Martin Rushent, 1948-2011
"Martin wasn't content that synthesizers produce weird noises; he did his best to use them to convey musical ideas. These days when you listen to music you don't even hear the synthesizers. That is due to Martin, who was at the vanguard of making electronics work for the music."
—Pete Shelley discusses Martin Rushent, the British producer who died this weekend. Rushent "made his mark in the late Seventies with the guitar-led punk bands The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks, and rose to prominence as the person responsible for the crystalline computer-driven production showcased on The Human League's synth-pop 1981 album Dare. Propelled by the hit single Don't You Want Me, the album sold millions of copies worldwide, influencing the way pop was recorded – and in particular how the drum sound was achieved – over the rest of the decade." Rushent was 62.
Talk Show, Go-Gos, an insanely entertaining marriage of sound and song. One of the dazzling pop highlights of the Eighties.
Need to spend some alone-time with my Cassingle.
Oh crap, another one bites the dust. He did great work with Altered Images too, the 12" mix of 'I Could Be Happy' is superb.
Music Trifecta of Death: Jack Richardson, Martin Rushent, Andrew Gold
His discography is amazing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Rushent
Given his sins against music with that Human League recording, I expected he was responsible for the Stranglers' fall from grace. But, in fact, he was behind their three greatest albums: Rattus Novigecus, No More Heroes, and Black and White. Also? The DBs' "Stands for Decibels" and T-Rex's "Electric Warrior."
Dare was made at Rushent's studio, Genetic Sound, at his home in Streatley, Berkshire. This was equipped with the most up-to-date recording systems, at considerable cost; it was claimed that £35,000 was spent on air-conditioning alone, a luxury in Britain in the early 1980s.
"In those days, making electronic music was a big job, particularly the way that I was doing it," Rushent said last year. "To get the sounds I wanted, I might have 24 synthesizers playing one synth line, all programmed, all analogue and all drifting out of tune. It used to take hours and hours and hours. I don't know how we ever got through it."
I'm always going to have affection for those Brits tinkering on Fairlights and such in the early days of electronic pop. They really were so creative with it- it was the sound of "the future", but also of its time. RIP, Martin.