Legendary 'Is This It' and 'Room on Fire' producer Gordon Raphael, who is credited with helping create the sound of The Strokes, joined us to talk about his life as a music producer, including some sage advice for aspiring producers and engineers at dBs Institute.
Gordon Raphael discovered The Strokes at a club in New York when he was a young producer recording artists in his basement studio. There, he recorded the band's The Modern Age EP, which went on to be a huge hit, and after some ups and downs, also produced their two seminal albums 'Is This It' and 'Room on Fire'. Here, he tells the story of how he met the band and helped create their iconic sound.
From Rick Rubin to Trevor Horn, there are some producers who are credited with helping create the sound of an artist or genre. In this part of his Learn From The Pros Masterclass, Gordon explains how he works with artists, how and when he suggests his own ideas and when he lets artists get on with it themselves.
Getting a start in the music industry can be a challenge, so if you're looking for some sage advice, in this video, Gordon explains how he started producing music, what his early tech set up was, how he got into digital audio and what it was like in Seattle during the grunge explosion.
Analogue or digital? Which is better is a question that producers have been wrestling with since the dawn of digital audio. Here, Gordon explains why he loves digital audio, when he uses analogue equipment, how he uses plugins and what gear he recommends buying.
Becoming a paid music producer is the dream of many of our students, but it isn't always easy! Here, Gordon gives some choice advice to our students about how they might be able to get a paid position as a music producer in a studio as well as how he went from making tunes in his basement to getting royalty cheques through the post.
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