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FEATURE

BILL BOTTRELL METHOD IN THE MADNESS

AT 26 One of the world’s most enigmatic producer/engineers reveals some of the genius (and irony) behind the art of record production.

Text : Pau l Ti n g e n Photography: Jennifer Owens & Jane Richey

Those who’ve worked with him say things sophistication with such a strong sense of T H E D I S N E Y-F I C ATI O N O F M U S I C like, “he’s a super-genius producer” or “he’s spontaneity? Part of the man’s answer lies in S o you’re a you ng p erform i ng b a nd or a r t ist , the most amazing producer there is”. It’s not putting performers at ease. To this end Bottrell a nd whi le worki ng i n t he st udio you want to hard to see why. The credit list is a pointer, has over the past 15 years had three different c apt u re t he s a me excitement a nd raw p ower containing heavyweight names like , private studios, all housed in regular buildings t h at your l ive p erforma nce s h ave. You l i ke t he The Travelling Wilburys, , in cosy living rooms with curtains, sink-deep s ou nd of B ot t rel l ’s ‘at mospheric dist ract ion’ , , and . sofas and dimmed atmospheric lights. met hod, a nd wonder what more t ips a nd t r icks The producer also sprinkled his studio magic t he g reat ma n h a s up h is sleeve. It is here t h at “The main thing that I do as a producer, for over by lesser knowns like Thomas t h i ngs get a l itt le h a i r y, b e c aus e i nstead of better or for worse,” Bottrell observes, “is Dolby, , , Rusted Root, a nsweri ng di rec t ly, B ot t rel l f i rst spouts s ome to orchestrate emotions in a room towards Toby Lightman, and . Plus f ierce opi n ions on t he st ate of ‘music, t he music something – to get a good performance you there’s a long list of Grammy nominations, one i ndust r y, a nd ever y t h i ng’, t h at m ight ma ke need to set a mood, a vibe, and this is to do Grammy win (‘Record Of The Year 1994’ for you wonder whet her it’s wort h b ot heri ng to with the people and the environment, the room Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club), and rec ord a nyt h i ng at a l l. S o fasten your s e atb elts they’re in. tens of millions in record sales. a nd hold on to your h a i r, or, i f you’re a n older “I carefully regulate who is in the room. I don’t musicia n , your h at… Nothing to be sniffed at, undoubtedly. But mean eliminate people – it can be a matter of most of all, listen to the albums “I t h i n k recorded music ha s had it s glor y consciously bringing people in to add to the has engineered and produced, and in many days a nd t hat it is on t he wa ne now,” B ot t rel l vibe. I don’t pick musicians for what they play, cases also played on and co-written. Bottrell b eg i ns , br iskly. “ T he f irst i ndic ator o c c u rred but who they are and their ability to bring has an uncanny knack for producing records dur i ng t he ’ 9 0 s , t he era of CD -rei s sue s , when something to the room. Then I follow the that combine all the depth and refinement I not iced t hat a nyt h i ng t hat we put out had energy of the group, wherever that leads. Group the modern recording studio can offer with to compete w it h a r ich libra r y of 10 0 yea rs of dynamics, the psychology of small groups of an almost signature feel of aliveness and rock recorded music. We a l l ga i ned e a sy acce ss to people, is a fascinating subject to me: the arc ‘n’ roll vibrancy, occasionally to the point of 10 0 yea rs of fabu lou s musici a n s , wonder f u l of synergy, how that ebbs and flows. And sounding ramshackle. Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday the producer has to be integrator of all these Night Music Club (1993) is the earliest obvious energies, making sure they get focused in one example of Bottrell’s unusual gift. For more direction. recent demonstrations listen to Rosanne Cash’s Heavy Metal Recording part of the charm, but you keep the PA on a level that Black Cadillac (2006) or Van Hunt’s On The “I like it loose, and I like it somewhat chaotic. I Bottrell’s tip: “If possible, have the band bring their works of course. The point Jungle Floor (2006), or check out the songs that like to find every distraction that I can, short of of recording like this is taking people’s minds off the music. Musicians own PA, the one they have are uploaded on Annie Stela’s MySpace page. been touring with, and set that the band gets to hear Or, if you want to hear the ultimate triumph have comfort zones, and way too often play that up. I take a direct feed themselves the way they’re of feel over faultlessness – and in the process their most comfortable thing, as opposed to from the ’s mic, and used to, and the singer I also mic the amps and usually adapts his voice to get a sense of Bottrell’s amazing song writing, what’s needed and what supports the energy the sound of the PA, so you of the whole. Getting them out of that is the drums directly, and I put a singing, and performing talents – listen to his Shure SM57 in front of one try to capture that. Why pull DIY, lay-them-down-in-two-hours demos, a whole challenge, and I may do things like put a of the PA speakers. Then I the rug from underneath a rotating selection of which can be found on his thick book on the snare, or throw things at the put up two room mics, like band the moment they enter guitarist while he’s doing a solo. The aim is to two Neumann U47s in omni a recording studio? I think MySpace page. it’s up to the producer and distract. The brain is pretty strong and people’s position, in front of everyone in a place where everything engineer to adapt to the MAGIC IN A BOTTRELL thoughts are many, and distraction creates artists, not the other way To dive straight into the deep end, how does sounds balanced, and I better performances.” mix that sound in. Bleed is around.” Bill Bottrell manage to marry sublime sonic

AT 27 performances, and great recordings, and this presenting the crazy diversity and freedom we “ If I don’t get mad at a made it very difficult to create something that had, not in Hollywood, but in the streets of plug-in, I’ll leave it..” you felt would stand the test of time, even as New Orleans, or Chicago, or Memphis. It’s still we tried. going on to some extent with hip-hop, but the whole process has now become subverted by SOME OF BILL’S PLUG-IN STAPLES “Until deep into the current decade I continued our lack of freedom musically, which probably making gorgeous recordings of Americana reflects America’s lack of freedom, spiritually music, in the way I was used to in the ’90s. and culturally. As a result American music has I, and others, were still making records like lost its grip on the global public’s imagination the ones we had made on analogue tape: and the world got bored with the stories. I’m full of nuance, fire, energy and sometimes looking for new stories to tell, which will sound cacophony. But we found that on digital great on digital.” Line 6’s AmpFarm on electric guitars they sounded terrible. It was only when producers and artists came up with ways of Bottrell has in recent years been looking for shifting focus, of saying things with minimal artists who can tell these new stories. His work dynamics and arrangements, like in hip-hop, with is an example. All the producer wants that things progressed. The fact is that music to say about it is, “we’re trying to make a dance morphs to fit the medium. And digital breeds record and hang on to some credibility. It’s a Bomb Factory BF76 on a bus send ‘Disneyfication’. Because of digital recorders tightrope”. And from a technical perspective, we’ve lost something: the real value of music, how does Bottrell go about remaining relevant the story, the humanity. And when I looked in the digital age? The omnipresence of at myself labouring away at my console, I saw analogue and ‘old-school’ equipment at School some sort of historical museum tableaux, like House hardly comes as a surprise, but has he ‘that’s the way they used to do it.’ I felt like an changed his way of working or at least some of historical anomaly.” the equipment in his studio?

AMBIVALENCE RECIPROCATED THE SCHOOL HOUSE EQUIPMENT Bottrell’s feelings of dislocation and his School House Studio’s heart is a Neve 44-input ambivalence to the modern day global music 8058 console, which incorporates 28 x 31102 machine appears to be reciprocated, with more mic pre/EQs and 32264a compressor/limiters. EchoFarm on acoustic guitars of his work increasingly rejected. “In the past Bottrell has long been known as the champion seven years,” remarks the producer, “eight out of the vintage mic/valve preamp signal chain, of the 10 full albums I’ve produced are either and so there are the usual mic suspects by unreleased, or have only been released as a Schoeps, Neumann, RCA, Beyer, AKG and contractual necessity.” Among these is an others that surely sound great with the Neve by Benji Hughes that Bottrell calls “the best mic pres. Outboard includes a Yamaha REV1, thing I ever produced” – Hughes’ independent Eventide H3000, Roland SDE3000 delays, dbx record company, apparently hated it. Other as compressors, Massenberg 8200 EQ, and Electrix yet unreleased gems are by singers Luan Perle FilterFactory. Naturally there’s a Studer A800 and Annie Stela. While continuing to champion analogue 16/24-track. Oh, and there’s the small “marginalised” artists, Bottrell nevertheless matter of a full-blown ProTools HD 7.3 system, appears to have overcome his antipathy to the running on a Mac G5 with 192I/O interfaces, big time; during 2006 he spent three months permanently set to run 24-bit/96k WAV files. in Bahrain working on a new Michael Jackson McDSP FilterBank F2 on acoustic guitars So what’s with the ProTools? Has Bottrell album, but the singer never showed so the sold his soul to the digital devil after all? project was aborted. “Well, I was a fan of analogue, and I still Bottrell is currently working with Seal on a am,” he answers. “It still excites me to work new album, part of the time in , on analogue, and if I have a project that’s and part of the time in the third incarnation of appropriate, I’ll go straight to my Studer. The his home studio, this time called School House Rosanne Cash album was recorded at The Studio. The first thing to officially come out of Pass Studio in LA on a Studer 827 24-track. his home studio is the theme song he did with But all the other projects I’ve done in recent Seal for the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. In years were recorded to ProTools. Sonically,

Waves L2 on main mixes for making CDs the context of Bottrell’s tirade against digital ’Tools took a huge leap forwards with HD. media, the music industry and his idea that They really got the system over the hill, and recorded music is going to die, what moves him high definition digital definitely has more to rebuild his studio and still record music? sonic detail. But the emotional details of a And how does he imbue what he calls “the real performance come through better on analogue value of music” – i.e., nuance, fire, energy, story, – it’s just a different thing.” humanity – when everything he records ends up Of course, the million-dollar question remains, in the digital medium? ‘why can performances sound so gripping on “A person wants to stay relevant,” Botrell analogue tape?’ Countless digital applications replies, “and I’m doing that through finding try to answer this with varying degrees my own way in the digital medium, while of success, witness all sorts of ‘warmth’, still applying certain standards of art and ‘harmonics’ and ‘analogue mode’ buttons. expression. ‘Americana’ had themes that were It is put to Bottrell that while recording on unchanging: worker against boss, man against analogue is like painting on a white canvas (ie nature, the village and the individual, etc. The the background noise and tape compression), whole world became intrigued by American recording on digital is like working on a Waves RC Compressor on backing vocals popular culture because it was constantly transparent canvas. He replies, “I think that’s

AT 28 B i l l B o t t r e l l a n d M i m i ‘Au d i a’ P a r ker o n t h e n i t t y g r i t t y

Audia Parker, who studied Drums Bass Guitars Vocals Inside the box at the Conservatory Bottrell: “I view bass and Bottrell: “It depends on Bottrell: “Normally I place Bottrell: “The RCA KU3A Parker: “I have nothing of Recording Arts and drums as one instrument. the bass player and the a Beyer M160 close on the ribbon mic is great, with against plug-ins, but I’m Sciences in Tempe, They should sound like music, but my starting speaker cabinet. If the amp a very specific, old, warm more inclined to get the Arizona, and further cut one thing, coming from the point is often a small is in a small room, I’ll take sound. You have to be sound right before it her engineering teeth at same space. My standard 15W Marshall amp that’s another cardioid and put it careful with it because it gets to tape or ProTools. various studios in Los setting is two cardioid modelled after the old above the amp and point can easily blow on an amp Plug-ins are more of a fun Angeles, became Bottrell’s mics up front, usually two Fender Champ that it at the wall the speaker or with drums. Rosanne thing, to get sounds that assistant in late 2004, Neumann U47s, Shure I bought in the early ’80s. is facing, to get the room Cash was recorded with you maybe didn’t expect during the recordings of SM57 close on the snare, It has a wonderful tube reflections. For acoustics a Neumann U47, and for to hear before. That said, Rosanne Cash’s Black U47FET with windscreen preamp and a balanced line I often use the Neumann Van Hunt I used many they can be a useful tool. Cadillac. Bottrell is on the bass drum, backed output. Unless the player KM54, a cardioid, placed different mics, like the U47 The 1176 and Fairchild famous for his sumptuous off a little. For a more wants to use his own amp, near the player’s hand, or for more a natural sound, plug-ins are great when you sounding signal chains, and rock ‘n’ roll sound, I’ll put I like to plug the bass into just underneath the hand, the Sennheiser 409 for a don’t have the hardware he and Parker revealed UREI 1176 compressors the Marshall, push up the pointing at the hole and couple of songs, and I recall effects with you. Bill some of his basic settings, on the front mics, which gain so there’s a little bit angled off because of the taping a styrofoam cup showed me how to use the plus some info on his makes them sound more of distortion, and turn the proximity effect. I used to around a Sennheiser 441, McDSP Filterbank F2, and mixing procedures. in-your-face.” Parker: “Bill bass EQ all the way up and love the sound of acoustic and he was singing into the I’ll mess with the Waves is amazing at getting great the treble all the way down. guitars from the 1940s, cup.” Parker: “The U47 is Mondomod modulation sounds just from using I’ll also put a mic up; usually but today they sound too the vocal mic we use most, plug-in and the SoundToys three to five mics on a a [Neumann] U47FET. I springy, bright and ugly, and it’ll go into a Neve Filterfreak analogue filter. kit. He doesn’t believe in don’t use a compressor on so if the guitar player is 31102 mic pre, into a dbx Other favourite plug-ins miking every single drum the bass. It’ll go through co-operative, I’ll put a Shure 160VU compressor, into an are the Line 6 AmpFarm in the kit, which I love and the Neve 31102 three-band SM57 as close to the body [Teletronix] LA2A and then (mostly for bass), and we agree with. He may also preamp.” as you can get, perhaps into ProTools.” sometimes use the Waves put a Neumann KM54 on a quarter inch away, just L2 Ultramaximizer, though the hi-hat. Everything will below the bridge. When you only for taking audio CDs go through the Neve 31102 record like that, it takes all home, not for the actual pres, and then directly into the top end away and the masters. We mix to both ProTools.” mid range speaks more Pro Tools at 24-bit/96k loudly.” Parker: “The acoustic and half-inch analogue mics will go through the tape, usually GP9.” 31102 and sometimes also through an 1176.”

a ver y go o d a na log y, a nd rat her t ha n what ProTo ols is not i rresist ible for me. I’ve done “ Technique has to be s ou nds b e st , you h ave to a sk what s ou nds most ma ny t h i ngs w it h ’ To ols a s just a rec order, u sing secondar y to what you appropr i ate , or most c o mpe l l i ng, for t he music . t he s a me rec ording tech n iques a s I did w it h wan t to express and hear. T h at’s what I h ave a lways gone for.” a n a log ue. I’ l l u s e t he ProTo ols a rra ngement a nd e diti ng faci l ities , but I rea l ly disli ke t he s ou nd of “I’ve never attempted to ma ke t h i ngs s ou nd VIDEO IS THE NEW AUDIO a n a l l-dig ita l m i x . M i x i ng ever y t h i ng i n ’ To ols I f a carpenter is staring a s rea l ist ic a s p o ssible, a nd I don’t t h i n k i n t he just do e sn’t s ou nd r ight to me, s o I’ l l a lways a t his hammer allWell day, not really, or they’re morep hand a st 2in 0 hand. yea rs I’ve made a rec ord w it h just t wo But we here at AudioTechnology are split it out a nd put it t h rough my Neve c onsole. m icrophones a nd a t wo-track. But I st i l l go he keeps changingwalking his the audio path and documenting I t h i n k t h at’s a f u nda menta l di f ference. I t h i n k it on video for all to see. Takefor a tour t he with i l lusion of a bu nch of p e ople playi ng a a nyone who u s e s a c omputer to rec ord, shou ld hammer, he’s no teditorial going director, Christopherroom, Holder, t h at’s t he b a sis . A nd t hen you s ay, ‘Okay, s ave up $ 150 0 a nd go out a nd get a n a n a log ue tiptoeing through the hallwayst h is of is the not L ouis A r mst rong, a nd it’s not 1932 , to hammer any nailsBehringer .” Factory. Sit in on a meeting b o a rd from t he late ’ 8 0 s or e a rly ’ 9 0 s a nd m i x a nd t he t h i ng isn’t f i n ished ’. I l i ke t h i ngs to b e with Uli Behringer, and meet the man, t h rough t h at. L e ave t he E Q flat, a nd do what i n your face , a nd c ompel l i ng a nd to b e able to face to screen. Or, if rock ‘n’ roll is more you want to do i n ProTo ols – or whatever system your thing, have a listen to whatc ut Oasis t h rough t he crap of a l l t he media it h a s to you’re u sing – but get t he s ou nd out by r u n n i ng FOH engineer and owner of goJohnston t h rough. S o you look at what you h ave, a nd it t h rough a c onsole.” Audio, Bruce Johnston, had tos ay, say ‘what about c a n we do ? ’ A nd you may do s ome mixing Wolfmother at the medieval and totally freezing Kryal Castle.overdubs The latest , but you st i l l attempt to keep t he i n itia l T H E P L U G - I N S C H A M P I O N ? release on the AudioTechnologyi nspiration video of t he p erforma nce , even i n t he Perhaps u nexp e c ted ly, t he way Bi l l B ot t rel l buffet is a one-on-one chat withoverdubs Wally . You don’t work it to o much, a nd you applies h is ProTo ols r ig tod ay go e s much f u r t her De Backer, explaining the Gotyego for creative e a rly t a kes , a nd you go for i m mediacy, a s process. Direct from his home, learn how t h a n just a s a n a n a log ue t ape rec order w it h to sample and construct songsopp from o s e done to of a ny s ort of p erfec t ion. advance d e diti ng faci l ities . A lthough he h a s a n Australia’s premier artists. “I never b elieved i n p erfec t ion, a nd t he a ssist a nt, M i m i ‘Audia’ Parker, who ma ns – or tempt ation to endlessly rework t h i ngs i n i n t h is c a s e woma ns – h is system for h i m, t he Log on to www.audiotechnology.com.au

AT 29 “ Why pull the rug from underneath a band the moment they enter a recording studio? I think it’s up to the producer and engineer to adapt to the artists, not the other way around.”

producer now very much likes to get his hands Right. Undoubtedly, you’ve all taken note digitally dirty. “The sound of my Neve console of that. Returning, in Bottrell’s inimitable is lovely, so I use its EQ and often instinctively roundabout way, to the topic of where his walk over and twist the knobs. I’ll also use expensive state-of-the-art studio approach and the Neve mic preamps and the ProTools A/D that of people working on a budget in home converters. I have a set of DB Technology studios overlap, he concludes, “technique has to A/D converters, but only use those if there’s a be secondary to what you want to express and problem. I’ve spent my whole life, since I was hear. If a carpenter is staring at his hammer 12 years old, crawling on floors and plugging all day, or he keeps changing his hammer, he’s or unplugging things, and I just don’t feel not going to hammer any nails. Whatever tool like doing it much anymore. So if nothing is you have, you have to master it and make it bothering me, I don’t do it [laughs], and I’ll do transparent for you, and then move on to the sonic manipulation inside of ProTools HD. art. I probably cursed ProTools for two years – at first it subdued me, and then I subdued it, “I take plug-ins on a case-by-case basis. If I and now it’s transparent for me.” don’t get mad at a plug-in, I’ll leave it. I can’t remember the names – Mimi sets all these “You start with something vibrant, and if things up for me – but there’s this equaliser you’re the artist recording yourself, be the that’s green [the McDSP Filterbank F2] and I artist. Technique should be put out of your can put that thing over everything I record. I mind. I suppose that’s what I do on my solo love it. It’s flexible and brilliant – all I need from work. I record quickly and spontaneously, and an EQ. I also use ’Tools for creating samples, whatever comes, I leave it, even as I may later depending on the music. I have an open mind go back to it and edit or otherwise change it. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ about ProTools now, and will try anything, But it’s very important to not let anybody or ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� but I’ll also know when it’s crap. For instance, any concept stop you, because you think it is Auto-Tune is a blasphemous thing to apply to not supposed to be done in a certain way. I ������������������������������������������������������������������������ a vocalist, absolutely evil! We can talk about like to start over with every project that I do, changing media and the death of the music and see where that leads. There are a thousand ����������������������������������������� industry, but part of the blame for the state of ways to make a record, and we have to find the music has to go to crap music made by people one that works.” ����������������� ������������������������������������������ with poor taste. And a symptom and symbol of ������������������������������������������������������ that is to Auto-Tuning singers.” ����������������������������������������������������� AT 30 �