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Home , Llewyn Davis (character), Melle Mel, T Bone Burnett

ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM producer How’d the get involved? What’s lost in the process? About three or four years ago, a friend told Look at the calculations that a pianist makes me, “You have to hear this band.” They were when it comes to playing notes, both in just getting started in San Francisco, and I timing and in the volume of one note versus heard some of their music. Then I kept running the volume of another note. If you hit a into the band. Things like this have their own certain note loudly, and then hit a second providence, and when things happen, they note much more loudly, certain overtones tend to come from every direction at once. happen naturally. But if you switch things Everywhere I turned, there they were. Chris around—hit one note quietly and the other Thile, the band’s mandolin player, is the Louis loudly, other overtones come out. With Armstrong of this generation. He’s a once- electronic music, all of that complexity gets in-a-century musician. cut out and the wonderful resonance of sort of what I do—especially working in films. music is taken away. Did you have to pull pop affectations You put down a click and, if you’re scoring, out of ? then the dialogue becomes the rap and you How do you deal with that? Not really. Justin is just good, and I mean score around it. You don’t put other sounds First off, we record through a beautiful board Bing Crosby–type good. He can act, he in the range of the vocal. You leave room from 1968, from Sunset Sound. It’s an API can sing, he can dance—he’s just great for the message to come through, sonically. that is so soulful. Exile on Main Street and at show business. He knew what the part Sometimes I work by putting down a click, Led Zeppelin IV were done on it. It’s an had to be—a white boy. He usually doesn’t or a “thump track” as we’d call it, since we incredible piece of equipment, like having do that, right? But he knows how to play a use a low-pitched sound. Then maybe layer a great old Fender Tweed amp—it’s got its on a beat and add more pieces from there. own character and sound. So that’s in the middle of everything I’m recording. What was your first hip-hop experience? I was in New York at the beginning. When How does that help? it started out with Grandmaster Melle Mel, Digital recording strips the harmonics out and those cats, it was of a sound and you end up with just a sine all turntables and sound that was blended wave, a primary note, a pitch. But you can in, and very analog. The breaks were just put even a sine wave through that board and Kraftwerk. Now we’ve gotten to a point where it will introduce harmonic distortion that’s digital technology has made the process so very pleasant. In general, we’ve fought back easy—too easy, really. It’s possible for there by staying as analog as we possibly can to be very little skill involved anymore, and and using digital only for what it does well, that’s a problem. like editing. Justin Timberlake Have you worked in electronic music? Did you recruit ? white boy when the part calls for it. Justin is I’m doing an electronic music score right Marcus and I met a few years ago and The innovative uberproducer helms another stellar roots-rich soundtrack much more of the hip-hop culture, to be sure. now. It’s really fun. But it’s also really easy. said then we should find something to But hip-hop culture is just in the Electronic music, in general, is easy. What do together. Once we had cast [actress By Michael Gallant electronic age, and it carries its message in Chris Thile of the Punch Brothers can do and Mumford’s wife] , I the same sort of way. when he plays mandolin is amazing. To learn got a call from Marcus saying, “Hey man, With fistfuls of hit records and more than a dozen Burnett’s most recent cinematic collaboration is the coen to play like he does, that takes 30 years of sorry to bother you, but what about this Grammys under his belt, t Bone Burnett is one of music’s most brothers’ Inside , which delves into the folk music Have you ever worked in hip-hop? playing all day, every day. But right now, you movie? Can I just come make tea and be accomplished producers. his credits run the gamut from elvis scene of 1960s . actor and musician I’m actually working with Nas in the next can buy the right machine and do incredible a fly on the wall?” I said, “Well, you can costello, and to B.B. King, plays the title character, a struggling singer trying to find his way two or three weeks, but I’ve done very little things in no . come but you’re going to have to work.” and alison Krauss. But the big names only scratch the surface of to success. Working closely with Burnett on the film were marcus work with hip-hop artists. I understand it from his talent. Burnett toured as a guitarist with early in his mumford, serving as associate music producer of the soundtrack, the outside in, but not from the inside out, career and has released numerous albums of his own. and Justin timberlake, who plays a folk-singer friend of llewyn’s. and to do something like that you have to the in-demand producer has also forged a formidable presence one song, the novelty track “Please mr. Kennedy,” features tight understand it from the inside out. But I work in the film world, gaining widespread visibility in 2000 with his work interplay between timberlake and isaac. in that same way—I’ve been working hip-hop on the chart-topping, Grammy-winning soundtrack for Joel and ethan We spoke with Burnett after a concert promoting the movie for 30 years already. coen’s blockbuster O Brother, Where Art Thou? Burnett has served in new York city. filmed as part of a documentary for showtime, as executive music producer for such films as Across the Universe, the concert included performances by the Punch Brothers (who How so? The Hunger Games and , a project for which he also contributed to multiple tracks on the album), Joan Baez, , When people are producing hip-hop, they composed the . he not only produced 2010’s critically Jack White, marcus mumford and (covering timberlake’s usually put down a click [track], and then acclaimed film but also composed the score and parts on “Please mr. Kennedy”) backed by Burnett himself. here, the they put down a beat to the click. Maybe co-wrote many of its songs. maestro reveals the creative process behind the film’s soundtrack. next they’ll record an instrument, and then Lester Cohen, T Bone Burnett; C. Taylor Crothers, Punch Brothers Crothers, Punch Lester Cohen, T Bone Burnett; C. Taylor somebody comes in and raps on top of it. Sometimes people will come in and just rap ‘In general, we’ve fought back by staying as analog as directly over the click, and then everything else will be produced around that rap. That’s we possibly can.’ Punch Brothers

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B.B. King Chuando & Frey ‘I’m more concerned at this point with holding the door open for the kids than any producing I would do myself.’ Robert Plant

His version of “Fare Thee Well” was the boom mics and lavalier mics. The original playing well. We did a few takes all the way first thing we recorded. And that first take recordings were done to tape at Avatar through, but it took us most of the day to Kevin Westenberg, B.B. King; Gregg Delman, Robert Plant is what made it on the record and in the [Studios in New York City], and a couple of get the song done. film. One take—boom. That was just Marcus those original recordings might have ended rockin’ out. up on the soundtrack album, because they If you could produce anybody, who were fuller versions of the songs that ended would you choose? How did you record Oscar’s songs? up in the movie. They would be dead people. A lot of artists The performances in this film were all and musicians could ask me to make a recorded in high def. We normally do pre- The vocal effects on “Please Mr. record and I’d say yes, of course, but I’m records of the songs in the studio before Kennedy” became a group effort. more concerned at this point with holding the filming. We did that this time as well, but A lot of if was [actor] Adam [Driver], but door open for the kids than any producing I when we got to the set, the Coens wanted all of us contributed, and it just turned into would do myself. It’s just not a burning need to record live takes without any guides. They something else. I think I was the one who of mine anymore. wanted to go for the real thing. Oscar studied started doing the deep bass voice saying and wood-shedded, and we turned him loose. “Oh no!” like Coasters lines or something. Anyone in mind? Ethan came up with the “puh-puh-puh- Who would be fun to collaborate with? How did the miking work? please,” but Joel and Justin were coming I’ve worked with and I really For songs that were recorded live on set, up with ideas, too. We were shooting the dug that—he’s a bad man. I like Dre—how we had an old microphone shell that we scene on a good-sounding stage in a he works, and his records. And — put a capsule in. Then we would have good-sounding room, and everybody was he’s super-bad.

Here are just few of the albums that showcase T Bone Burnett’s production prowess.

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Elton John and , The Union (2010) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, (2007) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) , August and Everything After (1993) Roy Orbison, (1989) Elvis Costello, (1986) , How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984) essential burnett essential

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