Over the years, Nigel Godrich’s From the Basement series has featured stunning performances from Radiohead, Iggy & the Stooges, Aimee Man, Fleet Foxes, The White Stripes, and many more. To mark its arrival on The Coda Collection today, Consequence is exclusively sharing a clip from Godrich’s new interview breaking down the creative process behind the program.
While speaking to The Coda Collection’s Editorial Director Greg Kot, Godrich described working with his frequent collaborator Thom Yorke for the series. “The process with Thom generally is if he can sit down and play it on an acoustic guitar then that’s fine, that’s how he sort of finessed a song,” explained Godrich. “But the song might come from something very angular and electronic in the first place… This is the whole discussion about live performance versus the art of studio trickery and production, which is what I do.”
The Radiohead producer added, “That’s my job is to kind of figure out ways of making music which sometimes uses technology in a way that is productive but maybe not that endearing, but what you want is for human beings to come and mold this thing and make it fit what makes us feel warm. So, the two things go together very well, so that’s why I enjoy recording live music. Live versions of things that were not live before.”
From the Basement makes its Coda Collection debut with Radiohead’s classic 2011 performance of The King of Limbs. In the clip, Godrich spoke about the impact of the set:
“They went away and worked out how to play it, took it on tour for a bit and then we could go back in a room and play it and capture that band version of it, it’s sort of focusing on the things, gave it that life. I think it was a really great way of doing it, really. And also reflected very, very well on the show, From The Basement, because it really showed the strength with that, to be able to kind of do a live performance to that level, and record it to that level, and also be able to film at the same was really, really special.”
Subsequent episodes will air weekly and include sets from Iggy & the Stooges, Aimee Man, Fleet Foxes, The White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Raconteurs, My Morning Jacket, and Gnarls Barkley.
Watch the exclusive excerpt from Nigel Godrich’s From the Basement interview below, followed by a trailer for the series. The full conversation is available to watch on The Coda Collection via Amazon Prime Video.
