Sometimes, bands and musicians have to get a little weird to properly take creative liberties. These four bands and artists famously used some wild recording techniques in their music, and the choice to get a bit odd with it ended up paying off. Let’s take a look at a few insane recording techniques used by famous musicians!
Phil Spector
Some might know Phil Spector as the man who helped pioneer some of the most revolutionary recording practices in the 1960s. Others might know him as the psycho who shot and killed a woman in his home. We’re not saying he was a good person by any means.
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One of Spector’s famous recording techniques used to encourage artists like John Lennon, Debbie Harry, and The Ramones in the studio involved straight-up threatening them with a gun. His other, less violent recording technique involved the Wall of Sound, a process involving the use of dense textures of sound to create chorusing effects that built full, beautiful soundscapes in pop songs. I’d like to think that the latter technique was a bit more impactful.
Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin is probably the biggest enigma in electronic music. His productions are also incredibly beautiful, strange, unsettling, and groundbreaking all at once. And he has always been evasive about the nitty-gritty details of how he produces.
However, we do know that he is known to get down and dirty and modify his own hardware, and even self-create his own software and virtual instruments. Some have said that he created his own digital audio workstation (DAW). To put it simply, and without giving in to mere speculation, Richard David James gets weird with it. And he’ll probably never reveal what he actually does technique-wise.
The Beatles
The Beatles and producer George Martin made literal magic together. The band innovated recording processes in pop music that really hadn’t been done before. There are too many to list in a short few paragraphs, but a few techniques from one particular album are worth mentioning.
The Beatles famously used some insane recording techniques for Revolver. They altered the speed and frequencies of tracks to create a wide range of unique effects. Lennon’s vocals were famously double-tracked, several guitar tracks were recorded backwards, and McCartney’s bass was recorded via a loudspeaker.
Brian Eno
Known for both his incredible compositions and his unique producing skills, Brian Eno boasted a few insane recording techniques through the years. Specifically, he had one interesting technique that helped him break through writer’s block while in the studio.
The technique, called “oblique strategies,” involved a deck of cards that Eno created that he would shuffle through during moments of creative ineffectiveness. The cards would read “use old ideas” or “try a different speed”, along with notably vague notes as well. This one isn’t necessarily insane, but it is pretty reminiscent of using tarot cards to dictate one’s actions. Some great music came out of it.
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