Recording

Sound On Sound's May 2000 SAE/MPG competition offered readers the chance to win a recording session in a London studio with a top producer. Tom Flint talked to the lucky winners about the recording of their demo — and to producer Steve Levine, who took on the job of transforming it into a potential chart-topper.

How can an electronic band produce exciting, spontaneous, unpredictable and visually engaging perfomances? And if they do, is it really possible to capture the experience of being there in a recording? Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of Underworld believe they have the answers, as Paul Tingen discovered.

Ken Nelson favours the old school of recording, based around clean signal paths, live playing and analogue tape — but that hasn't stopped him working with some of the hottest new bands in Britain. Among them are Coldplay, whose debut Parachutes album crashed straight into the charts at number 1. Sam Inglis finds out how it was recorded.

Those who bemoan the lack of invention and experimentation in today's rock music must make an exception for Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips, two of America's finest and most successful 'alternative' outfits. Their shared producer and engineer Dave Fridmann tells Sam Inglis about their unique approaches to recording.

As a producer and engineer, Alan Moulder has been responsible for some of the most sonically innovative rock music of recent years. In a rare interview he talks to Richard Buskin about his approach to recording and working with Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins.

From his early days as a pioneer of British synth-pop, Martyn Ware has forged a career on the cutting edge of electronic music. And he is still innovating today — in 3D.