BAP210.1 Report Comparative Analysis of Two Producers Rochelle Heffernan (104371)

The following report introduces two producers I draw inspiration from, and am influenced by; Rick Rubin and Ken Scott. Firstly to critically analyze their bodies of work we must first understand the role of a producer and what classifies an individual as a producer or engineer. A producer must be able to oversee and effectively manage the recording, they must be able to understand the bands vision, they must have an overall goal as to what they wish to produce with the band, they must be creatively innovative and true to the bands and their own style, they must effectively portray the story
Rubin is also known to encourage and sometimes force artists to think outside their comfortable genre and to expand their musical range by creating something that stands out amongst their body of works. A notable example of this is found on The Red Hot Chili Peppers record, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The record was produced in the large cement home of which Charles Manson murdered Sharon Tait in, it’s high ceilings, wooden floors and granisided walls meant that a large amount of reverberation would be heard on the record, which Rubin believed created an awe-like sound, and an almost haunted background atmosphere. Rubin insisted that the band, himself and his assistant engineers live in the house for the entire duration of the recording – he believed this would bring a comfortable, easily workable recording space to the band and an overall humble and happy vibe would be produced in the finishing product. The majority of the production was filmed and released as a DVD titled Funky Monks, in the film Rubin is seen encouraging bassist, Flea to minimize the amount of bass he was using, for guitarist John Frusciante to strip down the use of power chords and focus on simple melodies and for vocalist Anthony Kiedis to stand at a far distance from his mic, to produce an echoing softer sound, this can be heard on the track “If You Have To Ask” (refer to audio cd, track 1). By stripping down the sound of the