Nigel Godrich

Nigel Godrich was born in Westminster, London, the son of Victor Godrich, a BBC sound supervisor, and Brenda Godrich.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} He was fascinated by recording at an early age.{{Cite news |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=2020-02-25 |title=Nigel Godrich: your questions answered on Radiohead, Macca and Marmite |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/live/2020/feb/21/nigel-godrich-webchat-ultraista-radiohead-producer |url-status=live |access-date=2020-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225162738/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/live/2020/feb/21/nigel-godrich-webchat-ultraista-radiohead-producer |archive-date=25 February 2020 |issn=0261-3077}} As a child, after he asked for a machine to make records, his father bought him a cassette machine; Godrich used it to make recordings of his television, train sets and running water.

Godrich was educated at William Ellis School in North West London, where he shared classes with his friend and the future Zero 7 member Henry Binns.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} Godrich began playing guitar, inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} He first visited a recording studio at the age of 16, when his band recorded a demo at Elephant Studios, Wapping, and spent time asking the engineer questions.{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Niall |date=2022-07-27 |title=Lost in music: Nigel Godrich |url=https://thenewcue.substack.com/p/the-new-cue-191-july-27-lost-in-music |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=The New Cue |language=en-GB}} He studied at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE), London.{{Cite web |last=McKinnon |first=Matthew |date=24 July 2006 |title=Everything in its right place |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717224907/http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |archive-date=17 July 2017 |access-date=3 March 2018 |website=CBC Arts}}

After graduating from SAE, Godrich became a junior staff member at the Audio One studio complex, working as a tea boy. He did not enjoy his time there.{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Andrea |date=August 1997 |title=Radio days |journal=The Mix |publisher=Future Publishing}} According to Godrich, "With a beeper in my pocket, I'd wait next to the kettle, ready to deliver my hot beverages. I wasn't even allowed in the studios, but I [would] hang there thinking, 'OK, it's only the first rung, but at least I'm on the ladder.'"

After the closure of Audio One, in 1990 joined RAK Studios, London, first as a messenger and later as a studio assistant. He would stay late at night, inviting musician friends to play there while he practised recording them. At RAK, he became a tape operator for the producer John Leckie, with whom he worked on albums by Ride and Denim.

After four years, Godrich left RAK to go freelance and set up his own studio, Shabang, where he planned to create dance music. Six months later, he was hired to engineer and mix The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler (1995), the debut album by McAlmont & Butler. Godrich said it was a "brilliant experience" and credited Bernard Butler with teaching him how to produce records. Godrich produced the self-titled debut album by Silver Sun, released in May 1997.

Godrich first worked with the rock band Radiohead when John Leckie hired him at RAK to engineer their EP My Iron Lung (1994) and their second album, The Bends (1995). The band nicknamed him "Nihilist", approving of his efforts to take their sound in new directions. When Leckie left the studio to attend a social engagement, Radiohead and Godrich stayed to record B-sides. One song, "Black Star", was instead included on The Bends. In 1995, Godrich produced Radiohead's charity single "Lucky", plus the B-sides "Bishop's Robes" and "Talk Show Host", released on the 1996 single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)".{{quote box

| quote = I can only ever have one band like Radiohead who I've worked with for this many years. That's a very deep and profound relationship. The Beatles could only have ever had one George Martin; they couldn't have switched producers halfway through their career. All that work, trust, and knowledge of each other would have been thrown out of the window and they’d have to start again.

| source = —Godrich in 2016{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/music/nigel-godrich-interview-radiohead-and-i-have-a-very-deep-and-profound-relationship-a3283096.html|title=Nigel Godrich interview: Radiohead and I have a profound relationship|date=2016-07-06|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726111030/https://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/music/nigel-godrich-interview-radiohead-and-i-have-a-very-deep-and-profound-relationship-a3283096.html|archive-date=26 July 2018|url-status=live}}

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Radiohead invited Godrich to co-produce their third album, OK Computer (1997). It won Best Alternative Album at the 40th Grammy Awards{{cite web |date=27 February 1998 |title=Screen Source presents: The 40th Annual Grammy Awards |url=http://www.amug.org/~scrnsrc/grammys_98.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981201040406/http://www.amug.org/~scrnsrc/grammys_98.html |archive-date=1 December 1998 |access-date=20 November 2007 |work=Screen Source}} and sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide.{{cite magazine |last=Sexton |first=Paul |date=16 September 2000 |title=Radiohead won't play by rules |magazine=Billboard}} Working in improvised studios without supervision, Godrich and the band learned as they went, and credited the success to the open process. In 2013, Godrich told the Guardian: "OK Computer was such a big thing for me because I was given power for the first time. Some of these incredibly intelligent and insightful people said 'do what you want' to me so I worked my arse off for them and together we did something that represents where we all were at the time. And it stuck for some reason. People got it, so that changed my life."{{Cite web|title = Nigel Godrich: what he really thinks about Spotify|url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/22/nigel-godrich-really-thinks-about-spotify|website = the Guardian|access-date = 2015-07-21|first = Harriet|last = Gibsone|date = 22 August 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161230163347/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/22/nigel-godrich-really-thinks-about-spotify|archive-date = 30 December 2016|url-status = live}}

Godrich has produced every Radiohead studio album since. He won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Album for their sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003).{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=Hail+to+the+Thief&year=2003&genre=All|title=Past Winners Search|publisher=Grammy.com|access-date=17 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144423/http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=Hail+to+the+Thief&year=2003&genre=All|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}} For their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), Radiohead initially hired a new producer, Spike Stent. According to the guitarist Ed O'Brien, Radiohead wanted to get out of the "comfort zone" by working with a new producer,{{Cite news |date=22 December 2005 |title=Radiohead album – the band speak |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-747-1360277 |url-status=live |access-date=7 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012422/http://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-747-1360277 |archive-date=26 January 2018}} and the bassist, Colin Greenwood, said Godrich was busy working with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck.{{Cite web |last=Dombal |first=Ryan |date=28 March 2008 |title=Radiohead |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/7489-radiohead/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214433/https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/7489-radiohead/ |archive-date=18 August 2018 |access-date=11 November 2018 |website=Pitchfork |quote=It wasn't about being too safe with him, he just wasn't around because he was working with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck. It wasn't like he was twiddling his thumbs and we were like, 'Ah well, we won't give him a ring.'}} Radiohead re-enlisted Godrich after their sessions with Stent proved fruitless.{{Cite magazine |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=27 April 2012 |title=The making of Radiohead's In Rainbows' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-making-of-radioheads-in-rainbows-187534/ |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730031338/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-making-of-radioheads-in-rainbows-187534/ |archive-date=30 July 2019 |access-date=30 July 2019}}

Godrich's father died during the recording of Radiohead's ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). Godrich wrote: "Making this album was a very intense experience for me. I lost my dad in the process. Hence a large piece of my soul lives here in a good way."{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/93448|title=Radiohead producer talks 'intense experience' of making 'A Moon Shaped Pool' {{!}} NME.COM|last=NME.COM|website=NME.COM|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921080755/http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/93448|archive-date=21 September 2016|url-status=live}} Godrich provided sound design for Kid A Mnesia Exhibition (2021), an interactive experience created for the anniversary of Kid A and Amnesiac.{{Cite web|title=Radiohead and Epic Games team up for a virtual 'Kid A Mnesia' exhibit|url=https://www.engadget.com/radiohead-and-epic-games-team-up-for-the-kid-a-mnesia-exhibit-215738766.html|access-date=2021-09-10|website=Engadget|date=9 September 2021 |language=en-US}}

In 2006, CBC described Godrich's collaboration with Radiohead as "the most adventurous band-producer partnership in modern rock". He has been dubbed the band's "sixth member", an allusion to Beatles producer George Martin being called the "fifth Beatle". Godrich also plays Chieftain Mews, a long-running character who appears in Radiohead's promotional material.{{Cite web|last=Yoo|first=Noah|title=Radiohead Join TikTok, Reveal New Chieftain Mews Video|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-join-tiktok-reveal-new-chieftain-mews-video-watch/|access-date=2021-04-02|website=Pitchfork|date=April 2021 |language=en-us}}

File:Melt Festival 2013 - Atoms For Peace-5.jpg (rear) and Flea performing with Atoms for Peace in 2014]]

Godrich has produced most of the solo work by the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, including his albums The Eraser (2006), Tomorrow's Modern Boxes (2014)Tomorrow's Modern Boxes vinyl packaging and Anima (2019).{{cite web|url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/thom-yorke-daydream-nation/|title=Thom Yorke: Daydream nation|last=Frost|first=Thomas|date=May 2019|website=Crack Magazine|access-date=21 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620185517/https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/thom-yorke-daydream-nation/|archive-date=20 June 2019|url-status=live}} Yorke credits Godrich with helping edit his work, identifying which parts need improvement and which have potential. He gave the example of the Eraser song "Black Swan", which originally was "a six-minute load of crap, except for this one juicy bit, and [Godrich] goes past and goes, 'That bit. Fuck the rest.' Usually it's something like that."{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-thom-yorke-and-nigel-godrich-on-atoms-for-peace-the-state-of-dance-music-and-whats-next-for-radiohead-20130423?page=2|title=Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich on Atoms for Peace, the State of Dance Music and What's Next for Radiohead | Music News|date=23 April 2013|publisher=Rolling Stone|access-date=8 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607150524/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-thom-yorke-and-nigel-godrich-on-atoms-for-peace-the-state-of-dance-music-and-whats-next-for-radiohead-20130423?page=2|archive-date=7 June 2013|url-status=live}} Godrich said that working with Yorke alone was more straightforward than with Radiohead, as he did not have to manage the relationship between Yorke and the other band members. On The Eraser, he and Yorke were able to "pull in the same direction".{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Niall |date=2022-07-27 |title=Lost in music: Nigel Godrich |url=https://thenewcue.substack.com/p/the-new-cue-191-july-27-lost-in-music |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=The New Cue |language=en-GB}}

In 2009, to perform songs from The Eraser, Godrich and Yorke formed Atoms for Peace, with Godrich on guitar, keyboards and synthesisers. The band also includes the bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the drummer Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M., and the percussionist Mauro Refosco of Forro in the Dark.{{Cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2013/01/28/atoms-for-peace-thom-yorke-interview/|title=A New Career in a New Town: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich open Pandora's Box and run AMOK as Atoms for Peace|date=28 January 2013|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217180301/http://www.factmag.com/2013/01/28/atoms-for-peace-thom-yorke-interview/|archive-date=17 February 2015|url-status=live}} Their debut album, Amok, produced by Godrich, was released in 2013,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/21/atoms-for-peace-amok-review|title=Atoms for Peace: Amok – review|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=21 February 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194005/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/21/atoms-for-peace-amok-review|archive-date=2 January 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://xlrecordings.com/calendar|title=Calendar|publisher=Xlrecordings.com|access-date=24 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403135345/http://xlrecordings.com/calendar|archive-date=3 April 2013|df=dmy-all}} followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/49991-atoms-for-peace-announce-us-and-japanese-dates/|title=Atoms for Peace Announce U.S. and Japanese Dates|website=Pitchfork|date=18 March 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112192612/http://pitchfork.com/news/49991-atoms-for-peace-announce-us-and-japanese-dates/|archive-date=12 November 2015|url-status=live}} Godrich engineered Junun, a 2015 album by the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and the Indian ensemble the Rajasthan Express, recorded at Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan, India.{{Cite web |last=Colter Walls |first=Seth |date=19 November 2015 |title=Shye Ben Tzur / Jonny Greenwood / The Rajasthan Express: Junun album review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21213-junun/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116074920/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21213-junun/ |archive-date=16 January 2017 |access-date=15 January 2017 |website=Pitchfork}}

Godrich produced A Light for Attracting Attention (2022), the debut album by the Smile, a band comprising Yorke, Greenwood and the drummer Tom Skinner.{{Cite web |last=Lavin, Will |date=April 20, 2022 |title=The Smile announce debut album A Light for Attracting Attention |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-announce-debut-album-a-light-for-attracting-attention-3208653 |access-date=April 20, 2022 |website=NME}} The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis said the Smile "sound like a simultaneously more skeletal and knottier version of Radiohead", exploring more progressive rock influences with unusual time signatures, complex riffs and "hard-driving" motorik psychedelia.{{Cite web|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|date=2021-05-23|title=Live at Worthy Farm review – beautiful music marred by technical meltdown|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/may/23/live-at-worthy-farm-review-glastonburys-dodgy-pyramid-scheme-has-stunning-music|access-date=2021-05-23|website=The Guardian|language=en}} Godrich mixed Jarak Qaribak, a 2023 album by Greenwood and the Israeli rock musician Dudu Tasaa.{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=2023-04-13 |title=Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood announces new album with Dudu Tassa, shares song |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-jonny-greenwood-announces-new-album-with-dudu-tassa-shares-song-listen/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

Following his success with OK Computer, Godrich mixed most of Natalie Imbruglia's hit album Left of the Middle (1997) and R.E.M.'s Up (1998). Godrich produced three albums by the American singer-songwriter Beck: Mutations (1998), Sea Change (2002) and The Information (2006). The first two, particularly Sea Change, were noted for their atmospheric folk/pop sound, a departure from the spontaneous, sample-heavy style Beck was known for.{{Cn|date=February 2024}}

Godrich produced several albums by Travis, including their commercial breakthrough, The Man Who (1999), and its followup, The Invisible Band (2001). According to the Travis songwriter, Fran Healy, Godrich was frustrated after the gruelling sessions for Radiohead's albums Kid A and Amnesiac, and so "took it out on us because he couldn't take it out on Radiohead".{{Cite web |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=2021-11-22 |title=The Invisible Band at 20: Travis on the album that almost finished them |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/travis-interview-the-invisible-band-b1960728.html |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=The Independent |language=en}} The mood settled after an argument. Healy felt it was good for Godrich to work with "melodic" bands such as Travis as well as more experimental acts such as Radiohead. Godrich co-produced the Travis albums The Boy With No Name (2007) with Mike Hedges.{{Cn|date=February 2024}}

Godrich produced Pavement's final album, Terror Twilight (1999), with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood contributing harmonica on two tracks.{{Cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/02783-pavement-reform-a-classic-interview-terror-twilight-nigel-godrich-radiohead-and-going-overground|title=The Quietus {{!}} Features {{!}} Rock's Backpages {{!}} A Pavement Interview: Terror Twilight, Radiohead, & Going Overground|date=21 September 2009 |access-date=2016-06-25}} Godrich, a fan of the band, hoped to help them find a bigger audience with a less "sloppy" record.{{Cite news|last=Snapes|first=Laura|date=2020-02-25|title=Nigel Godrich: your questions answered on Radiohead, Macca and Marmite|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/live/2020/feb/21/nigel-godrich-webchat-ultraista-radiohead-producer|access-date=2021-09-05|issn=0261-3077}} Songwriter Stephen Malkmus later described the album as "overproduced" and described conflicts with Godrich.{{Cite web |last=Pearce |first=Sheldon |date=17 February 2017 |title=Stephen Malkmus opens up about recording "overproduced" Terror Twilight with Nigel Godrich |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/71720-stephen-malkmus-opens-up-about-recording-overproduced-terror-twilight-with-nigel-godrich/|access-date=9 September 2019 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}} In response, Godrich tweeted: "I literally slept on a friend's floor in NYC to be able to make that album." In 2020, Godrich said that he loved the album and had enjoyed making it.

In 2001, Godrich remixed U2's "Walk On" for its single release, and mixed and contributed production to Air's albums Talkie Walkie (2004) and Pocket Symphony (2007).{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} In 2002, Godrich was hired to produce the second album by the Strokes, Room on Fire (2003). He was fired when their work, according to the band, proved "soulless".{{cite news|last = McKinnon|first = Matthew|title = Everything in Its Right Place|publisher = CBC News|date = 24 July 2006|url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693|access-date = 15 December 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170935/http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693|archive-date = 3 March 2016|url-status = live}} Godrich said of the failed collaboration: "The problem there was that me and [singer Julian Casablancas] are just too similar, we're both control freaks. He wanted to do it his way, I wanted to do it my way, and obviously that's the point of me being there. And I'm saying 'Well, why am I here if you're not prepared to try and do it the way I want to do it?' We got on great, it was just one of those laughable things where it just doesn't work. I wanted them to change, and they didn't."{{Cite news|url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137177|title=From The Basement On A Television: DiS talks to Nigel Godrich|work=DrownedInSound|access-date=2018-05-21|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521191702/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137177|archive-date=21 May 2018|url-status=live}}

Godrich produced the 20th-anniversary version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", released in December 2004, which featured artists including Paul McCartney, Yorke and Greenwood. Godrich said in 2009: "I'm glad I did it – it raised quite a bit of money. It came on when I was sitting in a lobby somewhere once, and it took me a while to recognise it. It sounded good though, better than I remembered."{{Cite web |last=Godrich |first=Nigel |date=29 November 2009 |title=Flashback: making Band Aid 20 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/01/last-waltz-dylan-the-band |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035729/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/01/last-waltz-dylan-the-band |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=27 January 2018 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

McCartney hired Godrich to produce his album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005) after being recommended by the Beatles producer, George Martin. Godrich fired McCartney's touring band and demanded that he abandon songs Godrich found clichéd, over-sentimental, or subpar.{{cite web |last=McCartney |first=Paul |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965987 |title=Paul McCartney Tries to Recapture a Fresh Sound: NPR Music |publisher=Npr.org |access-date=2015-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521191452/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965987 |archive-date=21 May 2018 |url-status=live }} The album was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and Godrich was nominated for Producer of the Year.

In 2010, Godrich and Beck composed the score for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Godrich's first film work.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/fullcredits|title=Scott Pilgrim vs. the World|date=13 August 2010|access-date=21 December 2016|via=IMDb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129170837/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/fullcredits|archive-date=29 November 2016|url-status=live}} In October 2012, Godrich, along with Joey Waronker and singer Laura Bettinson, released an album as Ultraísta. In 2015, he produced the live album Roger Waters: The Wall,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/roger-waters-talks-new-album-moving-past-spectacle-for-tour-w444785|title=Roger Waters Talks New Album, Moving Past 'Spectacle' for Tour|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2018-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012247/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/roger-waters-talks-new-album-moving-past-spectacle-for-tour-w444785|archive-date=26 April 2018|url-status=live}} and made a cameo as a Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.{{cite web |last=Renshaw |first=David |url=https://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/90393 |title=Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich plays a Stormtrooper in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' |publisher=Nme.com |date=2015-12-17 |access-date=2015-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306083530/http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/90393 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=live }} He mixed the Red Hot Chili Peppers' eleventh studio album, The Getaway (2016).{{cite web|url=http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk/music/news/red-hot-chili-peppers-finishing-eleventh-album-with-radiohead-producer/|title=Red Hot Chili Peppers finishing eleventh album with Radiohead producer|publisher=Kerrangradio.co.uk|date=March 22, 2016|access-date=March 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403045044/http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk/music/news/red-hot-chili-peppers-finishing-eleventh-album-with-radiohead-producer/|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}} Godrich produced the fifth solo album by Roger Waters, Is This the Life We Really Want?, released in June 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/roger-waters/97119|title=Roger Waters confirms he is working on a new album with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich {{!}} NME.COM|last=NME.COM|website=NME.COM|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017225357/http://www.nme.com/news/roger-waters/97119|archive-date=17 October 2016|url-status=live}} Godrich, a fan of Waters' work with Pink Floyd, was critical of Waters' previous solo work and felt his role as producer was to "encourage him, to push him a little bit".{{Cite news|url=https://www.nationthailand.com/news/life/music/30315906|title=How Pink Floyd's Roger Waters refound his fire at 72 - The Nation|work=The Nation|access-date=2018-04-25|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075819/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/life/music/30315906|archive-date=26 April 2018|url-status=live}} During the COVID-19 pandemic, Godrich worked with the Arcade Fire in isolation in El Paso, Texas, producing their album We (2022).{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Niall |date=2022-07-27 |title=Lost in music: Nigel Godrich |url=https://thenewcue.substack.com/p/the-new-cue-191-july-27-lost-in-music |url-access=subscription|access-date=2022-07-27 |website=The New Cue |language=en-GB}}

{{main article|From the Basement}}

In September 2006, it was announced that Godrich, along with producer Dilly Gent, producer James Chads and John Woollcombe, were shooting the music series From the Basement, filmed from London's Maida Vale Studios.{{cite web| title = New music show will preview Radiohead songs| publisher = qthemusic.com| url = http://news.q4music.com/2006/12/new_music_show_will_preview_ra.html| access-date = 27 April 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071016221809/http://news.q4music.com/2006/12/new_music_show_will_preview_ra.html| archive-date = 16 October 2007| url-status = live}} The series focused on intimate, live performances by musicians without a host or an audience. Godrich said, "I'm really interested to capture some really iconic, bigger names– really the whole point is to get people who are having their moment, to try and get a definitive record of what they're doing."{{cite web| title = Nigel Godrich Talks "From the Basement", Radiohead | publisher = Pitchfork Media | date = 14 December 2006 | url = http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40198-nigel-godrich-talks-from-the-basement-radiohead |author=Matthew Solarski |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506075604/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40198-nigel-godrich-talks-from-the-basement-radiohead |archive-date=6 May 2007 | access-date = 12 October 2009}}

Godrich conceived From the Basement as a means of authentically documenting music being made. Drawing further inspiration from British television music series The Old Grey Whistle Test, Godrich came upon the idea of a television programme. Despite early reports, From the Basement did not initially appear on British television, because of not taking on corporate sponsors.

When the pilot was in production, From the Basement was to be an online programme only. However, this was not feasible as it did not generate enough money to produce the episodes to the quality level desired. Instead, the producers went to international TV networks to receive money up front to produce the series.{{cite web| last = Godrich| first = Nigel| title = From The Basement – Welcome| publisher = fromthebasement.tv| url = http://www.fromthebasement.tv/show.php?number=01&page=welcome| access-date = 27 April 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080606083501/http://www.fromthebasement.tv/show.php?number=01&page=welcome |archive-date=6 June 2008 }} The series did eventually air on television; the first UK broadcast was on Sky Arts on 1 December 2007, featuring four songs performed by Thom Yorke on 8 December 2007.{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2955667.ece |title=Saturday Digital Choice |author=Mike Mulvihill |date=1 December 2007 |newspaper=The Times |access-date=12 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web| title = Thom Yorke's 'From The Basement' on SkyArts| publisher = ateaseweb.com| date = 7 December 2007| url = http://www.ateaseweb.com/2007/12/07/thom-yorkes-from-the-basement-on-skyarts/| access-date = 27 April 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090426043354/http://www.ateaseweb.com/2007/12/07/thom-yorkes-from-the-basement-on-skyarts/| archive-date = 26 April 2009| url-status = dead}} The United States premiere was on Rave HD on 22 February 2008, followed by a run on Independent Film Channel, as part of the network's "Automat" block of television programmes in the autumn of 2008.{{cite web| title = Radiohead Add Dates, Listen to Good Music| publisher = Pitchfork Media Inc.| date = 1 December 2008| url = https://pitchfork.com/news/34136-radiohead-add-dates-listen-to-good-music/| access-date = 27 April 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090408211449/http://pitchfork.com/news/34136-radiohead-add-dates-listen-to-good-music/| archive-date = 8 April 2009| url-status = live}} On 3 November 2008, the series was released on DVD.{{cite web| title = Various Artists – From the Basement [2008][DVD] | date = December 2008 | publisher = amazon.co.uk | url = https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001BDLVNK/| access-date = 12 October 2009}} A new series of From the Basement began on YouTube in May 2022, featuring acts including Idles, Warpaint and Caribou.{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Sam |date=2022-05-25 |title=Idles set to kick off relaunch of From the Basement series |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/idles-set-to-kick-off-relaunch-of-from-the-basement-series-3233477 |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

Godrich credited the producers Phil Thornalley, John Leckie and Steve Lillywhite for teaching him his craft, saying they were "people I watched directly and emulated". He named his "heroes" as the Beatles producer George Martin, for "inventing the job", and Trevor Horn, for being "the thing that really made me sit up and listen". He said Joni Mitchell was his favourite artist, citing her "unique combination of musical and lyrical talent".

Godrich said that although he enjoys listening to "clinical" and "shiny" music, he works best creating "organic" sounds: "Making a dark brown soup was more my skill, [rather] than making a big fairy cake." He does not approach acts he produces; instead, he waits for them to contact him, as he does not assume he could improve the work of acts he already admires.

Godrich said he believes people place too much emphasis on studio equipment and "trickery", which is less important than musical sensibility and communication. He said: "I get very annoyed with people asking me what my favourite microphone is. It doesn't matter ... One of the reasons why music has become generally worse, and I'm sorry to say that, is that people think about technology more than the actual music they're making." He feels that "the recording process is best when fast, because it's then the smallest obstacle to the actual music".

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Category:1971 births

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Category:21st-century English composers

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Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:Musicians from the City of Westminster

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