Kurt Ballou - Part 4

In our series finale, we close the door on the great Tony Visconti's 1980s discography. He manages to sneak in one more classic Bowie album, as well as some fascinating releases from the worlds of new wave, rock, and even a bit of prog. In this episode we talk David Bowie, The Moody Blues, Difford & Tillbrook and more.

After the genre-diversity, sound pioneering, and commercial success, of his 1970s collaborations, Tony Visconti entered a drastically different music decade in the 1980s. The influence of punk is being felt, even in Tony's chart-dominating mainstream, and the sounds become harsher, noisier and, somehow, poppier. In this episode we talk Adam Ant, The Boomtown Rats, Elaine Paige and more. Yeah, it's a strange one.

In part 2 of our deep dive into his discography, we see just how far the sound of post-punk pioneer Martin Hannett could go. It goes without saying that we get a generous helping of some more iconic Factory Records releases, but we also venture into the worlds of performance poetry, novelty, dance punk, and even the emerging Baggy sound. In a career cut tragically short, it's thrilling to see Martin innovating to the very end. In this episode we discuss John Cooper Clarke, Magazine, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Happy Mondays and much more.

Trevor Horn is often called the man who invented the 80s, but the same could be said of Martin Hannett. Martin's bleak, austere and (somehow) maximalist vision of rock music resulted in a highly evocative sound that his immediately recognisable. His association with the iconic Factory records nurtured an enduring post-punk scene which remains influential to this day. In this episode we discuss Buzzcocks, Joy Division, New Order, and much much more.

In part 2 of our special on the production Discography of the great Nellee Hooper, the collaborations get bigger, as does his gallery of smash pop hits. Along with a fruitful stint soundtracking Hollywood movies, Nellee also branched out by setting up his own Label, Meanwhile... , as a Virgin imprint. We also get to talk remixes, disgraceful millennials, the greatest aphrodisiac and James Bond. In this episode, we discuss Madonna, U2, Tina Turner, Radiohead, No Doubt, Gwen Stefani and much more

In the late 1980s, London club collective Soul II Soul were chipping away at the stifling assembly-line atmosphere dominating the UK pop charts with their combination of soul, dance, hip-hop and R&B. Helping them ease the transition from dance flood to living room hifi with their debut album Club Classics Vol. One was production and remix team Jazzie B and Nellee Hooper. Nellee served as emissary from the blooming Bristol trip-hop scene, bringing a fresh flavour to top 40 radio. Throughout the 1990s he produced some of the most definitive, iconic and enduring pop. In this episode we discuss Soul II Soul, Sinead O'Connor, Bjork, Massive Attack and more.

The fourth and final installment of our deep dive into the production discography of Kurt Ballou is a heavy one. This week we talk gourmet doom, death metal, dissonance and noise terror, some lizard-brain hardcore, agile punk and, of course we're back to Converge. Artists discussed include Full of Hell, Russian Circles, Code Orange and much much more.

With his sound fully established and widely sought after, Kurt Ballou's production discography begins to massively diversify, and the influence of the albums can be felt all across the underground and beyond. It's now clear that Kurt is about more than HM-2 pedals and compression (though we do get some prime cuts of crust and filth), as his works starts to encompass indie, emo, pop punk, thrash, and metal that looks to make a mark on the mainstream. In this episode, James and Graham discuss Nails, Genghis Tron, Joyce Manor, High on Fire, Kvelertak and much more

In the final (yes, final) part of our epic coverage of the production discography of the one and only John Congleton, our hero breathes life into pop nobility, anoints indie royalty, and achieves a new-found sheen in his sound. In this episode, James and Graham discuss, Blondie, Nelly Furtado, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, Future Islands, Bombay Bicycle Club, and much much much much (much) much (much much much) much much more.

In our light, fluffy and easily digestible Productionwise Xmas special, James and Graham 'unwrap' (or unpack) their Spotify Wrapped (in Graham's case) and Apple Replay (in James's case). We get a tantalising glimpse into what the two Productionwise enigmas (or enigmae) actually listen to in their own time, how they listen to it, and why they listen to it. There's also some (very) brief discussion of what they've been watching and (gasp!) what they've been reading in 2023. Up for discussion are Rosalia, Armand Hammer, Yaeji, Lone, James Blake, Screaming Females, NewJeans, Gas, Mitski, RP Boo and quite a bit more. James and Graham also discuss the marketing decisions of streaming services, the sex appeal of Tom Jones, soundtracking a baby shower, and the untimely deaths of Caroline Aherne and Victoria Wood. Enjoy! If you've been listening, we really appreciate it, and we'll be back with more producer deep dives in January.