Jon Brion – TwentyFourBit

In one of Jon Brion’s most rewarding live experiments, the composer/producer will often perform a famous song by one artist in the trademark style of another. For example, check out his impromptu cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” as Tom Waits live at Amoeba in ’04. While these kinds of mashups are common (and immensely popular) online, Brion’s take on the format was actually borne of a more intriguing distinction worth noting: the cross between songs and performance pieces. For Brion, the art of recording a particular sound and group in a given setting has out-shadowed the art of composing a particular melody placed over a certain set of chords. The latter, he feels, has a valuably transformative effect.

Last week, I caught this clip (via Rawktumblr/99% Invisible) of Brion being interviewed by Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis on Sound Opinions a few years ago, in which he uses Led Zeppelin (whose records he loves, despite classifying them as performance pieces) and Kurt Cobain (whose craft he compares to Gershwin) to demonstrate the idea on piano. Here’s the snippet:

“Eth’s got a mouth full of cookies!” Ever since Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker opened with that impromptu studio moment, dubbed “(Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey),” I’ve been drawn to the fact that both the joke’s subject and the producer keeping the tape rolling on the cut are the same guy. As a first track on a solo debut, leaving it in seemed bold — one of a number of brave choices I’ve come to expect from Ethan Johns. Now over ten years later, Johns-captured moments have piled high aside the turntable: from the haunting glow that emerges around “Starlite Diner” on Adams’ 29 to Ray LaMontagne’s cathartic “Burn,” to the dark undercurrent lurking beneath Laura Marling’s “Hope In the Air,” among too many others to mention. In short, the guy is a hero of mine, and his entire discography thus far cannot be recommended enough to fans of great songwriting.

As not only the producer on those sets but a multi-instrumentalist whose performances on them are notable in their own right, a new solo release seemed inevitable (Johns put out a hard-to-find solo record in 1991). Now his own tunes will finally see the light of day on an LP due this summer, complete with mixing by his father, legendary producer Glyn Johns, and guest appearances from a number of talented friends. With little fanfare, a first taste hit the web in March in the form of an official video for the moving acoustic cut “Whip-Poor-Will.” Details were scarce and, needless to say, I had a number of burning questions, so it was a thrill to hear he digs this site and was up for an interview. Here are highlights from the lengthy phone chat between my humble 4-track setup in California and Johns’ England studio.

Audio: Jon Brion on Songs Vs. Performance

Interview: Ethan Johns

Fiona Apple, Jon Brion Cover Buddy Holly