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Limitations and creativity in recording and performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2011

Nicholas Cook
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Eric Clarke
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Daniel Leech-Wilkinson
Affiliation:
King's College London
John Rink
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

I was involved with the Human League for the period from 1978, when we formed the band from various precursors, until that version of the band split in late 1980; and that whole time was fundamentally about a new form of recording technique. What we were doing evolved from previous approaches, of course, but it was the limitations of what was available to us then, compared to today's technology, that was the key point – and actually made for a more spicy creative environment. It was about physical limitations as well as the limitations of recording and musical instrument technology. We were in the Devonshire quarter of Sheffield, where there were Little Mesters's shops that had fallen into disrepair, which you could pick up for rehearsal purposes for almost nothing – like five pounds a week. They were basically ruins, and it kind of appealed to us because all that was needed was a lick of paint, and then you'd got a studio. Things were so basic for us when we started out that we didn't have a mixing desk, we didn't have equalisation, we didn't even have stereo at that point: we were just bouncing material from track to track on a Revox. But those limitations led us to all kinds of interesting creative solutions – things that we wouldn't otherwise have stumbled upon.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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