Diorama (album) - Recording and Production

Recording and Production

On Diorama, Silverchair worked with a new producer, David Bottrill, who replaced Nick Launay. Though Launay had produced the band's three previous albums, lead singer Daniel Johns decided that he needed someone "who understood where he wanted to go". Johns believed Diorama would be "the kind of record that people were either going to be into or were really going to hate", and needed a producer who would understand the band's new direction. He interviewed several candidates, eventually choosing Bottrill and taking the role of co-producer himself.

Johns initially recorded eight songs, only to delete the files thinking they were too similar to tracks on the previous album, Neon Ballroom. Leaving the security and darkness of his earlier work, he restarted from scratch to create something more uplifting. Diorama represented a radical change in Silverchair's musical structure; the heavy post-grunge influence on their prior work was replaced by string and horn ensembles and highly complex song structures. Johns felt more comfortable in making this radical change rather than a minor one, finding it helped him to regain his passion for music, which had diminished during the grunge days. Johns wrote much of the album at a baby grand piano; he had previously taught himself the instrument and composed songs on it for the first time with Diorama. This change in songwriting technique had a significant effect on the sound of the album; Johns commented on the difference in how his vocals resonated with piano as compared to guitar. He worked with others in developing the album; Van Dyke Parks (Beach Boys, U2) collaborated on orchestral arrangements, and the pair spent much of their recording time attempting to describe the music in metaphorical terms, with Johns describing Parks' orchestral swells as "tidal waves" and violins as "a flock of birds". The pair described the collaborative experience as "mind-blowing". A DVD entitled Across The Night: The Creation Of Diorama was released in 2002, featuring interviews with Johns and Parks.

Several songs on Diorama were inspired by Johns' then-girlfriend Natalie Imbruglia, but he cautioned against possible misinterpretations of the songs, stating "Everyone will think that any lyric that's about someone in a positive light will be about her" and noting that there were other people he cared for about whom he wrote the songs. Johns denied rumours that he had written songs intending Imbruglia to sing them.

Silverchair intended to tour supporting Diorama following its release, but plans were postponed when Johns developed reactive arthritis; causing his joints to swell and making guitar playing and singing too painful. After performing "The Greatest View" at the 2002 ARIA Awards, Johns said that he wanted "to perform 11 songs at least once in front of an audience" before laying the album to rest. He travelled to California to receive treatments for his arthritis, including daily physiotherapy.