture some really iconic, bigger names– really the whole point is to get people who are having their moment, to try and get a definitive record of what they’re doing."[6]
Godrich first conceived From the Basement as a means of authentically documenting music being made. Drawing further inspiration from British television music series The Old Grey Whistle Test, Godrich came upon the idea of a television program. Despite early reports, “From the Basement” would not appear on British television, because of not taking on corporate sponsors.[6]
Originally when the pilot was in production, From The Basement was to be an online programme only. Unfourtunately, it wasn't feasible as it didn't generate enough money to produce the episodes to the quality level desired. Instead, the producers went to international TV networks to receive money up front to produce the series.[7]
Instead, it would be available solely as an Internet download, with individual videos available for purchase through iTunes and the [fromthebasment.tv official website]. The first episode was available for download in December 2006. [8]
The first UK broadcast was on Sky Arts on 1 December 2007, featuring four songs performed by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke on Saturday December 8, 2008.[9]The United States premiere was on Rave HD on February 22, 2008, followed by a run on Independent Film Channel, as part of the network's "Automat" block of television programmes in the fall of 2008.[10]
On 10 March 2009 the series of performances was released on DVD.[11]
[edit] Awards
In 2000, Godrich won a Grammy Award for producing Best Alternative Album (and Album of the Year nominee) Radiohead's Kid A. In 2003, he was also awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for Radiohead’s album ‘’Hail To The Thief’’.
[edit] Personal life
Nigel briefly dated Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia during their collaborative recording of her hit album Left of the Middle in 1997.[citation needed]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Songs Composed
| Year | Song | Artist | Album |
| 1997 | She | The Sundays | Static & Silence |
| 2004 | Speed Dial No 2 | Zero 7 | When It Falls |
| 2006 | Movie Theme | Beck | The Information |
| 2006 | Soldier Jane | Beck | The Information |
| 2006 | The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton | Beck | The Information |
| 2006 | Motorcade | Beck | The Information |
[edit] References
- ^ McKinnon, Matthew (2006-07-24). "Everything In Its Right Place". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/godrich.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/44728
- ^ Everything In Its Right Place: The productions of Nigel Godrich CBC
- ^ Paul McCartney Tries to Recapture a Fresh Sound: NPR Music
- ^ "New music show will preview Radiohead songs". qthemusic.com. http://news.q4music.com/2006/12/new_music_show_will_preview_ra.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ a b "Nigel Godrich on ‘From The Basement’". ateaseweb.com. 2006-12-14. http://www.ateaseweb.com/2006/12/14/nigel-godrich-on-from-the-basement/. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ Godrich, Nigel. "From The Basement - Welcome". fromthebasment.tv. http://www.fromthebasement.tv/show.php?number=01&page=welcome. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ Martineau, Jarrett (2008-02-15). "From the Basement: The Nigel Godrich Show". nowpublic.com. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/basement-nigel-godrich-show. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ "Thom Yorke’s ‘From The Basement’ on SkyArts". ateaseweb.com. 2007-12-07. http://www.ateaseweb.com/2007/12/07/thom-yorkes-from-the-basement-on-skyarts/. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ "Radiohead Add Dates, Listen to Good Music". Pitchfork Media Inc.. 2008-12-01. http://pitchfork.com/news/34136-radiohead-add-dates-listen-to-good-music/. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ Wong, Thom (2009-04-16). "From the Basement to the Stars". thetyee.ca. http://thetyee.ca/Music/2009/04/16/FromTheBasement/. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
