- Nigel Godrich
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Nigel Godrich Born 28 February 1971
EnglandOccupation Recording engineer
Record producer
MusicianNigel Godrich, (born 28 February 1971 in England), is a recording engineer, record producer and musician. He is best known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band. He has also been a member of lead singer Thom Yorke's live band, Atoms for Peace, since 2009.
Godrich has also worked with acts such as Paul McCartney, Travis, Beck, Ultrasound, Jason Falkner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pavement, Brazzaville, Air, Natalie Imbruglia, The Divine Comedy, The Sundays, U2, and R.E.M.
His production technique is notable for its dense layers of sound.[1]
Contents
Biography
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 (Fade Out)" b-sides, the latter of 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. Godrich also performed with Thom Yorke, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco in Yorke's band Atoms for Peace in two concerts in two shows in Los Angeles in October 2009.[2] 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) and the band's eighth studio album The King of Limbs (2011).
Other projects (1997–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 first 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 albums Talkie Walkie (2004) and Pocket Symphony (2007). He produced the 20th anniversary version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", released in December 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".[1]
Godrich received his greatest visibility in 2005[citation needed] 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.[3] The resulting album was nominated for several Grammys including Album of the Year, and Godrich was nominated for Producer of the Year.
From the Basement (2006–2009)
Main article: From the BasementIn 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.[4]
The series was to focus on intimate, live performances by musicians without a host or an audience. Godrich told Pitchfork Media 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."[5]
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 programme. Despite early reports, From the Basement did not initially appear on British television, because of not taking on corporate sponsors.[5]
Originally when the pilot was in production, From The Basement was to be an online programme only. However, this was not feasible as it did not 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.[6]
Instead, it would be available solely as an Internet download, with individual videos available for purchase through iTunes and the official website. The first episode was available for download in December 2006.[7]
The series did eventually air on television; the first UK broadcast was on Sky Arts on 1 December 2007, featuring four songs performed by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke on 8 December 2007.[8][9] The United States premiere was on Rave HD on 22 February 2008, followed by a run on Independent Film Channel, as part of the network's "Automat" block of television programmes in the autumn of 2008.[10]
On 3 November 2008, the series of performances was released on DVD.[11]
Nigel briefly dated Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia[12] during their collaborative recording of her hit album Left of the Middle in 1997.
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.
Discography
Year Title Artist Credits 1990 Scandalo Gianna Nannini Assistant engineer 1990 Tune In The Silent Blue Engineer / Producer 1991 Superstition Siouxsie and the Banshees Assistant engineer 1992 Vivienne McKone Vivienne McKone Assistant engineer 1993 Buffalo Skinners Big Country Assistant engineer 1994 Carnival of Light Ride Engineer 1994 Heitor Heitor Engineer 1994 My Iron Lung EP Radiohead Producer, Engineer 1995 The Bends Radiohead Engineer, Producer on one song ("Black Star") 1995 Feeling Mission Harvest Ministers Engineer 1995 Totally Tee Engineer 1995 Booth and the Bad Angel Tim Booth & Angelo Badalamenti Engineer 1996 English and French Hopper Engineer 1996 Sun..! Sun..! Engineer 1996 Sound of..McAlmont & Butler McAlmont and Butler Engineer, Assistant engineer, Mixing 1997 OK Computer Radiohead Balance engineer, Recording technician (Producer) 1997 Silver Sun Silver Sun Producer, Mixing 1997 Plagiarism Sparks Engineer 1997 Left of the Middle Natalie Imbruglia Mixing 1998 Mutations Beck Producer, Mixing 1998 Sisters in Pain Jamaica Engineer 1998 Try Whistling This Neil Finn Remixing, Mixing 1998 Up R.E.M. Mixing 1999 Can You Still Feel? Jason Falkner Engineer 1999 The Man Who Travis Producer, Mixing 1999 Terror Twilight Pavement Producer 2000 Kid A Radiohead Producer, Engineer, Mixing 2001 "Walk On" U2 Remixer 2001 Amnesiac Radiohead Producer, Engineer 2001 The Invisible Band Travis Producer, Mixing 2001 Regeneration The Divine Comedy Producer 2002 Rouge on Pockmarked Cheeks Brazzaville Producer, Mixing, String ensemble, Fender Rhodes 2002 Sea Change Beck Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Synthesizer, percussion, keyboards 2003 City Reading (Tre Storie Western) Air & Alessandro Baricco Mixing 2003 Hail to the Thief Radiohead Editing, Mixing, Operation, Recording (Producer) 2004 Absent Friends The Divine Comedy Mixing 2004 Heroes to Zeros The Beta Band Mixing 2004 Talkie Walkie Air Producer, Engineer, Mixing 2004 When It Falls Zero 7 Guitar, Sounds 2004 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid 20 Producer 2005 Chaos and Creation in the Backyard Paul McCartney Producer, Guitar Loops 2005 Guero Beck Mixing 2005 The Roads Don't Love You Gemma Hayes Mixing 2006 The Eraser Thom Yorke Producer, Mixing, Musician, Arranger 2006 5:55 Charlotte Gainsbourg Producer, Mixing 2006 The Garden Zero 7 Acoustic guitar, Engineer 2006 The Information Beck Producer, Engineer, Mixing, keyboards, Programming, Effects, Scratching, Tambourine, percussion, background vocals, Speak 'n Spell Whistle, Tote A Tune, Kalimba, drums, Game Boy 2006 Dad's Weird Dream Silver Sun Remixing 2007 Pocket Symphony Air Producer 2007 The Boy With No Name Travis Producer 2007 In Rainbows Radiohead Producer, Engineer, Mixing 2008 Odd Couple Gnarls Barkley Engineer, Mixing 2009 Radio Wars Howling Bells Producer 2010 Turn Ons The Hotrats Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Additional instruments and noises 2011 The King of Limbs Radiohead Producer, Engineer, Mixing 2011 Supercollider / The Butcher Radiohead Producer, Engineer, Mixing Composition credits
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 2010 "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Original Motion Picture Score)" Nigel Godrich Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Original Motion Picture Score) References
- ^ a b McKinnon, Matthew (24 July 2006). "Everything In Its Right Place". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/godrich.html. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ http://radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?a=505
- ^ 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 27 April 2009.
- ^ a b Matthew Solarski (14 December 2006). "Nigel Godrich Talks "From the Basement", Radiohead". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070506075604/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40198-nigel-godrich-talks-from-the-basement-radiohead. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ^ Godrich, Nigel. "From The Basement - Welcome". fromthebasement.tv. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080731163805/http://www.fromthebasement.tv/show.php?number=01&page=welcome. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ Martineau, Jarrett (15 February 2008). "From the Basement: The Nigel Godrich Show". nowpublic.com. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/basement-nigel-godrich-show. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ Mike Mulvihill (1 December 2007). "Saturday Digital Choice". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2955667.ece. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ^ "Thom Yorke’s ‘From The Basement’ on SkyArts". ateaseweb.com. 7 December 2007. http://www.ateaseweb.com/2007/12/07/thom-yorkes-from-the-basement-on-skyarts/. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "Radiohead Add Dates, Listen to Good Music". Pitchfork Media Inc.. 1 December 2008. http://pitchfork.com/news/34136-radiohead-add-dates-listen-to-good-music/. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "Various Artists - From the Basement [2008][DVD]". amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001BDLVNK/. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ^ http://www.musictoob.com/natalie-imbruglia-and-chris-martin-are-getting-cozy-4989
External links
Thom Yorke / Atoms for Peace Studio album EP Remix album The Eraser RmxsSolo singles "Black Swan" • "Harrowdown Hill" • "Analyse" • "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses"/"The Hollow Earth"Other songs "I Don't Want To Go To Woodstock" • "Wish You Were Here" • "El President" • "Rabbit in Your Headlights" • Velvet Goldmine Soundtrack • "I've Seen It All" • Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea • "Do They Know It's Christmas?" • The Bridge School Collection, Vol. 1 • The Big Ask Live • "Us Placers" • "The White Flash" • "Náttúra" • "Ignorant Swan" • "All For The Best" • "Cortical Songs (Neuron Trigger Mx)" • "Hearing Damage" • "Gazzillion Ear (Thom Yorke Remix)" • "Proud Evolution (Thom Yorke 500qd Remix)" • "...And the World Laughs with You" • "Jump Up (Thom Yorke Remix)" • "2 Minute Silence" • "Ego"/"Mirror" • "Shipwreck"/"This"Related articles Categories:- 1971 births
- Living people
- English record producers
- British audio engineers
- Grammy Award winners
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