Martin Bisi may not be a name that you instantly recognise, but once you know that since the early Eighties he’s run New Yorks’ legendary BC Studio and worked on albums with the likes of Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, Swans, William Burroughs, Helmet, Jim Thirlwell (Foetus) and even Afrika Bambaata, the chances are that you already have some of his work in your record collection. And if you haven’t, then you’re really missing out on some great records…
BC Studio was originally founded in 1979 under the name ‘OAO Studio’. Initially Martin was working alongside Bill Laswell and Brian Eno, but by 1983 they had left the partnership and the studio was renamed under its’ better-known title. Since then, Martin has continued to work with a wide array of artists and styles, from No Wave through to Hip Hop. Never afraid to face a new challenge, he’s always been ready to help bring out the best from each new project.
He has also released his own music, starting in 1988 with the album ‘Creole Mass’ on SST. Since then, he’s recorded many other albums, often working with artists who have used BC Studio in the past. However, it’s only been relatively recently that he’s started to perform live on a more regular basis, touring both in Europe and America. In 2014 a documentary, ‘Sound & Fury – The Story of BC Studio’ was completed by film-makers Sara Leavitt and Ryan Douglass, receiving much acclaim. Over the last two years, Martin has celebrated the 35th Anniversary of the studio with special live performances and the release of his latest album, ‘BC35’, featuring guest appearances from many of the musicians who he has previously worked with.
When I was offered the chance to interview Martin via email, I jumped at the opportunity It’s not my preferred way of doing things but I wasn’t going to give-up a chance like this. So I did my research, put the questions together and sent them off. A week or so later, I received Martin’s replies and here they are…
BC Studio was originally founded in 1979 under the name ‘OAO Studio’. Initially Martin was working alongside Bill Laswell and Brian Eno, but by 1983 they had left the partnership and the studio was renamed under its’ better-known title. Since then, Martin has continued to work with a wide array of artists and styles, from No Wave through to Hip Hop. Never afraid to face a new challenge, he’s always been ready to help bring out the best from each new project.
He has also released his own music, starting in 1988 with the album ‘Creole Mass’ on SST. Since then, he’s recorded many other albums, often working with artists who have used BC Studio in the past. However, it’s only been relatively recently that he’s started to perform live on a more regular basis, touring both in Europe and America. In 2014 a documentary, ‘Sound & Fury – The Story of BC Studio’ was completed by film-makers Sara Leavitt and Ryan Douglass, receiving much acclaim. Over the last two years, Martin has celebrated the 35th Anniversary of the studio with special live performances and the release of his latest album, ‘BC35’, featuring guest appearances from many of the musicians who he has previously worked with.
When I was offered the chance to interview Martin via email, I jumped at the opportunity It’s not my preferred way of doing things but I wasn’t going to give-up a chance like this. So I did my research, put the questions together and sent them off. A week or so later, I received Martin’s replies and here they are…
Firstly, I wanted to ask about his early years, as I'd read that his parents were from a more classical background ? Did his own musical tastes react against that when he was young ?
‘Definitely ! Being force-fed straight-up classical music as a child and teen, in the late 60's and 70's, pushed me towards punk and the avant-garde. It was actually classical music, more so than commercial music, that I rebelled against.’
But looking back now, do you think anything from that background eventually came to influence you eventually (in terms of arrangements, layering of sounds etc)
‘My Mom would play piano for a couple of hours almost every night, around when I went to sleep, so that might have influenced my ear, along with the countless performances of the New York Philharmonic that I was taken to see. So, yeah, that might be where my inclination for dense layers and large ambient spaces came from.’
What was the first music or who were the first artists that really made an impression on you ?
‘Aside from going to see Frank Zappa on Halloween several years in a row as a teen, it was unexpectedly walking into a John Zorn "game piece" rehearsal that made me quit writing graffiti uptown and head downtown to think about music more. His game pieces would involve around a dozen or more players, so again, a bit like an orchestra. Ha !’
Did you become interested in recording from the outset or did you begin as a musician yourself (in which case, did you play in any bands or make any recordings when you were young ?)
‘My first interest was in playing drums, but I really just played by myself and I wasn't seeing what kind of band I could fit-in with. I didn't pick guitar (my current instrument) till my late 20's. My interest in sound, initially live and then studio, was really one of opportunity. There was so much buzz happening that it was a way to be involved rather than just being a spectator all the time, or playing drums at home by myself.’
‘Definitely ! Being force-fed straight-up classical music as a child and teen, in the late 60's and 70's, pushed me towards punk and the avant-garde. It was actually classical music, more so than commercial music, that I rebelled against.’
But looking back now, do you think anything from that background eventually came to influence you eventually (in terms of arrangements, layering of sounds etc)
‘My Mom would play piano for a couple of hours almost every night, around when I went to sleep, so that might have influenced my ear, along with the countless performances of the New York Philharmonic that I was taken to see. So, yeah, that might be where my inclination for dense layers and large ambient spaces came from.’
What was the first music or who were the first artists that really made an impression on you ?
‘Aside from going to see Frank Zappa on Halloween several years in a row as a teen, it was unexpectedly walking into a John Zorn "game piece" rehearsal that made me quit writing graffiti uptown and head downtown to think about music more. His game pieces would involve around a dozen or more players, so again, a bit like an orchestra. Ha !’
Did you become interested in recording from the outset or did you begin as a musician yourself (in which case, did you play in any bands or make any recordings when you were young ?)
‘My first interest was in playing drums, but I really just played by myself and I wasn't seeing what kind of band I could fit-in with. I didn't pick guitar (my current instrument) till my late 20's. My interest in sound, initially live and then studio, was really one of opportunity. There was so much buzz happening that it was a way to be involved rather than just being a spectator all the time, or playing drums at home by myself.’
What recording experience did you have before you became involved with OAO /BC Studio ?
‘Before starting OAO (which later had a name change to BC) I had nearly no experience. I had accompanied Material (Bill Laswells’ project) into the studio and mostly just observed how the other engineer did things. I was there when the first Material EP (‘Temporary Music 1’) was done, although I was just on the sidelines. But then I did actually work on ‘Temporary Music 2’. Incidentally, the name ‘OAO’ is the title of the first song on Side A of Temporary Music 1’ and it's taken from a William Burroughs book. It stands for ‘Operation All Out’. It was my idea to name the studio this, even though I didn't actually work on that song, in part because it marked the beginning of Material. Bill Laswell really liked the idea so we went with it.’
The studio was originally founded by you, Bill Laswell and Brian Eno. How did you become involved with the others ?
‘I knew the other Material members, Michael Beinhorn and Fred Maher, before I knew Bill. Those two had met Laswell from an ad in paper and then they suggested I should also meet him. I had known Fred and Michael from the High School music scene a couple of years earlier. They were in a band called ‘1121’ (eleven-twenty one) that played in schools and billed itself as "NY's best progressive rock". This was the first stirrings of their future musical careers.’
I assume from the eclectic mix of artists who have used the studio, right from the outset, that the intentions were not just 'commercial'. Was there a particular ethos behind your approach ?
‘It was my intention to always participate in the Underground and never veer from that, although I wasn't opposed to making commercial music in addition to it. Bill Laswell, on the other hand, always had a sense of moving up, although to be fair he also had a notion that things from the underground could move up at the same time.’
‘Before starting OAO (which later had a name change to BC) I had nearly no experience. I had accompanied Material (Bill Laswells’ project) into the studio and mostly just observed how the other engineer did things. I was there when the first Material EP (‘Temporary Music 1’) was done, although I was just on the sidelines. But then I did actually work on ‘Temporary Music 2’. Incidentally, the name ‘OAO’ is the title of the first song on Side A of Temporary Music 1’ and it's taken from a William Burroughs book. It stands for ‘Operation All Out’. It was my idea to name the studio this, even though I didn't actually work on that song, in part because it marked the beginning of Material. Bill Laswell really liked the idea so we went with it.’
The studio was originally founded by you, Bill Laswell and Brian Eno. How did you become involved with the others ?
‘I knew the other Material members, Michael Beinhorn and Fred Maher, before I knew Bill. Those two had met Laswell from an ad in paper and then they suggested I should also meet him. I had known Fred and Michael from the High School music scene a couple of years earlier. They were in a band called ‘1121’ (eleven-twenty one) that played in schools and billed itself as "NY's best progressive rock". This was the first stirrings of their future musical careers.’
I assume from the eclectic mix of artists who have used the studio, right from the outset, that the intentions were not just 'commercial'. Was there a particular ethos behind your approach ?
‘It was my intention to always participate in the Underground and never veer from that, although I wasn't opposed to making commercial music in addition to it. Bill Laswell, on the other hand, always had a sense of moving up, although to be fair he also had a notion that things from the underground could move up at the same time.’
Bill and Brian left the partnership after a few years (although Bill continued to use the studio for various projects) and you became the sole owner, changing the name to BC Studio (I assume as a play on your surname ?) Why did that happen and were you happy to continue on your own ?
‘Eno actually left after a month or two… The plan with him was always that he'd give us money to get the studio going and then he could record some of his ambient stuff with us for a little while. It's actually interesting that he did this… I'm pretty sure that he was genuinely fascinated by New York and liked the idea of directly contributing to something that would be a brick and mortar establishment. He once commented to me once that he had enough money to fund a revolution in a small country and I think, at least theoretically, he really had considered this at one time ! So maybe funding OAO/BC Studio was helping towards a musical revolution… Years later, after working on Herbie Hancocks’ hit single ‘Rockit’, Laswell wanted to move the studio into Manhattan, so it would have more legitimacy for the big productions that were coming his way and also make it easier to work round-the-clock. I knew I'd get lost in all this, so I decided that I wanted us to settle up, however was fair, and move on separately. For me, it just felt like growing up and becoming more independent. The name ‘BC’ was chosen simply cause all my friends were suggesting horrible names and I couldn't come up with something. I wanted the name to be understated. ‘BC’ was also ‘Before Christ’, somewhat how ‘OAO’ was ‘Operation All Out’.
You've always worked with a diverse range of musicians and styles (Hip Hop, 'noise', rock, jazz.) Do you think this has helped to keep your approach to recording fresh ?
‘Yes, definitely. Every five years or so I rebel against what I’ve been doing and have to change course into a new genre or scene. Basically, as soon as I feel a little like I'm starting to just spin my wheels, then I have to move on.’
Also, with several of the artists you've worked with (Bill Laswell, John Zorn) they've been more interested in using musicians who are appropriate for the projects they are working on, rather than sticking to strict, traditional band line-ups. Do you think this has made you more flexible in your approach to recording, rather than just getting used to certain sounds that bands might create ? And do you think it's influenced you in your own eventual recordings (bringing-in 'guest' musicians rather than maintaining an ongoing band) ?
‘I think it's influenced me in regards to my own music and band. I like adding a guest, or switching members, but I feel very differently with bands that come to record with me. I like sticking to the band as they are, much more than Laswell. If the artist wants to add guests, that's fine and can be great, but I try to be conservative on that topic. I wouldn't want to try to reinvent a band who came to the studio. Laswell, on the other hand, has taken it upon himself to occasionally replace a 'weaker' band member for a recording… I wouldn’t be into that at all.’
‘Eno actually left after a month or two… The plan with him was always that he'd give us money to get the studio going and then he could record some of his ambient stuff with us for a little while. It's actually interesting that he did this… I'm pretty sure that he was genuinely fascinated by New York and liked the idea of directly contributing to something that would be a brick and mortar establishment. He once commented to me once that he had enough money to fund a revolution in a small country and I think, at least theoretically, he really had considered this at one time ! So maybe funding OAO/BC Studio was helping towards a musical revolution… Years later, after working on Herbie Hancocks’ hit single ‘Rockit’, Laswell wanted to move the studio into Manhattan, so it would have more legitimacy for the big productions that were coming his way and also make it easier to work round-the-clock. I knew I'd get lost in all this, so I decided that I wanted us to settle up, however was fair, and move on separately. For me, it just felt like growing up and becoming more independent. The name ‘BC’ was chosen simply cause all my friends were suggesting horrible names and I couldn't come up with something. I wanted the name to be understated. ‘BC’ was also ‘Before Christ’, somewhat how ‘OAO’ was ‘Operation All Out’.
You've always worked with a diverse range of musicians and styles (Hip Hop, 'noise', rock, jazz.) Do you think this has helped to keep your approach to recording fresh ?
‘Yes, definitely. Every five years or so I rebel against what I’ve been doing and have to change course into a new genre or scene. Basically, as soon as I feel a little like I'm starting to just spin my wheels, then I have to move on.’
Also, with several of the artists you've worked with (Bill Laswell, John Zorn) they've been more interested in using musicians who are appropriate for the projects they are working on, rather than sticking to strict, traditional band line-ups. Do you think this has made you more flexible in your approach to recording, rather than just getting used to certain sounds that bands might create ? And do you think it's influenced you in your own eventual recordings (bringing-in 'guest' musicians rather than maintaining an ongoing band) ?
‘I think it's influenced me in regards to my own music and band. I like adding a guest, or switching members, but I feel very differently with bands that come to record with me. I like sticking to the band as they are, much more than Laswell. If the artist wants to add guests, that's fine and can be great, but I try to be conservative on that topic. I wouldn't want to try to reinvent a band who came to the studio. Laswell, on the other hand, has taken it upon himself to occasionally replace a 'weaker' band member for a recording… I wouldn’t be into that at all.’
You recorded several albums by Sonic Youth during the mid-Eighties, which is where I first came across your name. That was a period of time when the band were really bursting with ideas and creativity (I still think 'Bad Moon Rising' is their best LP.) How did you first get involved with them ? Was it a pretty exciting time to be in the studio with them while they were making those records ?
‘In general, it was a very exciting time to be recording. I was working on other stuff concurrently as Sonic Youth and I really liked them, but I wasn't more excited about them than the other projects. I initially thought they were relatively conservative, compared to some of the more avant-garde and noisy stuff. There was an aspect of them that seemed like straight-up rock to me, which wasn’t exactly where I imagined myself going, even though I was curious. But they eventually proved themselves to be quite innovative so I was won over. They probably had multiple reasons for approaching me, which I think is always the case when a band is choosing a producer, but I think it was my previous involvement with Hip Hop which made the difference !’
In 1988, you worked on Iggy Pop's album 'Instinct'. How did that come about ? Did you enjoy working with him and are there any particular experiences you remember from those sessions ?
‘The Iggy Pop record was a project that came to Bill Laswell as producer. But at the time he was getting into the habit of bringing some parts of his major label projects back to BC Studio. Maybe it was just to infuse some underground vibe into the project or maybe he thought that my interaction with him and the artist would be beneficial. I didn't really ask, but it was all fine with me. So he decided that doing Iggy's lead vocals with me would be a good idea. Iggy was actually writing most of the lyrics as we were recording, so the informal setting of BC might have been pretty-nice for him, rather than a very pro and expensive situation. Iggy generally would walk in, be super nice, but then head straight for the vocal booth and shut the door. He'd sit in there working on lyrics and we couldn't even see him. He'd just say tell us to let him know whenever he was needed. Sometimes we would let him be for a while and not bother him !’
‘In general, it was a very exciting time to be recording. I was working on other stuff concurrently as Sonic Youth and I really liked them, but I wasn't more excited about them than the other projects. I initially thought they were relatively conservative, compared to some of the more avant-garde and noisy stuff. There was an aspect of them that seemed like straight-up rock to me, which wasn’t exactly where I imagined myself going, even though I was curious. But they eventually proved themselves to be quite innovative so I was won over. They probably had multiple reasons for approaching me, which I think is always the case when a band is choosing a producer, but I think it was my previous involvement with Hip Hop which made the difference !’
In 1988, you worked on Iggy Pop's album 'Instinct'. How did that come about ? Did you enjoy working with him and are there any particular experiences you remember from those sessions ?
‘The Iggy Pop record was a project that came to Bill Laswell as producer. But at the time he was getting into the habit of bringing some parts of his major label projects back to BC Studio. Maybe it was just to infuse some underground vibe into the project or maybe he thought that my interaction with him and the artist would be beneficial. I didn't really ask, but it was all fine with me. So he decided that doing Iggy's lead vocals with me would be a good idea. Iggy was actually writing most of the lyrics as we were recording, so the informal setting of BC might have been pretty-nice for him, rather than a very pro and expensive situation. Iggy generally would walk in, be super nice, but then head straight for the vocal booth and shut the door. He'd sit in there working on lyrics and we couldn't even see him. He'd just say tell us to let him know whenever he was needed. Sometimes we would let him be for a while and not bother him !’
You've also worked with Foetus / Jim Thirwell on several occasions. As he's someone who virtually uses the studio as an instrument, how was it to work with him ?
‘Jim is a hard worker. The vision for a song, especially in the mix stage, was continuously evolving, revolving, devolving and then again. Every sound in his sensibility should be bigger than the next. And since processing was the norm in recording during those years, there would be a lot, sometimes on top of each other. Jim remarked that it was common for him that a studio would run out of patch cables for all the EQ and effects he used. I think I even bought more cables at the time, just because we kept cutting it close !’
In 1989, you were involved in the recording of 'Seven Souls' by Material, which featured vocal tracks by William Burroughs ? Did he record at BC Studio ?
‘Oddly enough, neither me or Laswell were at the recording of Burrough's voice. It actually happened at another location on the same day as we were at BC working on other aspects of the record. I wasn't sure why they chose to do it that way. It could have been logistics, but I suspect it was in part because Burroughs didn't want us hovering over him. He was very relaxed on the recording we got, although he would ask to redo certain lines if he thought they should be done in a different way. He was pretty much in charge.’
You also worked with Swans, although strangely not until their albums 'Burning World' and, later-on, 'Love of Life'. I’m surprised that your paths hadn't crossed any earlier than this… Did you know Michael Gira at all before they came to work with you ?
‘Nope, I hadn't met him before Bill brought him into BC. I'd been a Swans fan and seen them live, but I’d never made the effort to meet them. I'm not on the higher side of sociability, really… Even these days, my introduction to people is usually when they come into the studio. But after that, we’ll stay connected.’
‘Jim is a hard worker. The vision for a song, especially in the mix stage, was continuously evolving, revolving, devolving and then again. Every sound in his sensibility should be bigger than the next. And since processing was the norm in recording during those years, there would be a lot, sometimes on top of each other. Jim remarked that it was common for him that a studio would run out of patch cables for all the EQ and effects he used. I think I even bought more cables at the time, just because we kept cutting it close !’
In 1989, you were involved in the recording of 'Seven Souls' by Material, which featured vocal tracks by William Burroughs ? Did he record at BC Studio ?
‘Oddly enough, neither me or Laswell were at the recording of Burrough's voice. It actually happened at another location on the same day as we were at BC working on other aspects of the record. I wasn't sure why they chose to do it that way. It could have been logistics, but I suspect it was in part because Burroughs didn't want us hovering over him. He was very relaxed on the recording we got, although he would ask to redo certain lines if he thought they should be done in a different way. He was pretty much in charge.’
You also worked with Swans, although strangely not until their albums 'Burning World' and, later-on, 'Love of Life'. I’m surprised that your paths hadn't crossed any earlier than this… Did you know Michael Gira at all before they came to work with you ?
‘Nope, I hadn't met him before Bill brought him into BC. I'd been a Swans fan and seen them live, but I’d never made the effort to meet them. I'm not on the higher side of sociability, really… Even these days, my introduction to people is usually when they come into the studio. But after that, we’ll stay connected.’
You didn't start releasing any of your own recordings until the late-Eighties... Was that just because you were too busy before then ,or were there earlier recordings which were never released ?
‘There were some earlier unreleased recordings, which I regret have possibly been lost, but they were never related to each other in a way that I thought felt like an album. I was really just exploring for my own experience. I was also getting a lot of gratification from my studio work at the time, which is why I wasn't so invested in putting my personal recordings out there.’
Although you have released records on a pretty regular basis since then, you haven't performed live very often until recently. Again, was that because you've been too busy with the studio, or did you see the recordings more as studio-based projects rather than music intended to be performed live ?
‘There's been a slow drift to presenting myself more as a musical artist normally would. First came the solo records and then, about a decade ago, I started touring.
But it was complicated… Slowly, the culture around the making of records was getting duller, until it's nadir around 2007. Somewhat related to that, I started feeling more like just an enabler of art, and in order to keep doing that I needed to have some time on the other side of the camera… So I suppose there was some narcissism involved ! At some point, I even considered ditching the studio and engineering almost entirely. This all mirrored the collapse of the traditional music industry, the diminished interest in albums as a unit and the increase in home recording. But since then, my pulling back from that cliff has even mirrored the partial recovery of all this, what with the return of vinyl etc. So now, I'm happily trying to do both things and consolidating both paths.’
You’ve toured in USA and Europe in recent years, so I assume you must have put together a solid band to do that... who was involved and were they people that you already knew or had worked with ?
‘I use a different band in different places. They are usually people that have recorded with me. In Europe the drummer Oliver Rivera Drew, who lives in Berlin, is someone I recorded in Brooklyn and he recommended the bass player, Diego Ferri. In the US I always use the drummer Sheila Bosco, who I’ve also recorded. Sometimes on tour it'll be a trio, other times it’ll be a four-piece… All this flexibility was initially to make it possible in terms of travel costs, as I wasn't getting big enough guarantees. But as it’s continued, I’m really loving the different formations.’
‘There were some earlier unreleased recordings, which I regret have possibly been lost, but they were never related to each other in a way that I thought felt like an album. I was really just exploring for my own experience. I was also getting a lot of gratification from my studio work at the time, which is why I wasn't so invested in putting my personal recordings out there.’
Although you have released records on a pretty regular basis since then, you haven't performed live very often until recently. Again, was that because you've been too busy with the studio, or did you see the recordings more as studio-based projects rather than music intended to be performed live ?
‘There's been a slow drift to presenting myself more as a musical artist normally would. First came the solo records and then, about a decade ago, I started touring.
But it was complicated… Slowly, the culture around the making of records was getting duller, until it's nadir around 2007. Somewhat related to that, I started feeling more like just an enabler of art, and in order to keep doing that I needed to have some time on the other side of the camera… So I suppose there was some narcissism involved ! At some point, I even considered ditching the studio and engineering almost entirely. This all mirrored the collapse of the traditional music industry, the diminished interest in albums as a unit and the increase in home recording. But since then, my pulling back from that cliff has even mirrored the partial recovery of all this, what with the return of vinyl etc. So now, I'm happily trying to do both things and consolidating both paths.’
You’ve toured in USA and Europe in recent years, so I assume you must have put together a solid band to do that... who was involved and were they people that you already knew or had worked with ?
‘I use a different band in different places. They are usually people that have recorded with me. In Europe the drummer Oliver Rivera Drew, who lives in Berlin, is someone I recorded in Brooklyn and he recommended the bass player, Diego Ferri. In the US I always use the drummer Sheila Bosco, who I’ve also recorded. Sometimes on tour it'll be a trio, other times it’ll be a four-piece… All this flexibility was initially to make it possible in terms of travel costs, as I wasn't getting big enough guarantees. But as it’s continued, I’m really loving the different formations.’
In 2014, a documentary 'Sound and Chaos' was made about BC Studio. How did that come about and were you happy with the results ?
‘Oh yeah, I was super-happy with the doc. A friend of mine knew the two directors and they were informally trying to come up with a project to do together. It just seemed like the story of the studio covered many of the topics they were interested in, like the music and the way the city was changing. The doc was initially going to be a short, like 20 minutes or so, but it soon became clear that the span of time, people and genres was too great for that and it became a much bigger project for them.’
This year, you've released the album 'BC35', celebrating the 35th anniversary of the studio with many of the artists that you had previously recorded. Did the album start-out as a specific project ? In many ways, it works really well as a sampler for the studio, rather than just releasing a 'greatest hits / recordings' compilation, as it underlines the sense of collaboration between yourself, the studio and the musicians. Is that what you wanted to put across ?
‘Well, the very first idea was to do a single, giant group noise event as a Kickstarter project, to help pay for medical expenses that I had after I was assaulted outside the studio. It was that idea which set the course for doing new music collaboratively. But when I realised that the 35 year anniversary was approaching, the concept broadened into doing smaller collaborations, but more of them, over the course of one weekend. We made recordings from that. So, ironically, the BC35 record might not have happened if I hadn't been assaulted !’
When you look back at the work you've done at BC Studio, do you think there's any particular approach that you've always retained in the way that you work ? Is there anything that you particularly hope that your work will be remembered for ?
‘Someone recently told me that they thought I was the best producer/engineer for capturing dream states. If we include psychological states and nightmares, yeah, I think that's a great compliment. Michael Gira would always tell me that we had to get the right "psychology" in his vocal takes. So I think there's always a bigger observation of the human condition that, I hope, is captured.’
‘Oh yeah, I was super-happy with the doc. A friend of mine knew the two directors and they were informally trying to come up with a project to do together. It just seemed like the story of the studio covered many of the topics they were interested in, like the music and the way the city was changing. The doc was initially going to be a short, like 20 minutes or so, but it soon became clear that the span of time, people and genres was too great for that and it became a much bigger project for them.’
This year, you've released the album 'BC35', celebrating the 35th anniversary of the studio with many of the artists that you had previously recorded. Did the album start-out as a specific project ? In many ways, it works really well as a sampler for the studio, rather than just releasing a 'greatest hits / recordings' compilation, as it underlines the sense of collaboration between yourself, the studio and the musicians. Is that what you wanted to put across ?
‘Well, the very first idea was to do a single, giant group noise event as a Kickstarter project, to help pay for medical expenses that I had after I was assaulted outside the studio. It was that idea which set the course for doing new music collaboratively. But when I realised that the 35 year anniversary was approaching, the concept broadened into doing smaller collaborations, but more of them, over the course of one weekend. We made recordings from that. So, ironically, the BC35 record might not have happened if I hadn't been assaulted !’
When you look back at the work you've done at BC Studio, do you think there's any particular approach that you've always retained in the way that you work ? Is there anything that you particularly hope that your work will be remembered for ?
‘Someone recently told me that they thought I was the best producer/engineer for capturing dream states. If we include psychological states and nightmares, yeah, I think that's a great compliment. Michael Gira would always tell me that we had to get the right "psychology" in his vocal takes. So I think there's always a bigger observation of the human condition that, I hope, is captured.’
You’ve previously said that there have been times when there were doubts over the future of the studio. At present, with so many iconic locations being 'gentrified' around the world, do you think the studio does have a solid future ?
‘Really, right now sustainability is success. So I’m feeling increasingly successful just based on that, Ha ! The heat in terms of being able to stay here goes up and down. At the moment it's down because circumstances have changed and ebbed much more than I expected. The election of Trump changed some things… the clean-up of the nearby Gowanus canal was suddenly put in doubt and that affected investment in the area, which made it easier for the studio to continue.’
Going forward, do you have any particular plans, either with the studio or with your own music ?
‘As for music, I'm now gathering together Volume Two of BC35, hopefully to be released in February 2019 (there was more material recorded over the anniversary weekend than made it onto Volume 1.) And right now I'm also finishing-up my next solo record, which will be titled ‘Solstice’. After that’s finished, I’ll be touring in Europe again throughout November, so that’s pretty-much what I’ll be doing until the end of this year.’
‘Really, right now sustainability is success. So I’m feeling increasingly successful just based on that, Ha ! The heat in terms of being able to stay here goes up and down. At the moment it's down because circumstances have changed and ebbed much more than I expected. The election of Trump changed some things… the clean-up of the nearby Gowanus canal was suddenly put in doubt and that affected investment in the area, which made it easier for the studio to continue.’
Going forward, do you have any particular plans, either with the studio or with your own music ?
‘As for music, I'm now gathering together Volume Two of BC35, hopefully to be released in February 2019 (there was more material recorded over the anniversary weekend than made it onto Volume 1.) And right now I'm also finishing-up my next solo record, which will be titled ‘Solstice’. After that’s finished, I’ll be touring in Europe again throughout November, so that’s pretty-much what I’ll be doing until the end of this year.’
For more information, you can investigate Martins’ official website ;