SXSW 2013: Shout Out Louds on Creating 'Light' in the Studio

Light was the theme of Shout Out Louds' newest record, Optica, singer-guitarist Adam Olenius and bassist Ted Malmros explained at the Rolling Stone Rock Room in sunny Austin, Texas. "We wanted the songs to be bright and colorful," says Olenius. "Light is almost a delicacy in Sweden, because during winter it's only three to four hours of sunlight. We had to create light in the studio." 

Malmros also theorized about why Sweden has produced such a vibrant English-speaking music scene for a country of its size. "We don't really dub movies, so English is almost a second language," he says. 

Interview by Eric Danton; text by Joe Pinsker

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SXSW 2013: Shout Out Louds on Creating 'Light' in the Studio

Light was the theme of Shout Out Louds' newest record, Optica, singer-guitarist Adam Olenius and bassist Ted Malmros explained at the Rolling Stone Rock Room in sunny Austin, Texas. "We wanted the songs to be bright and colorful," says Olenius. "Light is almost a delicacy in Sweden, because during winter it's only three to four hours of sunlight. We had to create light in the studio." 

Malmros also theorized about why Sweden has produced such a vibrant English-speaking music scene for a country of its size. "We don't really dub movies, so English is almost a second language," he says. 

Interview by Eric Danton; text by Joe Pinsker

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Little Boots Returns to Studio for Second Album, 'Nocturnes'

Little Boots Returns to Studio for Second Album, 'Nocturnes'The British dance-pop singer gives a taste of her next phase $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'x0dms2YTrgCqvKxYlLS2PfhW3hpqFf1B', {'autoplay': true }); });By

Three years after announcing that she was beginning work on a new project, the British electro-pop songstress Little Boots (a/k/a Victoria Hesketh) is ready to release her second album, Nocturnes. The album is due out May 6th on Heskins' On Repeat Records and was produced by DFA Records cofounder Tim Goldsworthy.

In this exclusive video, Hesketh gives an inside look into her return to the studio, her love for songwriting and Goldsworthy's talent for mixing her signature sound of modern-day disco with progressive electronica. Hesketh explains that Nocturnes is "an album indebted to the night" and was inspired by her experiences as a DJ and her immersion in the club scene. "It's got that nighttime feel," she says.

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Little Boots Returns to Studio for Second Album, 'Nocturnes'

Little Boots Returns to Studio for Second Album, 'Nocturnes'The British dance-pop singer gives a taste of her next phase $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'x0dms2YTrgCqvKxYlLS2PfhW3hpqFf1B', {'autoplay': true }); });By

Three years after announcing that she was beginning work on a new project, the British electro-pop songstress Little Boots (a/k/a Victoria Hesketh) is ready to release her second album, Nocturnes. The album is due out May 6th on Heskins' On Repeat Records and was produced by DFA Records cofounder Tim Goldsworthy.

In this exclusive video, Hesketh gives an inside look into her return to the studio, her love for songwriting and Goldsworthy's talent for mixing her signature sound of modern-day disco with progressive electronica. Hesketh explains that Nocturnes is "an album indebted to the night" and was inspired by her experiences as a DJ and her immersion in the club scene. "It's got that nighttime feel," she says.

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Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio Footage

Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio FootageBand records their hit debut in previously unseen clip $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'BmdHB5OTp50G5hf6k1ehkGb6FV0BE-dV', {'autoplay': true }); });By

It's been over a year since the down-home, dirty roots-rockers Alabama Shakes recorded their debut LP Boys and Girls, and plenty's changed since then. The group scored a handful of Grammy nods, they played Saturday Night Live and their track "Hold On" topped Rolling Stone's countdown of 2012's best songs. Now you can take a look back in time with this exclusive, never-before-seen footage of the band recording the album in November and December of 2011 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. The intimate clip finds the band scrawling down lyrics and working through their soon-to-be-breakthough cuts "Boys and Girls" and "I Ain't the Same."

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Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio Footage

Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio FootageBand records their hit debut in previously unseen clip $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'BmdHB5OTp50G5hf6k1ehkGb6FV0BE-dV', {'autoplay': true }); });By

It's been over a year since the down-home, dirty roots-rockers Alabama Shakes recorded their debut LP Boys and Girls, and plenty's changed since then. The group scored a handful of Grammy nods, they played Saturday Night Live and their track "Hold On" topped Rolling Stone's countdown of 2012's best songs. Now you can take a look back in time with this exclusive, never-before-seen footage of the band recording the album in November and December of 2011 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. The intimate clip finds the band scrawling down lyrics and working through their soon-to-be-breakthough cuts "Boys and Girls" and "I Ain't the Same."

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Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio Footage

Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio FootageBand records their hit debut in previously unseen clip $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'BmdHB5OTp50G5hf6k1ehkGb6FV0BE-dV', {'autoplay': true }); });By

It's been over a year since the down-home, dirty roots-rockers Alabama Shakes recorded their debut LP Boys and Girls, and plenty's changed since then. The group scored a handful of Grammy nods, they played Saturday Night Live and their track "Hold On" topped Rolling Stone's countdown of 2012's best songs. Now you can take a look back in time with this exclusive, never-before-seen footage of the band recording the album in November and December of 2011 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. The intimate clip finds the band scrawling down lyrics and working through their soon-to-be-breakthough cuts "Boys and Girls" and "I Ain't the Same."

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Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio Footage

Alabama Shakes Lay Down 'Boys and Girls' in Rare Studio FootageBand records their hit debut in previously unseen clip $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'BmdHB5OTp50G5hf6k1ehkGb6FV0BE-dV', {'autoplay': true }); });By

It's been over a year since the down-home, dirty roots-rockers Alabama Shakes recorded their debut LP Boys and Girls, and plenty's changed since then. The group scored a handful of Grammy nods, they played Saturday Night Live and their track "Hold On" topped Rolling Stone's countdown of 2012's best songs. Now you can take a look back in time with this exclusive, never-before-seen footage of the band recording the album in November and December of 2011 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. The intimate clip finds the band scrawling down lyrics and working through their soon-to-be-breakthough cuts "Boys and Girls" and "I Ain't the Same."

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Alkaline Trio Offer Glimpse of Studio in 'I, Pessimist' – Premiere

Alkaline Trio Offer Glimpse of Studio in 'I, Pessimist' – PremiereRockers show their punk bite is as strong as ever $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', '44a3B1OTqLMdB5kV_i_d1oO5zpyMOV-1', {'autoplay': true }); });

It's been almost 15 years since Alkaline Trio released their debut studio album, and that time spent together has refined the band's chemistry. In their new video for "I, Pessimist," the rockers offer a revealing look into the studio as they rehearse and record the track. Their sharp punk has a bite as strong as ever, but despite the title, there are plenty of smiles and friendship here. Recording is hard work, but Alkaline Trio make it look fun and easy – even if they're singing about losing their minds to alcohol. "I, Pessimist" will be on Alkaline Trio's forthcoming album, My Shame Is True, out April 2nd.

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Kendrick Lamar Vibes Out in the Studio With Dr. Dre, Andre 3000

Kendrick Lamar Vibes Out in the Studio With Dr. Dre, Andre 3000Heads can't help but nod as MC shares a song from his new album $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Compton MC Kendrick Lamar is set to release his major-label debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, next week, but there's still time for some last-minute playback. Check out this exclusive footage of the rising rapper in the lab listening to his woozy album cut "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" alongside two of hip-hop's biggest luminaries: Dr. Dre, who signed Lamar to his Aftermath label; and André 3000, who sums up the track nicely when it comes to a close: "Excellent."

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London Studio Where Dylan, Radiohead Recorded Could Become Apartments

Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics and Bob Dylan.Rob Shanahan/Getty Images; FRED TANNEAU/AFP/GettyImages

A London recording studio where Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and the Eurythmics have worked could become apartments, the BBC reports.

Owner David Gray, who's also a musician, has applied to local authorities to convert Church Studios in North London into five apartments and office space, despite objections from some neighbors. Eurythmics partners Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart turned the former chapel into a studio in 1984, and the oak-paneled main room, one of the largest recording spaces remaining in London, has hosted sessions by Dylan, Costello, Radiohead and Depeche Mode. Gray bought Church Studios in 2003. He's best known for his platinum-selling 1998 album White Ladder.

Gray's architect says the recording facilities "are now obsolete and do not offer a viable future for the building," though local residents say that losing the space would have "a significant effect on the vitality of the local arts scene" and the local musicians who use the space.

Stewart once lived with Lennox in an apartment adjoining the studio, where they recorded songs including "Sweet Dreams." The songwriter and producer said recently on Facebook that he sympathizes with Gray.

"It has so many memories for me," Stewart wrote. "Not just recording sessions. I would host evening soirees with poets, philosophers, musicians, etc. . . . Dylan would turn up with his band and hold court, or Joni Mitchell would play drums! Things have changed now. Music Scene is not the same, I understand him [David Gray] having to sell. I wasn't bothered about the cost of running it (always at a loss)."

No date is set to consider Gray's application to convert the space, but the planning committee of the local council holds monthly meetings.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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London Studio Where Dylan, Radiohead Recorded Could Become Apartments

Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics and Bob Dylan.Rob Shanahan/Getty Images; FRED TANNEAU/AFP/GettyImages

A London recording studio where Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and the Eurythmics have worked could become apartments, the BBC reports.

Owner David Gray, who's also a musician, has applied to local authorities to convert Church Studios in North London into five apartments and office space, despite objections from some neighbors. Eurythmics partners Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart turned the former chapel into a studio in 1984, and the oak-paneled main room, one of the largest recording spaces remaining in London, has hosted sessions by Dylan, Costello, Radiohead and Depeche Mode. Gray bought Church Studios in 2003. He's best known for his platinum-selling 1998 album White Ladder.

Gray's architect says the recording facilities "are now obsolete and do not offer a viable future for the building," though local residents say that losing the space would have "a significant effect on the vitality of the local arts scene" and the local musicians who use the space.

Stewart once lived with Lennox in an apartment adjoining the studio, where they recorded songs including "Sweet Dreams." The songwriter and producer said recently on Facebook that he sympathizes with Gray.

"It has so many memories for me," Stewart wrote. "Not just recording sessions. I would host evening soirees with poets, philosophers, musicians, etc. . . . Dylan would turn up with his band and hold court, or Joni Mitchell would play drums! Things have changed now. Music Scene is not the same, I understand him [David Gray] having to sell. I wasn't bothered about the cost of running it (always at a loss)."

No date is set to consider Gray's application to convert the space, but the planning committee of the local council holds monthly meetings.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Adele: I'm Heading Back to the Studio

Adele arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele has played down her remarks in the latest issue of Vogue about planning a five-year hiatus in a blog post on her official site. "I've a few days off now, and then it’s the Brit Awards here at home and then I’m straight into the studio. BOYYAHH! 5 years? More like 5 days!," she wrote. The singer's U.K. spokesperson also shot down the Vogue soundbite, telling the BBC that it was "just an offhand comment."

Aside from addressing her fans on her blog, Adele has avoided speaking to the press in the wake of her sweep at the Grammys over the weekend. Her manager, Jonathan Dickens, spoke on her behalf to Billboard yesterday, saying they will need to "ease her back" into performing live. "While she's fully recovered, like any injury you need to build your strength back up," Dickens said. "I'm gonna let her enjoy this moment and not drive her mad. We'll sit down and work out what we're doing going forward. It's a long-term thing."

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Adele: I'm Heading Back to the Studio

Adele arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele has played down her remarks in the latest issue of Vogue about planning a five-year hiatus in a blog post on her official site. "I've a few days off now, and then it’s the Brit Awards here at home and then I’m straight into the studio. BOYYAHH! 5 years? More like 5 days!," she wrote. The singer's U.K. spokesperson also shot down the Vogue soundbite, telling the BBC that it was "just an offhand comment."

Aside from addressing her fans on her blog, Adele has avoided speaking to the press in the wake of her sweep at the Grammys over the weekend. Her manager, Jonathan Dickens, spoke on her behalf to Billboard yesterday, saying they will need to "ease her back" into performing live. "While she's fully recovered, like any injury you need to build your strength back up," Dickens said. "I'm gonna let her enjoy this moment and not drive her mad. We'll sit down and work out what we're doing going forward. It's a long-term thing."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Nirvana's 'In Utero' Studio Set to Reopen

The backwoods Minnesota recording studio where Nirvana holed up to record their last album, In Utero, is being refurbished for a reopening after lying dormant for a year, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. John Kuker, who established Seed Underbelly Studios in Minneapolis and opened branches in New York and Los Angeles, says he has purchased the former Pachyderm Studio in rural Cannon Falls and plans to rename it Seed Underbelly North. 

Kuker says he bought a recording console once used in London by Bob Marley to outfit the place, a 1960s-era house on six wooded acres. In addition to Nirvana, Pachyderm hosted many notable guests over the years, including PJ Harvey, Soul Asylum, Live and Brian Setzer. In recent years the studio fell into disrepair under a succession of owners, and it lay dormant after a foreclosure last year.  

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Nirvana's 'In Utero' Studio Set to Reopen

The backwoods Minnesota recording studio where Nirvana holed up to record their last album, In Utero, is being refurbished for a reopening after lying dormant for a year, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. John Kuker, who established Seed Underbelly Studios in Minneapolis and opened branches in New York and Los Angeles, says he has purchased the former Pachyderm Studio in rural Cannon Falls and plans to rename it Seed Underbelly North. 

Kuker says he bought a recording console once used in London by Bob Marley to outfit the place, a 1960s-era house on six wooded acres. In addition to Nirvana, Pachyderm hosted many notable guests over the years, including PJ Harvey, Soul Asylum, Live and Brian Setzer. In recent years the studio fell into disrepair under a succession of owners, and it lay dormant after a foreclosure last year.  

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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