ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM PRODUCER How’d the Punch Brothers 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- Alison Krauss 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 Justin Timberlake? 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 Grandmaster Flash 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 Marcus Mumford? T BONE BURNETT 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 folk music 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] Carey Mulligan, 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 Llewyn Davis, 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 New York City. Actor and musician Oscar Isaac 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, Roy Orbison and Robert Plant to B.B. King, Elton John 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 time. 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 Bob Dylan 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 Walk the Line, a project for which he also contributed to multiple tracks on the album), Joan Baez, Patti Smith, When people are producing hip-hop, they composed the film score. He not only produced 2010’s critically Jack White, Marcus Mumford and Elvis Costello (covering Timberlake’s usually put down a click [track], and then acclaimed film Crazy Heart 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 50 51 M mag 32.indd 50 1/12/14 9:58 PM M mag 32.indd 51 1/12/14 9:58 PM ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #32 MMUSICMAG.COM PRODUCER 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 B.B. King; Gregg Delman, Robert Plant Westenberg, Kevin 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.