Q&A: Interview with Martin Bisi

Pitch contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni recently conducted a monster-length interview with producer Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Herbie Hancock and many, many more), who appears tonight at the Record Bar in support of his new album, Sirens of the Apocalypse. Having participated in so many cutting-edge recordings, not to mention graffiti culture, Bisi had a great deal to say about the musical movements he helped kick-start, but prefers to look at them from a broader social perspective. Some choice highlights from that interview:

The Pitch: Engineering is seen as a technical job, when really, it’s more like alchemy.

Martin Bisi: It is, and I actually use the word “alchemy.” I also use the term “social alchemy,” because I feel that what’s transpired in my life and my career is this weird social alchemy. It’s not just the music, and definitely not just about the technicality, but it’s truly about people. That’s what excites me about my life. That’s why I can look back and say, “You know what, I’ve had a good life.” Not just because of the records I have on the wall, but because they represent this social story. It’s about people. And that’s what warms my heart. That’s what makes me feel that I’ve lived. Because I’ve been part of a people-story.

You prefer for bands to not do more than three takes, because you’ve said it’s hard to weigh five different takes.

If you have four, it’s basically un-doable. If you’re listening to the fourth, you almost can’t even remember the first. Also, you know how people look for an “X-factor?” Often, people believe that the X-factor is in the fourth or fifth take. There’s nothing wrong with the takes they have already, but they’re seeking this intangible X-factor. My assumption is the opposite, where if there is an X-factor, it would be in the first take.