Martin Bisi: I do tend to remember better the sessions for records that eventually were notable and discussed more. IndieBerlin: What was the most unusual request you had in terms of recording/engineering? Lifelike recreations of taxidermied animals People I wouldn’t normally have, like friend-of-friends of gangsters, that sort of thing. Around 20 people would usually be ideal, so when we ran out of the usual crowd, that’s when it would get weirder and crazy. Glasses banging around, people calling out, laughing. So we would literally have a party and record it. and there was no way back then, to grab that from another source. Martin Bisi: One thing that comes to mind, during the early hip hop era, there would occasionally be dance tracks that needed party sounds, like in a break. IndieBerlin: Of all the bands you recorded, what was the weirdest or craziest experience you had? We would literally have a party and record it I felt kinda bad about that – but happy for them of course. So when I saw them in the latter part of the EVOL tour, the material had far exceeded the album. When I recorded EVOL, they hadn’t toured the material – usually a mistake. Sonic Youth can be an example of improvement. When I recorded EVOL, they hadn’t toured the material – usually a mistake They can tour extensively for the first time, so that can improve them, or break them of course. So there’s the factor that bands get better, at least initially when they get some success. Also, I like working with artists that are maybe established locally, but that’s it. It might be that things that do very well, have to have a lower common denominator, that maybe was hard for me to appreciate while I was in it. But nothing that really resonated, ever did I think would do well. I sometimes thought my immediate peers would like something. Martin Bisi: I pretty much always called it wrong. Was there a point when you realised that you were working on a record, or with an artist, that would really strike a chord with the world – that you were involved in something unusually special? Through your time with BC Studio you recorded an amazing array of seminal records. He referred to the main street as “depression avenue”. I remember he was struck by how depressing the area was. He referred to the main street as “depression avenue” It’s like he was more fascinated by the dynamics of the movement.Īnd it was at a Material show, in a short-lived club just off Times Square, when i was doing sound, that Eno came and Laswell spilled the beans, that I was thinking of starting a studio in a mostly-vacant factory in Gowanus, Brooklyn. It’s a testament to No Wave, that Eno took interest, cause it’s really not his style. And eventually Material got gigs in popular clubs.Įno was very interested in meeting people in New York, for collaborations, but also to see what made the city tick. And then Eno took more notice when Laswell started getting more session work as a bass player. Laswell reached out to him, initially very casually, like in the neighborhood even. 17 was my age when I met Bill Laswell, that’s what put me on the actual path to meeting Eno, and then having a more serious and committed vision for a studio. Martin Bisi: I was actually 19 during the first Eno session. IndieBerlin: You started BC studio when you were 17 and your first session was with Brian Eno. We asked Martin a few questions, and this is what he said: Martin Bisi has had a long and illustrious career at his downtown New York studio where he recorded people including Swans, Violent Femmes, Brian Eno, Dresden Dolls, Afrika Bambaataa and many many more. Martin Bisi and friends show Sound and Chaos in West Germany this Tuesday, followed by concerts by MB and by Berlin post-punk band nunofyrbeeswax.
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