'Distortion'

Dec

2011

'Distortion'

'The idea that I could sit there with the greatest singer in the world and stick distortion on his voice made me laugh.'

Second part of our interview with Flood recalling the 1991 recording of Achtung Baby. Here Flood tells Brian Draper about the tensions in Berlin, how he helped Bono find his voice for The Fly and why it felt like 'standing on top of Everest' when they finally finished the album.

Read Part One of this interview.

U2.com: How much pressure did you feel, working on those sessions?
It was really tense, but in a way I had the easiest role of the lot. Technically I was just the engineer. There were a lot of tensions within the band - but I only found out about that later, because none of it was being brought in to the studio. That’s what sets U2 apart. And even though it was all very difficult, it was only because nothing was seen to be working. That doesn’t mean to say people weren’t trying; it was like you were beating your head against a brick wall, and your face was getting more and more bloody.

U2.com: Ouch.
After Berlin, I remember Eno coming to the Dublin sessions in February or March, listening to what we had, and saying, 'It all sounds really grey.' That was the only time I took something personally and started to feel real pressure.

U2.com: Ouch again. But you broke through?
Things started to fall into place through the Spring. I remember Chris Blackwell coming over and listening, and saying, 'Guys, you just don’t know how good this record is.' That made everybody say, 'Come on! We can do it.'

U2.com: Bono recalled (in 'U2 on U2') that in Dublin, 'Flood had a different look in his eye. And then we recorded the Fly...' How so?
He was getting really frustrated with not being able to find his voice for the Fly. He’d ask to try the song in different keys, and I had to have it all set up so he could (which was hard, in those days); but it still wasn’t happening.
I said, 'Look Bono. I’ve been trying a couple of effects, and this might help you.' So I put distortion on his voice. Now, I’d been using this with people like Nine Inch Nails for years, but the idea - at that time, in 1991 - that I could sit there with the greatest singer in the world and stick distortion on his voice made me laugh.
But he heard it, went 'Wow!' and was transformed. He was off. It gave him a chance for a new personality, a new voice which would help him express what he wanted to say. That was so important.
Similarly, there was an early version of Zoo Station which wasn’t working. Bono suggested I tried an ‘industrial’ mix, to see how it sounded. So I did, and they loved the intro; Bono listened to it in his car and thought his speakers had broken.
Fast forward six months: we’re mixing, and the track comes up. And Bono wants the rough mix I’d done of the intro put into the mix as we had it then.
This was the mindset: anything could be tried.

U2.com: Edge described the sound of Achtung Baby as 'desperation and resignation with all sorts of worrying tones in between'. Is that what you hear?
I hear the sound of necessity, the sound of something that needs to change. The old fashioned idea of a ‘record’ is that it records the emotions of the time, the place and the people. And that’s what Achtung Baby is.

U2.com: What’s your distinctive contribution to that ‘record’?
Just being there and being part of it, I think. Everyone was playing to their own strengths, and we all wanted that for each other. It was one of the most creatively open sessions I have ever worked on.
But everyone was so emotionally raw, too - when I say it’s a record of that time, that’s the thing you don’t forget.

U2.com: Were you aware that it could become a classic?
I’ve been involved in four or five records like this, where you realise you are in a new place; everybody knows there is something a bit out of the ordinary happening, a step up. But the stars have to align, too.
I remember the last day mixing Achtung Baby. There were God-knows-how many people working, hidden away, mixing... The band were upstairs with Danny and Brian, all getting drunk, deciding the running order - and at the last minute swapping it all around so that Side 2 became Side 1.
And then Edge was jumping into a taxi with the tapes...

U2.com: Time to wipe the bloody faces?
There was such a sense of achievement, of arriving at that point. It was like standing on the top of Everest. You’d made it, crawling up the hill with only one hand and one ice-pick and no oxygen, but with all your friends there to help you to the top.

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9 Comments

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greydogblues - 16 December, 2011

flood rocks

what a great interview. learning the behind the scenes has given me a new ear for listening - almost like it's all new material. lovin' it.

musicabona - 11 December, 2011

Sonic evolution

This great interview allows me to trace back the remarkable metamorphosis of The Fly. It gives me some interesting insights into the fruitful working process of a band who had the will and ambition to find new sounds and textures after Rattle And Hum. Flood helped Bono to achieve this very specific tone colour that had never appeared before Achtung Baby. When hearing The Fly for the first time on the radio I recognised Bono;s voice, but through the distortion it seemed to come from a dark and unknown place. Back then I was very excited to get to know this mysterious new persona of Bono.

CanadaMatt - 09 December, 2011

Inspiring

As an aspiring artist and producer, this is a very encouraging and insightful read. Thanks!

longshotz40 - 08 December, 2011

Excellent Interview

I loved this interview cause it puts me inside the recording studio with them and I didnt relize so much goes into a album..Thank You so much!!!

jatika - 08 December, 2011

wow

what was it bono said? achtung baby was the sound of 4 men chopping down a joshua tree? to willingly pull away from the success of joshua tree, and take the harder path towards something, 'better' isnt the right word, as is 'groundbreaking'.

seconds67 - 08 December, 2011

Broken speakers

I also thought my speakers were broken! Excitedly, as is always the case when listening to a U2 release for the first time, I listened to the start of 'Zoo Station.' Moments later I ejected the disc to search for damage or dust or another culprit which could cause that strange sound. Nothing. Try once again to listen only to repeat the same process. Still nothing as my thoughts turn to the possible need for new speakers. Insert a different CD (who can remember what it might have been) to hear that the stereo system functions normally. Hmmm. Very interesting. What has U2 done this time? Achtung begins once again and I did not interrupt it this time. I sat and listened with rapt attention from start to finish to what the band had described as the "sound of four men chopping down the Joshua Tree," and I was stunned (much as I had been after listening to Joshua Tree for the first time). I don't know how many times I listened to AB that day but it was several, and it has been my favorite album ever since. An all-time classic and an absolute masterpiece!

pain_18_ - 08 December, 2011

Great

Genius interview looking on U2's Best Album !

pepebasabeleoz1 - 08 December, 2011

Great Interview!

Thanks for that incredible piece of art...

dianep - 08 December, 2011

Distortion

Yep, it's always my first choice at times when "something needs to change" and it gets me up Everest every time. Fantastic. Thanks for the eye-witness account - this is gold dust.

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