The Speakers Are A Lens with Ben Rice (The National, Norah Jones, Joan Osborne)

Ben Rice is at the heart of the Brooklyn music scene, making records at his studio, Degraw Sound in Gowanus, since 2012. He’s since worked with legends like Valerie June, The National, Joan Osborne, The Candles, and Northern Soul greats The Flirtations, earning him an Americana Producer of the Year nom along the way.What I love about Ben is that nothing about him is in a rush. This is a very chill podcast episode. I literally felt me blood pressure fall as we recorded this. That’s part of the magic here!He was mentored by Eddie Kramer. He runs his sessions through a Trident console that used to belong to James Iha. He's been part of the indie rock revival, and he's working every day on new music, quietly making some of the best-sounding records in the city.We talk about the long arc from basement sessions to a room of his own, what it actually takes to build a studio that lasts, and why "calm and thorough" is underrated as a production philosophy.For 30% off your first year of DistroKid to share your music with the world click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DistroKid.com/vip/lovemusicmore⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🌎Watch guest episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📺Subscribe to this pod's blog on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive deeper dives on the regular 🏊‍♂️Tune into my music and surf the different-yet-connected platforms at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ScoobertDoobert.pizza⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍕⁠Score pod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🥥Connect with Ben on:✏️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠✏️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠A word salad poem cut from episode excerpts by the podcast producer 🫛Comfortable to show up and share. Set the stage like the scene. This elephant in the living room. Quite a game-changer. Listening setup. Crack the code. Really focus on being present. Open to any page. Glean. In the stereo field. It’s one of those things. Notice the nuances. Escape the event horizon. That new vantage point. The architecture. Controlling those highs and lows. Becomes this moment. That can actually be beneficial emotionally. How those move and how that extends. Ever-present. Comes through the commitment. Let that rip. Raises the bar. Pristine recorded tracks. The speaker world. Be there. The best feeling. Using that putty. Take that forward. Ask questions. Just being immersed in it that way. Weird things that can have some rumble. The fizz on the top. The harmonic nature of hearing. It’s been a companion. An interesting duality. To be able to go the opposite direction. Clarity in that. Great information. Nerd out a little bit on the speaker side. Got the mix going. In those sorts of situations. A sonic identity. The frequency graphs that correspond to the notes. Crossing paths. The murk and the overlap. Vibe and energy. Create the space. Like frame it. Every day it reveals something new. Preserve those beautiful moments. Being in it. Instincts worn in. Through the process. Time together. Making stuff. Open and honest conversations. Feels really good emotionally. Inspiration can create its own pace. Really feels magic. Insightful. Music minds. Really novel. Exploring these ideas. Bookshelf speakers became classic studio speakers for a reason. Giving the artist space. The guts to continue. Extend the low end. Also fundamentals. Heard tell of it. Obsessed. In different circumstances. Now you can kind of understand. Art books. Create these moments and these memories. Set the context. Well of energy. The rhythm of the game. Agrees in it colloquially. Share ideas. A lot of parallels. This production thing. How important iterating is. To just do that. What the artist is looking for. The completion of the process. Listening back. What it felt like. Very rarely revert. ▶️Edited by Rebecca SansomSet Design by Max HorwichPodcast Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Beformer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠