Atticus Ross' Production Process

Рет қаралды 90,520

3 жыл бұрын

Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/ar-nine-inch-nails
Watch how Atticus Ross produces a "Nine Inch Nails" track
Join Grammy and Academy award-winning producer, composer and musician Atticus Ross as he takes you through the record-making process of the Nine Inch Nails song ‘God Break Down the Door’. With a multi-track session at Church Studios, he recounts the unorthodox journey taken for the piece. From its musical conception, inspiration and influences, to Trent Reznor's studio performance, recording, arranging and production, Ross gives an insight to the magic behind Nine Inch Nails' abrasive, dynamic and evocative sound.

Пікірлер: 256

@mixwiththemasters 2 жыл бұрын

Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/ar-nine-inch-nails

@le_decard 3 жыл бұрын

Atticus is like a highly intelligent villain in 007 series.

@AQUEL_DON_JULIO 3 жыл бұрын

LMAO!

@anythingbox 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely a gem of production advice for those that can read between the lines. He's saying: BE YOURSELF.

@TTSetters 3 жыл бұрын

This is exactly how I feel. I don’t quantize, I don’t clean up stuff. I keep it real. I love that dirty live sound and why mess with it.

@jaystay1514 3 жыл бұрын

At least admit that a certain percentage of this decision is based in not wanting to do the grueling labor involved in editing every single track

@HenritheHorse 3 жыл бұрын

@@jaystay1514 There is no need for editing if you know how to play...

@elektrozil9728 3 жыл бұрын

Keep it dirty, even during covid.

@rainbowmachine25 3 жыл бұрын

I like dirty, but clean is cool too. Overproduced is an aesthetic and it can work on some stuff. Really depends

@TTSetters 3 жыл бұрын

@@rainbowmachine25 I'm all about using things which they were not meant for. Ie, taking a speaker, and using it as a mic, taking a telephone and using it as an amp close mic'd, using weird things you are not supposed to use, that kind of thing.

@SIl_Ae 3 жыл бұрын

Atticus and Trent together are such a power duo. Anyone on here talking nonsense knows nothing about how masterful their work sounds.

@Simonewhitesim-1music 3 жыл бұрын

I was watching a series and the music Hit/score. I Yelled out Trent. My Wife said what? I said Trent and Atticus. The Piano the feel. Gotta love them!

@SIl_Ae 3 жыл бұрын

@@Simonewhitesim-1music absolutely. it just stands out immediately, on its own. I'm the same way. I'll get myself to watch something solely for their music and how it fits lol.

@Simonewhitesim-1music 3 жыл бұрын

@@SIl_Ae I wasn't looking for but got a lovely surprise.

@matiasmoulin2126 3 жыл бұрын

Agree 100%!

@night_speed 2 жыл бұрын

I prefer Trent's output before Atticus started producing everything. Before Atticus Trent took his time and experimented a lot with sound design and texture. The Fragile represents the peak of his experimentation. After The Fragile his songs became much more formulaic. After The Fragile is when Atticus became a permanent fixture in the studio which consists of Trent performing on various instruments while Atticus hits record and ultimately Atticus arranges pieces of the recordings into songs. I'm not saying it's better or worse. I've been a NIN fanboy since 1994, my first concert was Bowie and NIN on the Outside tour and I've seen NIN on almost every tour since including HTDA and I definitely prefer the rawness and vulnerability and 'horror' , if you will, of pre-Atticus Nine Inch Nails. I wouldn't have said anything but from your comment it sounds like any opinion other than ones aligned with yours are 'nonsense'. I'm just curious as to what your criteria is. I'm a long time NIN fan as well as a gear nut. Trent has a fascination with electronic music gear including modular synths, so over the years I've made it a point to research a lot of the gear he's either mentioned or been seen using in the various studios he's had. I've always been interested in how he records and i myself have quite a large synth collection both traditional and modular(eurorack and other formats) and I've been recording music in various ways on and off as a hobby for over 20 years so i know a little of what goes into it. Having said all that, is the opinion that i prefer Trent Reznor's musical output before Atticus became the main producer(arranger) of Nine Inch Nails still nonsense?

@fedorvoronovcomposer 3 жыл бұрын

1:59 when he said "overproduced", I didn't think at first, that he meant this, I thought he meant stuff like artificially unnatural delays/reverbs and autotune for stylistic reasons, but, man, what he means is so spot-on

@collectiveconscious2324 3 жыл бұрын

What he is saying is that this song isn’t overproduced because every part wasn’t perfected to the point that it sounds soulless.

@DichotomousRex 3 жыл бұрын

He right. If you don't want your music to sound like everyone else, you can't make it the exact same way as everyone else.

@metasynth1609 3 жыл бұрын

I would love to see more video like this with Atticus and Trent. It absolutely has a bowie feel to it. So good, cant wait for the release

@tarekmansur 3 жыл бұрын

While Atticus played his magic at 8:56 I was hitting "command+s" several times to save my project because it sounded so good! HAHAHA!!

@rainbowrotcod 3 жыл бұрын

I feel that 😂

@TrappoLone 3 жыл бұрын

that console.........

@r-d-v 3 жыл бұрын

I always tried to make everything clean and precise in my music - until I heard NIN for the first time. The organic and humaness of it all. Its beautiful.

@jakubowskij 3 жыл бұрын

Some guys are just awesome, Atticus Ross is one of them.

@ehyojono 3 жыл бұрын

This was an excellent post bday present. Thanks Atticus for sharing, NIN fan!

@tuneboyz5634 3 жыл бұрын

happy bday! :)

@Onamorata 3 жыл бұрын

Never realized how much him and Trent kinda look similar in some ways lol

@badnewshooty9728 3 жыл бұрын

I didn't either until I got the hard copy of Bad Witch (I think) and there was a black and white picture of them both and I thought it was two different pictures of Trent at first.

@Talis7212 2 жыл бұрын

They are merging

@DaveTaste Жыл бұрын

Lol

@ronroidz2925 3 жыл бұрын

12 Rounds is one of my favorite bands of all time. I think Atticus is such a great addition to trent and his work. Everybody who don't know atticus' and his wifes band "12 Rounds" should definitly try a listen. they are a weird but great combination of triphop and punkrock, very dark but also full of energy.

@patientzero4889 3 жыл бұрын

Every track being the same colour in his Pro Tools session makes me anxious! Love the music

@haraldjens573 3 жыл бұрын

Only a psychopath wouldn't color-code his tracks!

@patientzero4889 3 жыл бұрын

@@haraldjens573Exactly!

@afroheadwes Жыл бұрын

Just 30 seconds in and I can see why Trent made him an official member of Nine Inch Nails

@xeraph02 3 жыл бұрын

Each time you listen to a NIN song you discover some new layers of textures hidden inside, I guess, this is what I love about their music, the attention to detail. Back then when whole Year Zero was released in multitrack stems, I was grinning like a little kid when I found some weird noises in stems that didn't make any sense and yet they worked well in the whole song. Magic.

@whatchrisdoinmusic Жыл бұрын

The effect of Talking heads remain in light album is amazing. So many songs and albums have been inspired by that album

@stevelibby3 3 жыл бұрын

The space-echo'd sax part at 9 minutes is sick...love it! Trent's vocals are sounding pretty dope also 🙏🏼

@DavidDemiseOfficial 2 жыл бұрын

I would love to study production, engineering and recording under him. And if I could have anyone in the world as my producer it would be him.

@PlaysWithChildren 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing to hear this come directly from Atticus. I always thought God Break Down the Door sounded Bowie-esque and also seems heavily post-punk influenced which obviously Bowie had a part in as well. Instantly felt like such a nostalgic song, like I had heard it before in a different life or timeline. It literally gave me deja vu the first time I heard it. That's how you know when music is truly tapping into the great beyond, like pulling it out of the aether from an ancient shelf in the cosmos. Maybe that's what the title refers to on some level: God breaking down the door of the spiritual realm to bring the song into the material world..

@nagratna793 2 жыл бұрын

Litterally his music takes out my best emotions.. everytime.. litterally a genius musician..if music is a sea..he is the hidden gem if that sea

@lyndafidler687 2 жыл бұрын

Remember you are amazing as well both U and Trent

@lyndafidler687 2 жыл бұрын

Your music helps people to heal from pain and hurt the good old Dazzling

@mcyeti460 3 жыл бұрын

What he's describing in the beginning of the video about computer based music is profound. The seemingly primitive approach, by today's standard, of using the Atari computer as a sequencing tool to control the musical devices was a magical process. It still possessed an organic feel, especially when used in conjunction with analog tape. All of the equipment held together by midi cables and smpte code felt like you were in a Sonic laboratory conducting Audio Alchemy. Nowadays, kids can achieve amazingly sterilized perfection with all the plug-ins and sample packs, sucking the soul right out of the process. It's sad really.

@MarinaAndTheDevil 2 жыл бұрын

Very true. We sacrificed depth for accessibility.

@1998Cebola 2 жыл бұрын

And then there is the opposite, people like Lotic or Arca working compeltly inside the box with samples that sculpt some of the most amazing worlds ever put on record, using tools that utilise concepts like granular synthesis and spectral synthesis in a way that is impossible in the analog world. Same with some of the MaxMSP producers like Autechre, or some of the really primitive digital producers like Alva Noto.

@davidsfishtanks9347 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for sharing !

@lindawestover6045 2 жыл бұрын

Dazzling your music is amazing Trent Reznor amazing

@zackorr421 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely genius

@davidhaggerty9850 3 жыл бұрын

I don't know what it is, but this felt very insightful...Especially considering the brevity.

@LegendofTheCosmic7 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I can see that ethereal quality to Trent's vocals.

@campbellmaclure7386 3 жыл бұрын

Ok I'm going to listen again to 'God break down the door' again

@Talis7212 2 жыл бұрын

I've listened to that song many times and never noticed the marimba lol. The subtlety of their production is what makes it.

@ManifestiV 2 жыл бұрын

Their marimba, used live in 2008, is what inspired EvE to build our trademark electronic vibraphone. Mallets = WAY underused! Just ask Danny Elfman . He has at least a dozen.

@walmy305 3 жыл бұрын

This is what I get from drifting from the NIN mantra. Why am I just now knowing about this man??? Got some catching up to do...

@jamisbillson4872 2 жыл бұрын

Reznor is so good it’s hard to fathom.

@ianchurch9969 3 жыл бұрын

Fucking brilliant I have wanted to watch this for ages

@BcBaxley 3 жыл бұрын

You had me at, I hate over produced 🤘🥰

@hurricanemeier 3 жыл бұрын

The best is when he says it was just a great moment. No smile whatsoever. I wonder if he has teeth. Still an absolutely brilliant musician.

@HentaiTrapLord 2 жыл бұрын

Atticus Ross With Teeth

@mattwagner5332 3 жыл бұрын

I was wondering why this video was seemingly stripped of any and all context and just wanted to know what track he was talking about, and then I realized it's because the real video is buried behind a subscription service. Kind of bummed I gave this channel the views I did before realizing. Not down for that.

@augustobt. 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting process. Wow.

@jamisbillson4872 2 жыл бұрын

This man is a genius.

@madmac66 3 жыл бұрын

What an absolute legend. Could listen to this guy pull out bits of songs forever. Amazing creativity

@rudra4625 2 жыл бұрын

i have to start sitting like that

@neoaureus 3 жыл бұрын

Nice headroom !

@ddawg470 3 жыл бұрын

I totally agree with this man, music is a organic art form and should be treated as such depending on the genre you are producing and creating! I think remember HUMAN FIRST, AI SECOND, but most off all be creative blessings to all musicians, producers,songwriters,artists 🙏🏽❤️🙏🏽

@harry2993 3 жыл бұрын

The editing in this video is doing my head in. Trying to focus on his words but the camera switch every 3s.. 😖

@savageeddie8290 3 жыл бұрын

Listen! who other of your favorite artists you listen to, or say one of the best out there. dont matter the genre. Has done quite alot of movie scores or soundtracks?????

@prospectnyc 3 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to buy the full length version of this video without having to buy the whole membership? Thank you.

@ambrosiajam8008 3 жыл бұрын

This I want to know too

@dafingaz 3 жыл бұрын

Wow!

@TheRetroRenegade 6 ай бұрын

I don't know much about audio engineering, but to me his computer screen reminds me a lot of a timeline editor in Premier or DaVinci Resolve, and just how many layers of audio there are in just one track that you probably don't even notice unless you listen specially for them, and how distinct they sound when isolated but come together to form one big piece - I got a lot or respect for that. There's a lot of things that have to go right all at once to make something so complex and being willing to let some imperfections show in your finished work definitely takes some balls!

@ruskerdax5547 6 ай бұрын

I've edited video and made music, and there are a fair amount of similarities when it comes to some things. Many UI elements were developed in tandem (Avid makes ProTools and Media Composer, after all).

@TheRetroRenegade 6 ай бұрын

@@ruskerdax5547 I guess it makes sense as audio is an extremely important part of video production and the advent of non-linear editing systems kinda set the standard for how a UI like that should work. I guess I'm just intrigued to just how many layers of sound (vocals, instruments, electronics) are working in unison for God Break Down the Door, including several I never even picked up on until they were isolated by Ross here.

@Rhuggins 3 жыл бұрын

If I buy the series how long is the Atticus section? Thats what I’m most interested in

@aaronjennings8385 3 жыл бұрын

That manic drum track it's a busy one.

@SplotchTheCatThing 3 жыл бұрын

I think he's very very right about a lot of this -- there's a lot to be said for dissecting the track you're working on, figuring out what it needs to get its point and feeling across, and then not giving it anything more than that. A lot of producers out there -- even some of the professionals -- seem to get very attached to all the equipment at their disposal and all the techniques they know, and don't take the time to consider what to *not* use. Autotune - while it can be an amazing effect in the right claws - is a major victim of this mindset when it's slapped on any vocalist regardless of what they're actually trying to achieve with their performance. And that's just one example. That being said... I'd still take issue with folks dismissing alternative ideas on the principle that Atticus is a professional and other commenters might not be. A complete neophyte in any field can sometimes come up with good ideas that a person who's been in it all their life would never think of. (University entrance exams actually take advantage of this sometimes!) And I've hung around enough with enough "amateur producers" on various internet holes-in-the-wall to find many who are at least as good at what they do as the professionals... done it enough that I could even point you to some of them if you asked. Whether I'm one of them... well, I certainly find people out there who I think are better than me, and I don't think it's entirely my place to say. I certainly seem to have a lot of strong opinions about it, though, don't I? XD

@orange5718 3 жыл бұрын

You mind pointing me in the direction of some of these people? Im always up for new music and I love supporting the little guys

@highr.powermusic6002 3 жыл бұрын

@ orange5 check out my music

@SplotchTheCatThing 3 жыл бұрын

@@orange5718 Yeah, sure! These are a few of the folks who always seem to impress me somehow, in a variety of styles kzfaq.info/love/wAptZRdY-I4sJV2YEHeYDA kzfaq.info/love/JIe-yPEEEIcRIFqijuW75A soundcloud.com/zipsnipe (Though please don't tell them I said that XD) I've got a couple of my own recent tracks on my channel as well --even though it's not really my main music spot, I should really try to get more up there. I'd have honestly posted the links before, as kinda like, evidence, except I *really* dislike putting links in youtube comments unsolicited. It feels disrespectful to the video being watched to just come up and say "hey, look at this instead" :P

@jimmythevoice8716 3 жыл бұрын

Love you guys The best

@MinorScalesMajorFuckups 3 жыл бұрын

This song reminds me of David Sylvian´s Dead Bees on a Cake

@dtesnow 3 жыл бұрын

I was just hearing/feeling Sylvian in the vocals as well.

@yutro213 2 жыл бұрын

FINALLY I can actually listen to Atticus Ross speak for himself, Trent Reznor holds him back waayyyyy too much in ANY interview they are together.

@proverbialwhatever 3 жыл бұрын

Such a great album.

@SocialGore 3 жыл бұрын

nah

@experimetalfan8851 3 жыл бұрын

Least favorite NIN album

@SocialGore Жыл бұрын

@@Alwayz1999 don't necro comments

@almur88 3 жыл бұрын

congrats on the oscar last night!

@georgegoom7999 3 жыл бұрын

anybody know what the 'teaspoon pedal' he's referring to is?

@jayceherbold3314 3 жыл бұрын

Is there a part 2?

@vaibhavpani Жыл бұрын

Can someone tell me what are those sounds 08:45 onwards? I can hear a distorted brass and a synth arp... Is there a guitar feedback in there too?

@ruskerdax5547 6 ай бұрын

I would guess that it's a synth, but to be honest you could get a similar sound with either. Moderately high attack and lots of distortion, then a bit of tremolo. You can get a squelch like you hear in the second tone by distorting a pinch harmonic, but you can also get a similar tone by cranking the resonance on a filter and distorting that, too.

@ArcaneStrain Жыл бұрын

I'd love to see the full video, but the membership is horrifically expensive :(

@simons9764 3 жыл бұрын

Can't see any effects on his channels. Is he using hardware out or did they print the effects (mostly delays I guess) during production?

@ClosetoHumanMusic 3 жыл бұрын

Nails have always had a complicated love / hate relationship with pop music and success. On one hand Trent railed against industrial scene bands for not writing real songs, and then proceeded to make some of the most popular and important music of the 90's and 00's. Now he's doing more experimental stuff. Good on him and Atticus for following their artistic intuitions. However, I don't think it's fair to blame modern tools for the mediocrity of modern music. The reason being I don't think modern music is any more or less mediocre than before. We've always been served a heaping helping of mediocre and soulless music in every era, it's just that in the intervening years we only end up remembering the great stuff and irrationally longing for a romanticized musical past that never existed. For every Nine Inch Nails there were 10 Gravity Kills'... Quantizing and pitch correction and drum tuning and drum replacement are all great, they've made it possible to produce music that was impossible just a few years ago. It's about using the tools to tell a story without losing the emotion... the human factor... which, for a lot of mediocre artists, was never there to begin with.

@TRUTHSORE 3 жыл бұрын

Very well said. There has ALWAYS been good and bad music. I think bad music-like bad writing-can teach you what to avoid and not do to make good music. I was born in the 60s, arguably one of the best eras for music but I'm never nostalgic for that time simply because music now has elements of that time in songs made today.

@notforsale9488 3 жыл бұрын

Well said

@Nikkibausch 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah guys who has the bigger board / console pretty sure he does lol probably has his own studio at Disney along with Trent by now

@rennyzero420 3 жыл бұрын

I am going to guess KROQ likes brands sold at Guitar Center - that is where I discover DAngelico hollow body.

@DeepThinkingGPU 3 жыл бұрын

08:31 the best part

@SIl_Ae 3 жыл бұрын

it's absolutely brilliant. that's where trent's genius shines THROUGH

@quadrod 3 жыл бұрын

Sounds a bit more Scott Walker to me.

@melankolikfilms Жыл бұрын

Cinematographer: crossing the line? Hold my beer.

@chain12bb 3 жыл бұрын

whats the software hes using?

@AfterNothingsEnd 3 жыл бұрын

Pro tools

@Alun49 2 жыл бұрын

He identifies the fundamental problem with music today. It is not that there is no talent out there. It is more to do with the way in which music is on a production line where all the originality is squashed as it is first through a sonic mangle so it "fits' with the market.

@lyndamarywestover405 2 жыл бұрын

🌹💓 dont give up you are loved

@ambrosiajam8008 3 жыл бұрын

How do I just buy this full video? I can’t afford $319/yr and I’ve never heard of any of the other producers on the list (don’t @ me )

@msb8013 3 жыл бұрын

Well, headed to hear David Bowie.

@lyndamarywestover405 2 жыл бұрын

Dazzling dozer Browser

@nhl041976 3 жыл бұрын

maybe santa will bring him a wireless mouse for Xmas...

@jvig7353 3 жыл бұрын

He mentions tuning and over production... I'm guessing that extends beyond just autotune. One of the 'tricks' that's overused nowadays for instance, is tuning your drums (especially the kick) to the key of the song. I wonder how he feels about that, because I'm over those kinds of things.

@ClosetoHumanMusic 3 жыл бұрын

What's wrong with tuning your drums? It really helps gel the percussion with the other tonal instruments.

@jvig7353 3 жыл бұрын

@@ClosetoHumanMusic There's nothing 'wrong' with it, but it yields you a very produced (some might say over produced) sound which speaks to the issue Atticus was discussing originally. The more of those kinds of tricks you use (e.g., quantizing, side-chained compression, adaptive EQ), the more your mix will 'gel,' but the less human it will sound. It's one of the reasons why modern takes on '80s music don't actually sound like '80s music. To be fair, a lot of this is caused by other unrelated practices that happen to be going on while this is popular (e.g., everybody cutting the mids in the master so it sounds like it's underwater and drenching things in a washy reverb to create a 'dreamy' sound).

@moliver_xxii 2 жыл бұрын

i think for him it could depends... on Song Exploder (when it was a podcast) in the breakdown of The Lovers, kick tuning was mentioned.

@diftypopproductions 3 жыл бұрын

Atticus is the governor

@TeddyWaldon 6 ай бұрын

I don't understand, those waveforms look massive and should be saturating, but they're not, how do they do it?

@FIVEFACTS5FAX 3 жыл бұрын

TO WHOEVER READS MORE THAN THEY PLAY.

@featheredmusic 3 жыл бұрын

What piece of software is he using?

@marklholloway 3 жыл бұрын

Avid Pro Tools

@geet77777 18 күн бұрын

wtf is this "teaspoon" pedal? anyone know? I cant figure it out.

@DaveTaste Жыл бұрын

Well spoken as fuck.

@FIVEFACTS5FAX 3 жыл бұрын

EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO LAUGHED AT TAYLOR SWIFT NEEDS TO GET

@hippyhobo6285 2 жыл бұрын

I will say there's also a sect of bedroom producers who are trying to be like Trent, or Atticus, and obviously so much more, not in the sense that they're trying to sound like Nine Inch Nails, but more so the mentality of the creativity and essence of music.

@eancurtis9333 3 жыл бұрын

Kroq 106.7 in LA lol

@Decoy303 3 жыл бұрын

Anyone else cream their pants on that end bit?

@daleturner 3 жыл бұрын

Fookin' WIZARDS!!

@lyndafidler687 2 жыл бұрын

Omg

@jamiegustkey2573 3 жыл бұрын

I noticed @ around the 5:54 , but I'm sure it's the whole time.... Close your eyes.😑 Now listen to Atticus talk.... I hear Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest Spinal Tap... "But this one goes to 11") Annnnnd Mick Jagger / Keef Richards (pick a time) Ok - now open your eyes. And as your eyes are now open- he kinda looks like a goth version of Josh from JHS pedals. FIN.

@daddydanny5588 3 жыл бұрын

gr8 vid ...

@daddydanny5588 3 жыл бұрын

lol ...

@dominicmccarthy501 Жыл бұрын

massters.

@levadura7 6 ай бұрын

RELEASE THE STEMS

@andrewalarcon818 3 жыл бұрын

Talk about a dude who's got his head so far up his ass, Trent Reznor is notorious for making anything he produces sound unnatural. "ObViOuSlY iM a BiG fAn oF tHe SpAcE EcHoOoO" I'm dead

@atiostefony3760 2 жыл бұрын

Name of the song?

@Winduct 3 жыл бұрын

He reminds me of Steve Carell in Foxcatcher.

@thimthim777 3 жыл бұрын

This was the track that made me think, huh... Maybe I DO like NIN! So I went back, listened to their old stuff, and it was still pretty hit and miss for me. But man, imo all the later stuff with Atticus and Trent is pretty much all killer and no filler.