Recording and Production
Hot on the heels of their successful 1994 Pandemonium album and tour, Killing Joke's members converged on the UK from their new found homes in three continents, to hide away in Cornwall and Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where the album was produced. Coleman had spent some time decompressing at the end of Pandemonium in Sedona, Arizona, where he had been inspired by the new interest in the native American culture, striking a chord with his previous involvement in Maori culture in New Zealand, where he had been settled for a short while.
A more optimistic and New Age tinged album lyrically, while keeping some of the weight and import of Pandemonium, the album marked the beginning of a more settled period for singer Jaz Coleman, who had by now also made considerable progress with his orchestral career. Production was overseen by Youth, with live session man Geoff Dugmore on drums. Synthesised textures from keyboardist Nick Holywell-Walker added to the concoction.
The album sessions culminated in a full-moon drumming fire ceremony on a small island on the river Thames at Henley, with Youth reportedly braving the murky waters for a naked swim. Democracy was mixed in Sarm West in London's Portobello Road towards the end of 1995, with the exception of the track "Savage Freedom" which was mixed at Butterfly Studios, Brixton, by celebrated British engineer/producer Ott. However, guitarist Geordie Walker has expressed disappointment with the resulting Democracy album. After a short tour in the summer of 1996, the band began their longest career hiatus to date, not reforming until 2002 and releasing their second eponymously-titled album in 2003.
Read more about this topic: Democracy (album)
Famous quotes containing the words recording and/or production:
“Write while the heat is in you.... The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Perestroika basically is creating material incentives for the individual. Some of the comrades deny that, but I can’t see it any other way. In that sense human nature kinda goes backwards. It’s a step backwards. You have to realize the people weren’t quite ready for a socialist production system.”
—Gus Hall (b. 1910)