When I sat down to speak with K Records founder Calvin Johnson about opening up his Dub Narcotic Studios to non-K bands (read about it in this Thursday's Volcano), I was struck by how funny and freewheeling he was in conversation-talkative, anecdotal, and speaking with one of those elusive "Northwest accents" so few people seem to recognizably possess (laid-back but with perfect diction, slightly Canadian). Johnson shared tons of thoughts that didn't find space in my article, but which felt worth sharing regardless, as they provide some insight into his personal creative philosophy.
Calvin Johnson vs. producers:
"I don't really like the word ‘producer' because I feel like it implies some sort of hierarchical mastermind. I'm more like, recording people, and I'm collaborating with them to a certain extent, to the extent that they're interested. But I don't feel like I'm masterminding [their] session. It's more like a collaboration. So usually when I work with people, I'm listed as ‘recorded by' rather than ‘produced by,' because I feel that is a more accurate description of what's been happening.
"I feel like I'm helping them document their creative expression, so that people who are interested in appreciating it will have the opportunity to do so."
Calvin Johnson vs. fidelity:
"The thing about recording is that it gets mixed up in people's minds a lot, I think. There's a technical aspect to it in terms of both electrons moving and the aspect of capturing sound-the term fidelity is often used. ‘The recording is being true to the sound being made,' But really, that's a myth, because where you're sitting right now, you're hearing my voice, but if you're sitting over there, you'd hear my voice in a different way, so there is no true fidelity, really.
"So what you have is lots of options. And it's making those choices that defines the recording that is made. And that is where the producer or the musicians or whoever it is that's involved in making those decisions-that's what's special about it. If you compared it to another medium, like, for instance, painting...painting can be very technical. There's a technical aspect to the brushstroke, there's a technical aspect to what kinds of paints you're using, what surface you're painting on, what size brushes, whether the handles are wooden or plastic-all those things matter to the painting. But, when you evaluate the painting, most people aren't going to look at the painting and say, ‘Oh, he used a number four brush on that. I can see that.' You're not going to talk about that, you're just going to be like, ‘Wow.' You're struck by the image. And that's the same thing with music. Most people are just like ‘I love that song!'
"[Dub Narcotic studio engineer Bob Schwenkler] is very good at the technical aspects, and that frees me up to not have to worry about them, because I just want the tools to be there, and then the artists can use the tools as they see fit. Not necessarily in the way that they're designed to be used. A lot of our equipment isn't necessarily for audio recording, we're using it in a context that it's not supposed to be used, but it's just a tool that you can use to express yourself. And so you look at something like a lot of the painters that were happening in the modern era, and a lot of people go, ‘My kid could do that!' But it's not about painting a perfect representation of a house. It's more about the feeling. I personally am not so worried about making a perfect audio recording. I'm more interested in capturing the expression in the room."
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