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The Record Production Portal

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

P:RECORD

This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)

The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)

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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

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Frusciante performing in 2023

John Anthony Frusciante (/fruːˈʃɑːnteɪ/ froo-SHAHN-tay; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician and the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, having been with the band across three stints. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to electronic music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012. Rolling Stone named Frusciante among the greatest guitarists of all time.

Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). (Full article...)
$Image 2 Sonatas and Interludes is a cycle of twenty pieces for prepared piano by American avant-garde composer John Cage (1912–1992). It was composed in 1946–48, shortly after Cage's introduction to Indian philosophy and the teachings of art historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, both of which became major influences on the composer's later work. Significantly more complex than his other works for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes is generally recognized as one of Cage's finest achievements. The cycle consists of sixteen sonatas (thirteen of which are cast in binary form, the remaining three in ternary form) and four more freely structured interludes. The aim of the pieces is to express the eight permanent emotions of the rasa Indian tradition. In Sonatas and Interludes, Cage elevated his technique of rhythmic proportions to a new level of complexity. In each sonata a short sequence of natural numbers and fractions defines the structure of the work and that of its parts, informing structures as localized as individual melodic lines. (Full article...)$

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Sonatas and Interludes is a cycle of twenty pieces for prepared piano by American avant-garde composer John Cage (1912–1992). It was composed in 1946–48, shortly after Cage's introduction to Indian philosophy and the teachings of art historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, both of which became major influences on the composer's later work. Significantly more complex than his other works for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes is generally recognized as one of Cage's finest achievements.

The cycle consists of sixteen sonatas (thirteen of which are cast in binary form, the remaining three in ternary form) and four more freely structured interludes. The aim of the pieces is to express the eight permanent emotions of the rasa Indian tradition. In Sonatas and Interludes, Cage elevated his technique of rhythmic proportions to a new level of complexity. In each sonata a short sequence of natural numbers and fractions defines the structure of the work and that of its parts, informing structures as localized as individual melodic lines. (Full article...)
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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an audiobook and soundtrack companion album for the 1982 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Composed by John Williams, the album was narrated by recording artist Michael Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones and distributed by MCA Records. The audiobook was produced by John Williams and Michael Jackson working with Rod Temperton, Freddy DeMann, and Bruce Swedien.

The E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial audiobook was released by MCA on November 15, 1982 – the same month as Michael Jackson's acclaimed sixth studio album Thriller despite conditions given by Epic Records, Jackson's record label, that it should not be released until after Thriller. As a result, Epic took legal action against MCA which forced the album's withdrawal. During its curtailed release, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial reached number 37 on the Billboard 200 and number 82 on the UK Albums Chart. It was well-received critically and won Jackson a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. (Full article...)
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Stanford in 1921

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the University of Cambridge before studying music in Leipzig and Berlin. He was instrumental in raising the status of the Cambridge University Musical Society, attracting international stars to perform with it.

While still an undergraduate, Stanford was appointed organist of Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1882, aged 29, he was one of the founding professors of the Royal College of Music, where he taught composition for the rest of his life. From 1887 he was also Professor of Music at Cambridge. As a teacher, Stanford was sceptical about modernism, and based his instruction chiefly on classical principles as exemplified in the music of Brahms. Among his pupils were rising composers whose fame went on to surpass his own, such as Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. As a conductor, Stanford held posts with the Bach Choir and the Leeds Triennial Music Festival. (Full article...)
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The three Rhinemaidens at play in the waters of the Rhine. Illustration from Stories of the Wagner Opera by H. A. Guerber, 1905.

The Rhinemaidens are the three water-nymphs (Rheintöchter or "Rhine daughters") who appear in Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Their individual names are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde (Floßhilde), although they are generally treated as a single entity and they act together accordingly. Of the 34 characters in the Ring cycle, they are the only ones who did not originate in the Old Norse Eddas. Wagner created his Rhinemaidens from other legends and myths, most notably the Nibelungenlied which contains stories involving water sprites (nixies) or mermaids of the Danube.

The key concepts associated with the Rhinemaidens in the Ring operas—their flawed guardianship of the Rhine gold, and the condition (the renunciation of love) through which the gold could be stolen from them and then transformed into a means of obtaining world power—are wholly Wagner's own invention, and are the elements that initiate and propel the entire drama. (Full article...)
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Freak Out! is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of guitarist/bandleader Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture and the nascent freak scene of Los Angeles. It was the second rock music double album ever released, following Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde just one week earlier, as well as the first double debut album by a rock artist. In the UK, the album was originally released as an edited single disc.

The album was produced by Tom Wilson, who signed the Mothers, formerly a bar band called the Soul Giants. Zappa said many years later that Wilson signed the band to a record deal under the impression that they were a white blues band. The album features Zappa on vocals and guitar, along with lead vocalist/tambourine player Ray Collins, bass player/vocalist Roy Estrada, drummer/vocalist Jimmy Carl Black and guitar player Elliot Ingber, along with appearances from several session musicians. (Full article...)
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Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (/boʊlt/; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. When the British Broadcasting Corporation appointed him director of music in 1930, he established the BBC Symphony Orchestra and became its chief conductor. The orchestra set standards of excellence that were rivalled in Britain only by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), founded two years later.

Forced to leave the BBC in 1950 on reaching retirement age, Boult became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra had declined from its peak of the 1930s, but under his guidance its fortunes were revived. He retired as its chief conductor in 1957, and later accepted the post of president. Although in the latter part of his career he worked with several other orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and his former orchestra, the BBC Symphony, it was the LPO with which he was primarily associated, conducting it in concerts and recordings until 1978, in what was widely called his "Indian summer". (Full article...)
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Orpheus, the hero of the opera

L'Orfeo (SV 318) (Italian pronunciation: [lorˈfɛːo]), or La favola d'Orfeo [la ˈfaːvola dorˈfɛːo], is a late Renaissance/early Baroque favola in musica, or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. It was written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua. While Jacopo Peri's Dafne is generally recognised as the first work in the opera genre, and the earliest surviving opera is Peri's Euridice, L'Orfeo is the earliest that is still regularly performed.

By the early 17th century the traditional intermedio—a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play—was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or "opera". Monteverdi's L'Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era and provided the first fully developed example of the new genre. After its initial performance the work was staged again in Mantua, and possibly in other Italian centres in the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in 1609 and again in 1615. After the composer's death in 1643 the opera went unperformed for many years, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century led to a spate of modern editions and performances. At first these performances tended to be concert (unstaged) versions within institutes and music societies, but following the first modern dramatised performance in Paris, in 1911, the work began to be seen in theatres. After the Second World War many recordings were issued, and the opera was increasingly staged in opera houses, although some leading venues resisted it. In 2007, the quatercentenary of the premiere was celebrated by performances throughout the world. (Full article...)
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Hey Y'all is the second studio album by the American singer Elizabeth Cook, released on August 27, 2002, by the Warner Bros. record label. The album was the first time its executive producer, Richard Dodd, had worked in country music. A majority of the songs were written by Cook and the songwriter Hardie McGehee, who shared a music publisher. Prior to Hey Y'all, Cook had independently released her debut studio album, The Blue Album (2000), and performed over 100 times at the Grand Ole Opry. She signed a deal with Atlantic Records but was later transferred to Warner Bros. after AOL-Time Warner closed Atlantic's Nashville office. Hey Y'all was Cook's debut on a major record label.

A country album, Hey Y'all includes influences from other genres, such as gospel, honky-tonk, and pop. The lyrics focus on Cook's childhood and personal life, as well as on more sexual topics. It was recorded at Javeline Studios, the Hum Depot, and Vital Recording in Nashville and Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee. Reviewers attributed a twangy quality to Cook's voice, which they likened to that of other country singers, including Dolly Parton. (Full article...)
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Jackson in 2015

Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content that focused on social issues and lived experiences set her reputation as a role model for youth.

The tenth and youngest child of the Jackson family, Jackson starred in multiple television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes, and Fame. She signed a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982 and became a pop icon following the releases of the albums Control (1986) and Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated a variety of music genres, which led to crossover success in popular music and influenced the development of the new jack swing fusion genre. In the 1990s, Jackson became one of the highest-paid artists in the industry, signing two record-breaking multimillion-dollar contracts with Virgin Records. She established her image as a sex symbol with a leading role in the film Poetic Justice (1993), and the albums Janet (1993) and The Velvet Rope (1997). Billboard named her the second most successful artist of the decade in the United States after Mariah Carey. (Full article...)
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Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman on vocals, and later Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released New Found Power, their only album, in February 2004. New Found Power debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,676 copies in its first week.

While Damageplan was promoting the album at a concert on December 8, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, deranged fan Nathan Gale climbed on stage and killed guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being fatally shot by a police officer. Although no motive was found, some of Gale's friends reported that he believed that Pantera had stolen his lyrics and that its former members were attempting to steal his identity. Damageplan's manager confirmed there are unreleased Damageplan recordings, although they have not surfaced, and the band has been inactive since the incident. Vinnie and Zilla joined the band Hellyeah, and Lachman joined the Mercy Clinic. Vinnie Paul died in 2018. (Full article...)
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Music for a Time of War is a 2011 concert program and subsequent album by the Oregon Symphony under the artistic direction of Carlos Kalmar. The program consists of four compositions inspired by war: Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question (1906), John Adams' The Wound-Dresser (1989), Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 4 (1935). The program was performed on May 7, 2011, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, and again the following day. Both concerts were recorded for album release. On May 12, the Oregon Symphony repeated the program at the inaugural Spring for Music Festival, at Carnegie Hall. The performance was broadcast live by KQAC and WQXR-FM, the classical radio stations serving Portland and the New York City metropolitan area, respectively. The concerts marked the Oregon Symphony's first performances of The Wound-Dresser as well as guest baritone Sanford Sylvan's debut with the company.

In October 2011 the recording of the Portland performances was released on CD by PentaTone Classics. The recording debuted at number 31 on Billboard's Classical Albums chart. The album earned three recognitions from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the 2013 Grammy Awards. Producer Blanton Alspaugh received the award for Producer of the Year, Classical for his contributions to Music for a Time of War and other recordings. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that when Divine's song "Lately" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it became the first number-one single for the performers, the songwriters, the producers, and the record labels?
... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?
... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?
... that Light Vessel 95 is now a recording studio?

Born this day

Birthdays in Music: March 9

Mark Lindsay, American rock music singer with Paul Revere and the Raiders, turns 83.
John Cale, Welsh musician, composer and record producer, turns 83.
Robin Trower, Brit guitarist with Procol Harum, turns 80.
Jim Cregan, Brit guitarist and bassist with Cockney Rebel and Family, turns 79.
Jeffrey Osborne, American funk and soul music vocalist of L.T.D. fame, turns 77.
Frank Rodriguez, American organist with Question Mark & the Mysterians, turns 74.
Martin Fry, Brit vocalist of ABC fame, turns 67.
Robert Sledge, American double bassist of Ben Folds Five fame, turns 57.
Chingy, (born Howard Bailey, Jr.) American rapper, turns 45.
Bow Wow (rapper), (born Shad Moss) American actor and rapper, turns 38.
Suga, (born Min Yoon-gi) South Korean rapper and member of BTS, turns 32.

Mickey Gilley (Record production, 1936–May 07, 2022), American country music singer, would have turned 89 this year.
Lloyd Price (Record production, 1934–May 03, 2021), American singer and songwriter, would have turned 91 this year.
Keely Smith (Record production, 1932 –December 16, 2017), American jazz music singer, would have turned 93 this year.
Ornette Coleman (Record production, 1930 –June 06, 2015), American saxophone player, would have turned 95 this year.

List of musical events • Anniversaries • More birthdays...

Selected albums - load new batch

These are all Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. It was released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to its release, Jay-Z and West had collaborated on various singles, and with the latter as a producer on the former's work. They originally sought to record a five-song collaborative extended play, which evolved into a full-length album. The album features guest appearances from Frank Ocean, The-Dream, Beyoncé and Mr Hudson. It also features vocal contributions from Kid Cudi, Seal, Justin Vernon, Elly Jackson, Connie Mitchell, Charlie Wilson, and Pete Rock, among others; samples of vocals by soul musicians Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield are both credited as guest features on the album.

Recording sessions took place at various locations and began in November 2010, with production led by West and a variety of high-profile producers, including Mike Dean, Swizz Beatz, Pete Rock, RZA, Jeff Bhasker, The Neptunes, and Q-Tip. Expanding on the dense production style of West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Watch the Throne incorporates orchestral and progressive rock influences, unconventional samples, and dramatic melodies in its sound. The braggadocious lyrics exhibit themes of excellence, opulence, decadence, fame, materialism, power, and the burdens of success, as well as political and socioeconomic critique. The album also expresses other topics, such as Jay-Z's thoughts on fatherhood, West's reflection on being deemed a social villain, and their success as performers. Many writers interpreted the subject matter to concern the plight of African Americans struggling with financial success in America. (Full article...)
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Worship Music is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. The album was released on September 12, 2011, internationally, and on September 13 in the United States. It was the band's first album of original material since 2003's We've Come for You All, the first full-length Anthrax album since the return of longtime vocalist Joey Belladonna, and the final album with guitarist Rob Caggiano prior to his departure in January 2013.

The album's creation was a lengthy process, with work beginning as early as November 2008. The album was delayed due to issues with the departure of vocalist Dan Nelson, and for a short period of time the re-joining of John Bush who ultimately decided not to commit to the album. The band eventually reunited with Belladonna, and finished recording in April 2011. Worship Music was positively received upon release, with critics describing it as "fresh and eruptive as ever" and qualified it as a return to form for the band. The record debuted at number 12 in the United States, their highest chart position since 1993's Sound of White Noise. (Full article...)
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The Colour and the Shape is the second studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on May 20, 1997, by Roswell and Capitol Records. It was the first album by the Foo Fighters to be recorded as a full band, as the previous self-titled album (1995) was both written and recorded entirely by frontman Dave Grohl. The Colour and the Shape is widely considered a defining album of the post-grunge genre, with its three singles becoming staples of rock-oriented radio in the United States. It was among the highest-selling rock albums of 1997 and 1998, and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

After the debut became an international success, Grohl recruited guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer William Goldsmith to form the band's full lineup. The group convened in the fall of 1996 for pre-production on a second album, and brought in Gil Norton as producer to establish a pop sensibility for the tracks. The band strived to create a full-fledged rock record, contrary to music press predictions that it would be another grunge offshoot. (Full article...)
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I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 22, 1997, by Matador Records. It was produced by Roger Moutenot and recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. Most of the songs on the album deal with melancholy emotions and range from short and fragile ballads to long and open-ended dissonance.

Upon release, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One reached number 19 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, becoming the first Yo La Tengo album to enter the charts. Three songs from the album, "Autumn Sweater", "Sugarcube", and the cover "Little Honda", were released as singles. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's ability to successfully expand the boundaries of nearly any pop style. The album is widely regarded as the band's best work and is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 2020, Rolling Stone included it on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time as no. 423. (Full article...)
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The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. Produced by the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page, it was recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album contains one of the band's most well-known recordings, the eight-minute-long "Stairway to Heaven".

The informal recording environment inspired the band, allowing them to try different arrangements of material and create songs in various styles. After the band's previous album Led Zeppelin III (1970) received lukewarm reviews from critics, they decided their fourth album would officially be untitled and represented instead by four symbols – one chosen by each band member – without featuring the name or any other details on the cover. Unlike the prior two albums, the band was joined by guest musicians: the singer Sandy Denny on "The Battle of Evermore", and the pianist Ian Stewart on "Rock and Roll". As with prior albums, most of the material was written by the band, though there was one cover song, a hard rock re-interpretation of the Memphis Minnie blues song "When the Levee Breaks". (Full article...)
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Selfish Machines is the second album by American rock band Pierce the Veil, released by Equal Vision Records on June 22, 2010. Produced by Vic Fuentes and Mike Green, it was recorded in late 2009 and early 2010. Fuentes wrote most of the songs, and co-wrote three songs with former A Day to Remember guitarist Tom Denney.

A Day to Remember frontman Jeremy McKinnon was featured on the track "Caraphernelia", which had a music video released on September 28, 2010. "Bulletproof Love" was released as the follow-up music video on July 7, 2011. The album released to a mostly favorable critical reception, with reviewers praising the lyricism, instrumentation and experimental approach to its sound, while the use of Auto-Tune on some tracks was less favorably received, and Fuentes' vocals were met with a divisive response from some listeners. Nonetheless, it received moderate success and appeared on several US Billboard charts, including the Top Heatseekers and the top 200 charts. The album was reissued with remixed production, on September 24, 2013. (Full article...)
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Fever is the eighth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 1 October 2001, by Parlophone. Minogue worked with writers and producers such as Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis, Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, TommyD, Tom Nichols, Pascal Gabriel and others to create a disco and Europop-influenced dance-pop and nu-disco record. Other musical influences of the album range from synth-pop to club music.

Fever was well-received by critics upon its release, many of whom praised its production and commercial appeal. Over the years the album has received widespread critical acclaim and has been retrospectively declared the greatest album of Minogue's career by publications such as NME. A global commercial success, it peaked at number one in Australia, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Russia, and the UK. In the US, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, becoming Minogue's best-selling album in the country; it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album was also certified septuple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and quintuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). At the 2002 Brit Awards, it won International Album. (Full article...)
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Weapon is the twelfth and final studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released on May 28, 2013, through Metropolis Records. Skinny Puppy received mainstream media attention when the band billed the U.S. government for using its music as torture in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which was a primary source of inspiration for the album. Musically, Weapon's sound is reminiscent of Skinny Puppy's earliest releases, Remission (1984) and Bites (1985), due to the employment of old equipment and simplified songwriting.

The song "Salvo" was released early for streaming on May 14, 2013, a music video for the song "Illisit" was directed by Jason Alacrity and released online, and the album was followed by several tours. (Full article...)
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Hitmixes is the second extended play (EP) by American singer Lady Gaga, released on August 25, 2009. Featuring remixes of songs from Gaga's debut album, The Fame (2008), the album was only released in Canada, by Universal Music Canada. Hitmixes features mixes from various musicians, including RedOne and Space Cowboy, who previously worked with Gaga. The EP hosts 1980s-influenced and house remixes. Hitmixes received positive reviews from the Calgary Herald and Blare Magazine, and peaked at number eight on the Canadian Albums Chart. (Full article...)
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Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their earlier sound, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic music, krautrock, jazz and 20th-century classical music, with a wider range of instruments and effects. The singer, Thom Yorke, wrote impersonal and abstract lyrics, cutting up phrases and assembling them at random.

In a departure from industry practice, Radiohead released no singles and conducted few interviews and photoshoots. Instead, they released short animations and became one of the first major acts to use the internet for promotion. Bootlegs of early performances were shared on filesharing services, and Kid A was leaked before release. In 2000, Radiohead toured Europe in a custom-built tent without corporate logos. (Full article...)
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Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (also simply known as Rhythm Nation 1814 or Rhythm Nation) is the fourth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on September 16, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, Control (1986), Jackson insisted on creating a concept album addressing social issues. Collaborating with songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, she drew inspiration from various tragedies reported through news media, exploring racism, poverty, and substance abuse, in addition to themes of romance. Although its primary concept of a sociopolitical utopia was met with mixed reactions, its composition received critical acclaim. Jackson came to be considered a role model for youth because of her socially conscious lyrics.

As with Control, recording for Rhythm Nation 1814 took place at Lewis and Jam's Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they worked in seclusion with Jackson to complete the album. Noted for its use of sampling and utilizing heavily swung synthesized percussion throughout its production, the record encompasses a variety of musical styles, such as new jack swing, hard rock, pop, dance and industrial music. Songs range from mechanized dance rhythms to soft balladry, giving it appeal across multiple radio formats. It is the only album in the history of the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart to have seven commercial singles peak within the top five positions. It is also the first album to produce number one hits on the chart in three separate calendar years, beginning with "Miss You Much" in 1989, "Escapade" and "Black Cat" in 1990, and culminating with "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" in 1991. (Full article...)
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Channel Orange is the debut studio album by the American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra the previous year, Ocean began writing new songs with Malay, a producer and songwriter who then assisted him with recording Channel Orange at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. Rather than rely on samples as he had with his mixtape, Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on the album. Other producers who worked on the album included Om'Mas Keith and Pharrell Williams. Its recording also featured guest appearances from Odd Future rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator, vocalist/songwriter André 3000, and guitarist John Mayer.

Noted by writers as musically unconventional, Channel Orange draws on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelic styles, as well as nonmusical sounds such as film dialogue and ambient noise that function as interludes. Vocally, Ocean uses a free-form flow as well as alternating falsetto and tenor registers throughout the album. His songwriting explores themes of unrequited love, decadence, social class, and drugs through the use of surrealistic imagery, conversational devices, and descriptive narratives depicting dark characters. He titled the album as a reference to the neurological phenomenon grapheme–color synesthesia, through which he had perceived the color orange during the summer he first fell in love. (Full article...)

More selected albums

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various record production-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Image 2The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Image 3Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
Image 4The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music c. 1956. (from Recording studio)
Image 6Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Image 7Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip-hop production)
Image 8Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
Image 9The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 8, or even 16 tracks on the same tape width (8 tracks for greater fidelity). (from Multitrack recording)
Image 10Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 11Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Image 12Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 13Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
Image 14Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
Image 15A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Image 16Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)

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Bryan Adams set a record in 1991 for the longest run at the top of the UK charts.

The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled on behalf of the British record industry. Until 1 February 1994, the chart was compiled each week by Gallup – after this date, it was managed by Millward Brown, who expanded the number of sales figures sampled, and extended the use of electronic point of sale machines. From July 1998 onwards, compilation of the chart was overseen by The Chart Information Network (CIN) and it was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets – airplay statistics are not used in compiling the official UK Singles Chart. The chart week ran from Sunday to Saturday, and the Top 40 was first revealed on BBC Radio 1 on a Sunday. Record companies began making singles available to radio stations much further in advance of their release dates and making greater use of direct marketing techniques in the 1990s. As a result, the number of singles that entered the charts at number one increased dramatically, and it became commonplace for singles to enter the charts at the top and then plummet down the listing soon after.

During the decade, 206 singles reached the number-one position on the chart. "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids on the Block reached number one on the first new chart of the decade, replacing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid II which had been number one on the last chart issued in 1989. The longest spell at the top was achieved by Bryan Adams's song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", which spent 16 weeks at number one in 1991, beating the record for the longest unbroken run at the top of the charts which had been held by Slim Whitman's "Rose Marie" since 1955. Wet Wet Wet and Whitney Houston also had runs of 10 or more weeks at number one during the 1990s. Although it only spent five weeks at number one, Elton John's 1997 single "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" sold almost 5 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single in UK history. Cher's song "Believe" spent 7 weeks at number-one at the end of 1998 and became the biggest-selling single by a female artist in UK history. Also, Cher is the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in the 1990s (a total of three) and the female solo artist with most weeks at number one (13). The final number one of the decade was the double A-side "I Have a Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun" by Westlife. Take That and the Spice Girls share the distinction of having achieved the most number-one hits in the 1990s, with eight each. (Full article...)
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The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

The award was first presented as the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 40th Grammy Awards in 1998 to Frankie Knuckles. While the award was under this name, it was presented without specifying a work; when it shifted to its current name in 2002 works were named. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented "to recognize an individual(s) who takes previously recorded material and adds or alters it in such a way as to create a new and unique performance". The prize is given to the remixer(s), not the original artist(s). (Full article...)
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Puerto Rican singer Chayanne reached the top of the chart for the first time with "Fuiste un Trozo de Hielo en la Escarcha" in 1989.

The Hot Latin Songs chart (formerly Hot Latin 50 and Hot Latin Tracks), published in Billboard magazine, is a record chart based on Latin music airplay. The data were compiled by the Billboard chart and research department with information from 70 Spanish-language radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Those radio stations were selected based on their number of listeners, and were asked to report their playlists for the week. This information was then entered to the Billboard computer system, and points were tabulated for each song. Before this chart's inception, the Latin music information on the magazine was presented only in the form of the biweekly album sales chart Top Latin Albums, which was divided into Latin Pop, Tropical/Salsa, and Region Mexican and continues to be listed separately.

During the 1980s, 33 songs topped the chart. According to the Billboard electronic database, the first was "La Guirnalda" by Spanish singer Rocío Dúrcal on September 6, 1986. However, in the listings included in the first printed publication of the chart on October 4, 1986, the first number-one song was "Yo No Sé Qué Me Pasó" by Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel. By the end of that year, another of Gabriel's compositions, "De Mí Enamórate", sung by Daniela Romo, also reached number one. Also in 1986, two Spanish versions of the Italian song "Tutta la vita", performed by Franco and Emmanuel succeeded one another at the top of the chart. Two songs recorded by Spanish singer Julio Iglesias peaked at number one, "Lo Mejor de Tu Vida" and "Que No Se Rompa la Noche". These songs were released from the album Un hombre solo, which received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. (Full article...)
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John Lennon achieved three number ones within two months of his murder in December 1980.

The death of a musician, or the use of a dead musician's work in advertising, may cause a sharp increase in sales of the musician's recordings and associated products; this has led to a number of posthumous number one singles in the UK and elsewhere.
The phenomenon, a topic of discussion in both the media and academia, has occurred 20 times in the UK since 1959.

The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled on behalf of the British record industry based on sales of singles in the UK. Since 1997, the chart has been compiled by The Official Charts Company and was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets until 2006, when digital downloads were included in the chart compilation. Streaming was added to the methodology in 2014. The UK Singles Chart originated in 1952, when New Musical Express (NME) published the first chart of singles sales. The first deceased artist to top the charts was Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959. Three weeks later his song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" entered the charts, and in April it reached number one. In the 1960s Eddie Cochran and Jim Reeves achieved their first and only UK number ones after their deaths, as did Jimi Hendrix in 1970. (Full article...)
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"Peek-a-Boo" by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees was the first song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Alternative Airplay is a record chart that ranks the most-played songs on American modern rock radio stations. Published by the music industry magazine Billboard, it was created in the midst of the growing popularity of alternative music on rock radio in the late 1980s. As less-established alternative acts were receiving minimal exposure on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations, their labels turned to modern rock stations for airplay. Billboard introduced the chart in response to demand within the music industry for consistent information on the commercial performance of alternative music. During the decade, it was known as the Modern Rock Tracks chart and tabulated based on weighted reports from twenty-nine radio stations: eighteen established standard-bearer commercial stations and eleven non-commercial college stations.

The Modern Rock Tracks chart debuted in the September 10, 1988, issue of Billboard, with the inaugural number-one song being "Peek-a-Boo" by the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Upon its debut, several publications noted the presence of more independent artists on Modern Rock Tracks compared to its companion chart, Album Rock Tracks. By the end of the decade, twenty-two songs had topped the chart. The American bands R.E.M. and The B-52's each scored two number-one songs on the Modern Rock Tracks chart during the 1980s, the most for any artist within the decade. The R.E.M. song "Orange Crush" spent the longest period atop the chart during the decade, staying at number one for eight consecutive weeks from November 1988 to January 1989. The final number one of the 1980s was "Blues from a Gun" by the Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain. (Full article...)
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Eddy Arnold almost completely dominated the number one spot in 1948.

In 1948, Billboard magazine published two charts specifically covering the top-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, Billboard's sole ranking of country music recordings was based on the number of times a song had been played in jukeboxes. The Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart had been published since 1944 and was compiled based on a weekly survey of "a selected group of juke box operators whose locations require folk records". In May, the magazine added a second country music chart, the Best Selling Folk Retail Records listing, based on a similar survey of "a selected group of retail stores, the majority of whose customers purchase folk records". The Juke Box Folk chart was discontinued in 1957 and the Best Sellers chart the following year; both are considered part of the lineage of the magazine's current country music songs charts.

The number-one position on both charts was dominated almost entirely during 1948 by vocalist Eddy Arnold and his backing band the Tennessee Plowboys. One of the biggest country stars of the late 1940s, Arnold was at number one on the jukebox chart at the start of the year with "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)", which had been in the top spot for eight weeks in 1947 and remained there for a further thirteen weeks in 1948. This total of 21 weeks at number one set a record for Billboard's country charts which would stand for 65 years, until the duo Florida Georgia Line spent a 22nd week in the top spot with "Cruise" in 2013. "I'll Hold You in My Heart" was replaced in the top spot by another of Arnold's songs, "Anytime", and this in turn was followed by runs at number one by three more of his songs. Between them, the five songs occupied the number-one position through the issue of Billboard dated November 27, meaning that Arnold had topped the chart for more than a year without interruption. In the November 27 issue, another artist topped the chart for the first time in 1948 when Jimmy Wakely's "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" tied with Arnold's "Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)" for the number one position, before going on to take the top spot outright the following week. Three weeks later, however, Arnold returned to number one in the final issue of the year. (Full article...)
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The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate. Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."

The award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was first presented to Al Green and Lyle Lovett at the 37th Grammy Awards (1995) for the song "Funny How Time Slips Away". According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award was presented to artists that performed "newly recorded collaborative pop performances" that "do not normally perform together." (Full article...)
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Randy Travis spent three weeks at number one with "Forever and Ever, Amen".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1987, 50 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

At the start of the year, the song at the top of the charts was "Mind Your Own Business" by Hank Williams Jr. The single had moved into the number one position in the issue of Billboard dated December 27, 1986 and remained in place for a second week in the issue dated January 3. The final number one of the year was "Somewhere Tonight" by Highway 101, which began a two-week run at the top in the issue dated December 26, 1987. Between those two chart-toppers, the only song to spend more than one week at number one was "Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis, which had a three-week run in the peak position during the summer. The song won both the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and the Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year. (Full article...)
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Toby Keith, one of the most successful country artists of the 1990s and 2000s, had his first number one in 1993.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1993, 33 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

The number one song at the start of the year was "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" by Vince Gill. It remained in the top spot until the chart dated January 16, when it was replaced by "Somewhere Other Than the Night" by Garth Brooks. Brooks also topped the chart with three other songs during the year, "That Summer", "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" and "American Honky-Tonk Bar Association", giving him the most number ones of an artist in 1993. The total of five weeks which the songs spent at number one was the highest total by any act during the year. Tracy Lawrence and Vince Gill each had three number ones during the year, Gill's total including "The Heart Won't Lie", a duet with Reba McEntire. The longest unbroken run at the top was the four weeks which Alan Jackson spent at number one with "Chattahoochee". (Full article...)
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MercyMe recorded seven number-one singles during the decade including "Word of God Speak", the longest-running number-one single of the decade.

The Christian Songs chart is a record chart compiled by Billboard magazine. Launched on June 21, 2003, the chart was ranked during the decade by overall audience impressions (the approximate number of audience impressions made for each play, as determined by BDS data cross-referenced with Arbitron listener information). While the chart covers all Christian radio formats, it is dominated by Christian adult contemporary (Christian AC) radio stations, which cater to a mostly adult audience. As opposed to Christian stations that cater to young audiences, Christian AC stations tend to play hits often and for long periods. As a result, number-one singles on the Christian Songs chart often had lengthy stays at the top position.

During the 2000s, 44 singles reached the number one position on the Christian Songs chart. MercyMe was the most successful group, with seven of their singles topping the chart during the 2000s. The band's "Word of God Speak" was the longest-running number one single of the 2000s, having spent a total of 23 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. Casting Crowns spent the longest time atop the chart during the decade, as their six number one singles spent a combined total of 62 weeks at the summit. Out of the 44 singles that hit the number-one position during the 2000s, 15 singles spent two separate runs atop the chart. Three singles ("Word of God Speak", "My Savior My God", and "Cry Out to Jesus") returned to the top position for three distinct runs. Nineteen artists recorded number-one singles during the decade. The first number-one single of the 2000s on the chart was Third Day's "You Are So Good to Me", which led the chart's debut week of June 21, 2003, and seven consecutive weeks afterward; the final number-one single was TobyMac's "City On Our Knees", which led the chart for the final eleven weeks of the 2000s, and continued to lead into 2010. (Full article...)