Recording Sea Change & Mutations.

[jimmyz]

Justin,

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to host this forum - I’m new to it and it’s been a really informative and inspiring read so far.

I wondered if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions on the Sea Change & Mutations recording sessions?

Sea Change - I wondered how live the tracks went down? Did the whole band play together with guide vox or was it literally live out on the floor and comped between the best sections of the takes? It’s an amazing sounding record and you can really feel the performance on this one. Was there much spill, between bass cab & kit etc. or was everything in iso booths?

Mutations - I wondered if this record was partly live to tape then dumped to Pro Tools for the editing, looping & creative possibilities it offers? Also whether you guys played to click to aid with how things could be chopped/layered later?

Of all the Beck records you've worked (so far...) which has been the most creatively free experience?

This is quite a few questions… please only answer what you feel would be relevant to the other readers here on the forum and what you feel comfortable about giving away about the creative processes!

Thanks again,

Jimmy N

 

[jmjbassplayer]

"Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to host this forum - I’m new to it and it’s been a really informative and inspiring read so far."

You're most welcome. It's fun.

"I wondered if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions on the Sea Change & Mutations recording sessions?

Sea Change - I wondered how live the tracks went down? Did the whole band play together with guide vox or was it literally live out on the floor and comped between the best sections of the takes? It’s an amazing sounding record and you can really feel the performance on this one. Was there much spill, between bass cab & kit etc. or was everything in iso booths?"

Whole band played together with vocals, and sometimes with strings. (e.g. Lonesome Tears). Old school to the core. Then, we would often do overdubs as a band session - everyone playing something at the same time. Such as Sunday Sun: four pianos, played in unison. Fun stuff like that. There are some tape edits between takes for certain sections of songs. Same with Mutations. So certainly nothing revolutionary there. Amps were iso'd pretty well during basics, not necessarily so during O/D's if we used amps. Songs were mixed in the evening, started by Nigel, then finished by everybody. A few were remixed later.

"Mutations - I wondered if this record was partly live to tape then dumped to Pro Tools for the editing, looping & creative possibilities it offers? Also whether you guys played to click to aid with how things could be chopped/layered later?"

No PT. No clicks either, to my recollection. Tape edits only. Same mixing scenario as Sea Change, except the last song "Runners Dial Zero" which I mixed with the assistant engineer and Beck in and out of the room, 'cuz Nigel had to catch a plane to start a new Radiohead record. True story. Another tidbit of trivia: we needed to have some stuff mastered early for some reason. So, I did a faux mastering job at my studio in the computer which ended up competing with Bob Ludwig's. Some of my masters ended up on the advances and bonus tracks, I heard. Not sure if that's actually true or not.

"Of all the Beck records you've worked (so far...) which has been the most creatively free experience?"

Midnite Vultures. We just didn't give a f*&k. And the legacy and influence of that record has been speaking for itself of recent years. Very proud of that record, just as much as Mutations/Sea Change. Not being vain, but it's a bit of vindication for all of us involved. We've had some sessions back in '06 and '07 (hitherto unused material) that were VERY fun, and very creatively free.

JMJ

 

[jimmyz]

Amazing. Old school to the core indeed. I love Runners Dial Zero - lovely change of pace at the end of the record.

I'm so amazed that S.C was no automation, what with all the echo sweep/feedback FX and all. Must have been all hands on deck when putting the mixes down!

Thanks again for taking the time out to answer these.

Jimmy.

 

[JimmyM]

"Of all the Beck records you've worked (so far...) which has been the most creatively free experience?"

Midnite Vultures. We just didn't give a f*&k. And the legacy and influence of that record has been speaking for itself of recent years. Very proud of that record, just as much as Mutations/Sea Change. Not being vain, but it's a bit of vindication for all of us involved. We've had some sessions back in '06 and '07 (hitherto unused material) that were VERY fun, and very creatively free.

As a fan of rock music, Midnite Vultures was truly a turning point, maybe one of the last big turning points. The band was on fire, and Beck was taking all these various influences from the past and mixing it with his own sardonic word game hip-hop-rock thing, and it came out as a very cohesive style that weaved all these styles together into something totally new, rather than "Here's an Otis Redding influenced hip hop song, and here's one that sounds like 70's porno music meets country." Probably not the best way of explaining it, but it's a really difficult trick to pull off that not everyone can do. Definitely my favorite Beck album, and one of the great moments of rock and roll. Salut, J!

 

[jmjbassplayer]

jimmyz: on both those albums, there were a lot of six to eight-hands mixes going on. Sea Change, I think we used a bit of automation.

JimmyM: thank you! Well spoken and much appreciated.

JMJ

 

[jimmyz]

Justin,

thanks very much for the informative and enlightening replies.

Best,

Jimmy.