The Producer Series – 2.7 Brian Eno

The father of ambient music, Brian Eno nobably tried to save us from muzak, through thoughtful, creative and sympathetic soundscapes/”musical installations”.

Apart from solo compositions he worked as producer and collaborator with a range of artists including David Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno

Eno undoubtedly ’suggests’ or opens up a link between the ‘vertical’ world of formulaic pop/rock structure and production and the esoteric possibilities ‘granulating’ in those mainstrseam cracks.

A short clip of his thoughts behind “Music for Airports” (1978):

“Music for airports” linear notes

http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/MFA-txt.html

His production approach comes across as experimental or creatively disruptive, here’s an interview with Eno and Daniel Lanois working as a production duo with U2:

Prior to working with U2 he produced Talking Heads

…and went on to work with Talking Heads’ David Byrne on the more esoteric “My life in the bush of ghosts”:

Producer Series 2.6 – Glyn Johns

A major player in the early 1970s, Glyn Johns worked in both an engineering and production capacity with a host of amazingly successful bands including The Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and The Who.

Apart from watching, listening to and reading through the attached links and videos, pay particular attention to Glyn John’s minimal drum micing technique.

We’ve covered how to compensate for phase cancellation in a multi-mic setup (using sample delays), however this technique, using just four microphones, is intended by design to avoid the comb filter effect caused by phase cancellation.

While it’s inevitable that controlling the drum balance post-recording is limited, the sound achieved is ‘open’ and ‘authentic’, perfect if your aim is to capture a true-to-life representation of a kit, rather than ‘manipulating’ or ‘crafting’ close-miced elements (of the kit) electronically.

So, a couple links about the man himself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyn_Johns

http://www.answers.com/topic/glyn-johns?cat=entertainment

….a few videos / recording of tracks he produced:

And finally, a video and link or two about the Glyn John’s drum micing technique:

http://www.equationaudio.com/engineers/?p=5

http://www.wikirecording.org/Guide_to_Recording_Drums