![]() The two re-united in 2002 when Launay recorded, mixed and produced Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ album Nocturama (2003). The London-born Launay first worked with Nick Cave right at the beginning of his studio career, in 1981, on a single for the Australian’s post-punk band The Birthday party. Outstanding albums don’t always have outstanding making-of stories, nor does an exceptionally inspired production process necessarily lead to great results, but as Launay related the story of the writing, recording, and mixing of the album, there were enough hints, details and anecdotes to go some way to explaining Push The Sky Away’s greatness. ![]() Push The Sky Away was called “a majestic and desolate masterpiece,” “subtle, sprawling, and often achingly beautiful,” “a striking, challenging and ultimately gorgeous album that should greatly appeal to fans appreciative of Cave’s more reflective mood,” and “a record of stunningly subtle beauty, a work that is both breathtakingly delicate and almost overwhelmingly powerful.” These are no mean words, and the fact that, for once, public and critics agree means that there’s something exceptional going on. The critics, meanwhile, have been almost universally ecstatic, leading to a Metacritic rating of 8.2 (out of 10). Even the US has stopped resisting Cave & Co’s charms with a 29 Billboard chart position, substantially higher than anything they have hitherto achieved. Nick Cave and the Bad Seed’s fifteenth studio album is by far the band’s highest charting album to date, going number one in close to a dozen countries, including in Cave’s native Australia, and reaching the top five in countless other territories, amongst them Germany and the UK. For him to say that the response to Push The Sky Away has been stronger than that of any other album he’s been involved in may be interpreted as the usual being-enthusiastic-about-one’s-latest-project hyperbole, but a look at the critical and punter’s reactions to Push The Sky Away tells a different story. ![]() Launay was talking about Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ recent album Push The Sky Away, and his statement is all the more remarkable for the fact that the producer, mixer and engineer has one of the most impressive credit lists in the industry, featuring the likes of Public Image Ltd, Yeah, Yeah Yeah’s, Killing Joke, Midnight Oil, Kate Bush, David Byrne, INXS, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Arcade Fire, Supergrass, Grinderman, and many more. It shines through on the record, and I think it’s one of the reasons why so many people really like it.” In fact, every album that I do with them is getting wilder and wilder and more unusual. The whole idea was to make a very touching and a very beautiful album, and not only does it sound organic and warm, with many unusual sounds, like loops, squeaks, buzzes and hums that we deliberately kept in, it also contains many stories that are told in an unusual way and with an incredible sense of humour. I’m noticing that especially women love it, probably because it is quite laid back and full of mood and feeling. ![]() “It seems that this album is really touching people, more than any other album that I have ever worked on,” mused producer extraordinaire Nick Launay, talking from his home in Los Angeles. PRODUCER, ENGINEER AND MIXER NICK LAUNAY LIFTS THE LID ON HOW IT WAS MADE NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS ENJOYED THEIR MOST SUCCESSFUL ALBUM TO DATE WITH PUSH THE SKY AWAY. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at La Fabrique.
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