Production Deconstruction of the Death From Above 1979 song "Nomad" with Sebastien Grainger

In this episode, Sebastien Grainger and I dive deep into the recording and mixing of the song "Nomad" from their album Outrage! Is Now. People have been expressing appreciation of the detail in these episodes, well detail is what you're gonna get in this one!! haha!! You get 3 HOURS of digging through the pro tools session, mix settings and pictures/videos of setups and performances from the actual tracking of the song.

[@danolivier4899]

Unbelievable to live in a time when producers of your caliber are uploading this kind of content for free

[@Charlyfromthenuclearcity]

Yes ! Between this channel and Ken Andrew's channel, it's heaven on Earth !

[@johannjohann6523]

still laughing. Producers of this caliber? Think you got Bob Rock in the video? Or Rick Ruben?

[@glasstubes1]

32:00 - Drums (gear used) 44:45 - Kick 48:50 - Snare 55:37 - Mono Room Mic 57:36 - Overheads (Toms) 1:04:20 - Cymbals 1:05:50 - Hi Hat 1:08:30 - Percussion 1:10:45 - Bass (gear used) 1:20:00 - Bass mix 1:53:16 - Vocal

[@SoChilledOutGuy]

Thanks dude!

[@talktokale]

You're a saint!

[@EJCAudio]

Not all heroes wear capes

[@DakotaBusCaptures]

Thanks...

[@wyattgranger5870]

1:49:50 - Seb talking about playing some kid's cremated ashes on this record. My only addendum

[@bdunn315]

I love how long these videos are. Everyone else is so worried about catering to people's declining attention spans but honestly, your attention to detail and the thoughtfulness with which you approach each project could not portrayed in 12 minutes. I laughed happily when I woke this morning and saw this was 3 hours long...love it. Everyone is looking for settings, etc. but the depth of your approach is what sets you apart I believe. These videos have made me SLOW DOWN and think about what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and how to demand better quality of the sounds and performances I'm getting, so thank you.,

[@johnvcougar]

3 hours is a perfect length for a deconstruction like this… mind you, I’d watch it all at double the length and still lap it up like a cat that got the cream.

[@gabrielevion7055]

theres people complaining its too long? lol

[@MemphianSounds]

Having the artist present - and asking interesting questions - is a real treat. Awesome!

[@dahonkie]

A collaboration between Mastodon and Eric would surely be mindblowing

[@bksmith3022]

BRO, oh yeah

[@P5YCH0D3L1C]

Even better if he fixed Baroness' mixing habits since the last three albums

[@jcoriha]

This might be #1 of any mix tutorials I've seen. As usual A++

[@wheelock2]

Eric, I can’t stress enough how valuable I believe these videos are; really good and deep insight to a top notch production work; it’s any aspiring music producer dream come true!

[@Frank.Zimmermann]

I can't believe this is free video content. Thank you so much Eric and Sebastien for the deep insight-this is a freaking awesome song and production!! I'm so thankful for this great experience, and I really had a blast!! :-) All the best!!

[@sirkayda7205]

At first glance/listen while I was multitasking I thought, "This is not from 1979." 😂 Great video. Thank you. 👍

[@PatFlanigan]

An hour in and I hope we never move on from talking about the drum sound! So great to get to be a fly on the wall during this conversation.

[@sumyupee]

One of my favorite records, one of my favorite producers. This is rad.

[@Eventual420]

These episodes are incredibly detailed and much appreciated. Great band. When Warren interviewed Eric he had mentioned DFA and I got into them then. Jesse has a great Rig Rundown episode. Lots of laughs as well, I’m 1/2 way through. Glued to it. Thank you both! We are lucky to have this info.

[@crestiferj2689]

thank you so much for these, eric. i've always been a huge fan of your work since the t ride days. i was a musician and producer for 25 years until i suddenly got very sick in 2011. i pretty much left the business and gave up on music to focus on my health issues. for the past 8 years i've barely listened to any music and have not recorded or written anything. in the past few months i've been finally having some relief from my issues and have begun to listen to music again. i came across the slash record you did and this death from above record and was blown away again by your productions. it has inspired me to start working on music again. finding these behind the scenes videos has been even more inspirational. thank you so much for sharing your art with all of us. cheers !!!

[@Rick-pi9zn]

Watching this for is like Christmas for me. Im soo thankful that you share all of this information with us, without shortening anything. Having the opportunity to hear the whole story of such a great album in detail is worth pure gold. Respect!

[@BNLNRD]

This is great! I'll come back for caught up! ;)

[@the_harvan]

One of my favourite albums in recent memory. Thank you so much!

[@leiferikson1066]

This track is just awesome. My favorite off of the album. Thank you for sharing this.

[@johnmerrifield1047]

I love the way the bass has an effect on it that pans left and right back and forth plus added chorus and distortion. One of the best sounding bass effects ever! I'm using that effect on my own music - thanks for the great idea guys.

[@renatoquaresma82]

Best. Channel. EVER! Thank you so much for your these videos! It's just so great to have an in-depth look/listen into these great songs. I still can't believe this content is available. Again. Thank you so much, you're the man...

[@robi1483]

Never comment on KZbin, but I'll make an exception for these--great series, Eric, I'm loving every second of them.

[@TrentCrawfordMusic]

“That’s an air drummers dream right there” That speaks volumes of your all round awesomeness mate! Much appreciation for these tips / techniques / nuggets of wisdom! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@MichaelWilson-ri9pn]

Thank you! Not only for providing me with insight and skills, but for turning me on to cool artists like this and Greg Holden. Keep them coming. Love ya man

[@HollyWinn]

So much value. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

[@edmanutubeaccount89]

These videos are amazing, your approach and demeanor is excellent. It's nice that someone is doing this in a legit way instead of "5 Mixing Mistakes You're Making"! Please keep them coming.

[@demonhost1210]

Thank you so much Eric and DFA, this song is fantastic.

[@DanielGlenTimms]

Eric, I am happy I found your channel. This video was very generous of you. Sounds great! I recently produced, engineered and played all the instruments on my new record. I had the same ringing problem with an SDC on acoustic guitar and the eq dip I did looked identical to yours to get rid of it, at around 7k. Now I don't feel like a screwed it up, seeing that you did the same thing. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Really awesome job! Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to watching more of your videos.

[@danknittel1250]

Your work continues to amaze me every time I hear them. Thanks for doing these! =)

[@guyompavesi8219]

What an amazing video! Thanks to the both of you!

[@ArturTadevosyan]

awesome song! Eric thank you so much for doing these!!!! Great channel!!!!

[@sumyupee]

I might have already commented on this video but for me this really is the apex of music production how-we-did-it videos. I think Eric is an amazing engineer and producer, and I love Death from above, this record, and this song. There's so much useful information here, I'm finding myself coming back to this video to touch up on certain approaches and techniques. I'm very greatful this video exists.

[@mantra3000]

There's so much knowledge shared here, thank you Eric!

[@TallerdelSebaRehbein]

great!!! what a cool face for that fancy chord, so much fun... much appreciated

[@alejandroraia]

Thank you very much for making this video !!!!!! This album is amazing, not only for the quality of the audio but for the particular and experimental sound that has achieved an incredible and innovative work

[@bryondean6264]

The phase alignment episode. Great video.

[@cy2112cy]

Bryon Dean what was the plugin he used for that again? I want it and can’t seem to find it in the video

[@elijahparr3077]

@@cy2112cy pro tools stock sample delay :)

[@viktorbuck8342]

This is amazing. Thanks Eric for sharing all this knowledge, and for you letting us tag along on your crazy search for excellence! Love your attitude, sharing like this, and so detailed to; so that everyone can really learn. Im telling all my friends about this channel. Mix with the masters, for the PEOPLE. BOOM!

[@LesonDeson]

I drove from Paris to Avignon and that 3H content kept me awake so thank you for that Eric.

[@stosgoneos]

incredible episode - your phase trick is an absolute game changer.

[@patknup4058]

I just bought this record. It’s absolutely amazing. Tunes, production all perfect.

[@cmousdale]

Thanks for these Videos Eric… I've just seen this one and the QOTSA one… and I'm subscribed to your channel. Love the amount of detail in these vids!

[@BrofUJu]

As everyone has said, thank you. There's stuff like this on the internet but barely any of it is free, or this good. So fun and educational.

[@SHJandRAD]

Man, I was dreaming about this video for a month. Wishes come true. Thank for you for what you doing. It's a great record and really helpful video!

[@bobbyberetta4206]

Another fantastic, Out of this world episode!!🤘Thank you Mr. Valentine.

[@MrKenward777]

Thanks Mr.Valentine and Death from above (1979)! This was amazing and I really appreciate all the sharing. Heart of gold y'all!

[@chrisdover8507]

Such a wicked video, MMB’s I call them. Moments of Musical Brilliance. MMB! I just ordered the record. Reminds me of Royal Blood but better. Sonically it’s one of the best records I’ve heard so far. From your biggest fan in Australia! Peace

[@jamespatrick8386]

The amount of effort and time that goes into these videos is incredible. Thank you!!!

[@JimmersThomas]

What a great video - thanks so much for letting us see this stuff

[@the_aesthetics_music]

Just got this album and listened to it all the way through... holy crap!!!

[@r1tual527]

Eric thank you for your talents and contributions to music and some of my most favorite bands and artists of all time we love you dawg

[@thisisevank]

I'd love to see a video that focuses on all the clerical work you do to document all your mix settings. We've caught wind of techniques you employ (photos, spreadsheets), but I'm particularly interested in how you document console EQ settings with Fuzz Measure. But also- any and all things pertaining to session organization and documentation, I'd love to see. These videos are super inspiring, thank you!

[@albertocespedes9785]

Oh ok... this is 3 hours long. I‘ll definitively check it out, not kidding. Thanks for this kind of content. Hope you post a similar SMK&C soon.

[@tonoormusic]

This sooooooo useful, thanks Eric and band!

[@foxytv4896]

Holy Cow.....thanks so freaking much for this...I'm on minute 4 only....Eric Valentine you're a very pleasant person !

[@calwells5612]

This is awesome, Eric! Thanks so much for producing these videos. Such great and valuable content.

[@matnrocknroll]

Awesome... we can't expect a bad video from you, becouse you worked with all those great bands! Thank you! Love DFA

[@tomlebeau7921]

You are one of my favourite producers and I was so happy to find that you’ve started doing these videos. 2019 is a good year for production tutorials!!! Thank you Eric!

[@billdean8714]

Love your videos! Super informative and educational. You are extremely generous with your knowledge and skills. PLEASE DO AN EPISODE ON T-RIDE!!!!!!!!

[@tysonmarshallmusic]

These videos are amazing, thank you!

[@le.mongoose]

I love these videos Eric! The look inside to how you make these amazing records is incredible and I absolutely love the way you deliver them. Keep up the good work

[@uzefulidiot]

Great video and appreciated the great questions from Sebastien. Great discussion on phase. And then during the organ part... EV intentionally experiments with putting it OUT of phase in an intentional/creative way, to see what random comb-filtering he could get for something he intentionally wants further back in the mix... wow, hadn't really thought of that. Really ties it together at the end, compared to the QotSA song, which is such a heavily distorted/saturated mix, yet this song ends up 10x so. The Ozzy song sounds downright shiny...! Reality check on how extreme the mix treatments got on this, absolutely awesome. I will never forget those vocal settings pictures... 1176 on input 10, output 10, into Gates Sta-Level doing same... amazing. And the note about having so few instruments and compositional elements allowed so much experimentation with pushing the limit on treatment. A+ video. Do another song, haha.

[@shakleton768S]

effing incredible artists... all of you! blessed.

[@jeffpeaksmusic2596]

Amazing !!! TX Eric & Sebastian !!!!!

[@giordash]

I've read a lot about DFA and the way they get their sound but, this was a real treat. To see Jesse's mythical dual Traynor 2x15s with the Festival and Acoustic amps is just incredible. I've been waiting for something like this since I was in grade 9 and you're a woman I'm a machine came out. Thank you, Eric Valentine! Also, any other Canadians catch the Kids in the Hall ref?

[@BottleneckMoses]

When you hear a bass sound that makes the hair on your testes bristle, you know you've entered a vortex of brilliance. Thanks guys - great stuff!

[@08154212]

I really love this format! Thanks to seb and eric! Eric inspired me a long time ago with the qotsa album! Thanks for this video! Keep up the good work!

[@lightchildb]

Thank you for sharing.

[@johnthecreative]

I'm getting ready to watch this video for the third time.

[@antoniorobbins6768]

EV - "Going on a tweak-about". Yet Another incredible episode, Thank you for doing these.

[@robyroad_]

the whole thing is amazing!!

[@marcusthemonkey]

I’ve been waiting for this album to come up!

[@kevincornell9027]

So good. Thanks again!

[@SoundweaversRecording]

Thanks a lot for this Eric!

[@Richard_P_James]

Fantastic episode...!!! I learn something new - and get super inspired - with every single EV video. Love this track although the vocal sounds too buried in mix (squashed in the mastering?)

[@halala435]

Hi Eric, find the content very inspiring thank you. Would love if you could cover your approach towards “psychology towards singers and their perfomances” you guys quickly mention in this video. Also am very interested in how you approach tracking a full song to tape!

[@mrpres17]

Hey Eric, first off thank you so much for your awesome content, I'm super stoked about it! Second off, I see from all your videos you do the time adjustment technique all the time. Maybe make a tutorial on how you go about doing it? I always struggle with getting my drum sounds in phase so it's be awesome to see how you do it in depth. Thank you again, you're incredible!

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

Awesome. It's a long Un. Did he mention the vocal chain? That distortion and crush was great.

[@allmetaliswelcome]

1:54:03

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

@@allmetaliswelcome you are the man

[@viktorbuck8342]

Hi Eric! A very humble idea for a dreamepisode; I would just love to get to pick your brain about the subject of tuning drums, as a potential subject for a video... I have a feeling that would end up very enlightening for the world. :) Just really greatful for what you already put out for free, these videos has turned out to be the highlight of the week.

[@mrwev]

I have had a few requests for that... I'm definitely gonna do it at some point :)

[@EJCAudio]

This was an excellent use of 3 hours of my life! My favourite part is 100% 2:34:34

[@opuitska]

Damn this video is incredible

[@johnthecreative]

Seeing how many tracks you used on the bass on this song inspired me to try something similar. It finally took about 5 tracks to get the sound I was looking for and it's funny how when you listen to them in solo you can hardly hear anything but added up they sound powerful. I hate adding more and more tracks to a project but sometimes it's the only thing that works.

[@attherateofarobase]

Outstanding video. If you guys do a second video it would be great if you could go through “Caught Up” or “Statues”. A couple of questions Eric: - How were the Beatport stems of this album prepared and was this done without the master bus compression used on the main mix? - On “Caught Up” there is a hyper real stereo ambience to the drums that almost sounds like it’s also coming out of speakers in the iso booth. Was this achieved by really pushing the room mics that had zero cymbal bleed?

[@galihgori]

This is unfair, i want that unfairchild, and these distressor. Ohya, thanks Eric V great videos!

[@momentous340]

So amazing!

[@LJOS21]

GREAT STUFF!!! CHEERS FROM VENEZUELA ERIC

[@johnmerrifield1047]

This the future of recording and mixing in the studio! It’s not the extreme difference I often hear painted between amateur bedroom producers and large studios, as if there are no studios that are somewhere between in terms of size and capability. This is a guy named Eric Valentine. He’s 49 and he’s retired from the daily grind of commuting into a the big studio he used to work for. He now works from his home studio with limited gear but his work sounds just as good if not better than CLA’s (and CLA’s “large studio”). Watch his videos on his channel and see how he combines digital with analog in creative ways and pushes the envelope on what can be achieved in limited space. He has limited space so he had throw out a lot of the gear he used to have and focus on just his favorites. He has a small drum room (with a high ceiling) that he can use to record drums to his tape machine, that sound just as good (if not better) than anything a big studio can do, and he can do this because he’s a genius with years of experience. He doesn't need to drive to Sunset Sound or Ocean Way or anywhere special to do what he does.

[@grimmmstudios2367]

great vid, good to see such a simple track in such detail, demo to mix-, bit concerned the Ozzy stuff included will get it taken down though, maybe you have a way around this though?

[@Viper-dz2kw]

Incredible to see that this stuff is just barely eq’d it just sounds that way because of good mic placement and amp eq

[@GPauley]

How on earth were you able to get the volume of this record so loud/big/amazing but not lose any punch whatsoever? Sounds so good!

[@Fenekucci]

Incredible ❤️

[@RockCityMusic777]

What a fantastic episode. Thanks for sharing all this information, techniques and ideas. I have one question about the Unfairchild Bus Compression. The difference in sonics was mind-blowing between the uncompressed signal and the Unfairchild compressed mix. Not everybody can use one of course, so what would be your choice to do a similar thing on the mix bus with a plugin?

[@noname-ng6sj]

I'm not gonna say it's as good every single time, but I have used Overtone DSP's FC70 for years now and have had similar results. I use harmonic distortion going into it. It treats it very, very nicely in way that feels similar.

[@RockCityMusic777]

@@noname-ng6sj Thanks a lot.

[@RockCityMusic777]

@@noname-ng6sj I tried the Overtone FC70 and it sounds fantastic, but I found that it cuts low end. Did you find that too? How id you deal with that?

[@noname-ng6sj]

@@RockCityMusic777 Great question! I use pultec's. If you don't have one, check out Analog Obsessions Rare, it's free and it sounds as good as any of my 10 other options I've used for years. I tend to att. low end to add in my own with the pultec anyways, especially on the sort of sounds that I would use that Fairchild on. Good on you for actually doing something and trying it out! :) It really does sound fantastic, my friend builds fairchild clones and he said it sounded really, really good.

[@johnmerrifield1047]

That side of the timpani sound is great.

[@gregedenfield1080]

thanx dudes.

[@HubLocationSound]

Hi Eric, any playing tips on capturing the cymbals separately? ie. Play with same energy/velocity? Or is hitting lighter possibly beneficial to the capture?

[@blairyoung2461]

4:25 speaking of Lostprophets, minus the vocals, would you do a production breakdown of the music? Last Train Home, Burn Burn, Make a Move, We Still Kill the Old Way.

[@TLAudioMixingMastering]

I've got a question in regards to overdubbing the cymbals. Did you track the crashes and rides separate from the hi hats? It looks like you did which I suppose makes sense. I just want to be sure. Excellent tutorial, by the way. I'm a huge fan of Death From Above 1979. I saw them and discovered them for the first time at a Manchester show they played with two of my other favorite bands...Le Butcherettes and At The Drive In. They totally blew me away, but I love them even more now that I know Eric produced the record. Been dying to find out how he did it and now there's this. Stoked.

[@DakotaBusCaptures]

Yeah, they did record the hi-hat separately.

[@estudiofontesonora]

Amazing !!!

[@matthewblackmore778]

Loving the content Eric, awesome stuff. Would love to know how you approach guitar/bass tuning while recording, I've only recently discovered the whole equal temperament vs just intonation.

[@hansonigor]

Soo cool in general. Is Distressor compressing the snare bus altogether or one of the snare channels?

[@johnmerrifield1047]

I remember the timpani used to be my favorite instrument to play in 8th grade band. I wanted to combine it with the drum kit so I could play them together.

[@mrwev]

I heard that Jeff Lynne used to double tom fills with tympani hits. I tried it one time, its pretty amazing haha!

[@johnmerrifield1047]

@@mrwev Wow someone beat me to it I guess. Hey I love your work! I've been watching all these videos on my free time. I remember when Third Eye Blind came out the sound of it really struck me as completely original. Smash Mouth too. You're def a pioneer.

[@WhitewoodRecording]

Great insights. thanks very much for this. I have one question: is there specific reason that you use the ProQ in no latency mode rather than natural phase?

[@lahattec]

Here's an idea... put a large poster of a stage view of a live audience on the vocal booth wall.