EP21 - Gordon Raphael - "Up From the Basement with The Strokes"

Welcome back to the Process of Production! After a hiatus during which Lawrence’s second son was born, we’re back, and better than ever. To start the new series, we interview the one-and-only Gordon Raphael. Gordon is a producer from Seattle, Washington in the USA. After an early encounter with a synthesiser opened his eyes to the world of music production, Gordon got involved in the grunge scene in his hometown, forming bands and making weird noises on his synth. After moving to New York and setting up his basement studio Transporter-Raum, an encounter with a then-unknown band at the Luna Lounge in the Lower East side would change Gordon’s life forever. The Strokes would go on to define the indie sound that dominated for the next decade, thanks to the iconic debut album ‘Is This It?’, which Gordon produced, alongside the follow-up Room on Fire. Gordon moved to London, which had been the epicentre of the hype surrounding the Strokes. After a spell in Berlin, he’s now relocated to Heben Bridge in Yorkshire, where he joins us from today. Gordon's book, The World Is Going To Love This: Up From The Basement With The Strokes, is out July 2nd 2022. The Process of Production is a music production podcast presented by Lawrence Diamond and Bob Matthews. Lawrence cut his teeth playing and writing in Indie bands before finding international success and touring the world with his band CITIZENS! During that time he worked with a host of revered producers including Liam Howe, Mark Ralph and Alex Kapranos. Since the band ended in 2016 he’s been using that experience to help other artists develop their careers as a writer and producer while continuing to release his own music under various different guises. Bob learned his trade as the producer and multi-instrumentalist in Electronic Pop duo Alpines, whose career spans 3 albums, releases on major and indie record labels, shows with Florence + The Machine, The xx, Emeli Sandé, and a top 20 hit 'Tidal Wave' in collaboration with Sub Focus. In recent years he has turned his focus to producing other acts and has a studio in Chiswick in West London. If you have any feedback or questions, please email us: [email protected] Follow The Process of Production on Instagram @processofproduction If you like the podcast, please consider giving us a review on your podcast provider of choice! Thank you