From the Basement

From the Basement is a podcast turned television programme created by music producer and engineer Nigel Godrich and producer Dilly Gent that features live performances from various musicians, without a host or audience.^[1]

Background

In September 2006, it was announced that Godrich, along with producer Dilly Gent, producer James Chads and John Woollcombe, were shooting the music series From the Basement, filmed from London’s Maida Vale Studios.^[2]

The series was to focus on intimate, live performances by musicians without a host or an audience. Godrich told Pitchfork Media in an interview, "We’ve got a lot of people that I’d like to see on the show [that] we’re talking to. [But] I don’t want to mention their names. Obviously, I’m really interested to capture some really iconic, bigger names– really the whole point is to get people who are having their moment, to try and get a definitive record of what they’re doing."^[3]

Godrich first conceived From the Basement as a means of authentically documenting music being made. Drawing further inspiration from British television music series The Old Grey Whistle Test, Godrich came upon the idea of a television program. Despite early reports, "From the Basement" would not appear on British television, because of not taking on corporate sponsors.^[3]

Comedian Adam Buxton, was originally in talks to be the host of the show, but this idea was soon dropped.

Format

Originally when the pilot was in production, From The Basement was to be an online programme only. The series would be available solely as an Internet download, with individual videos available for purchase through iTunes and through the official website. This option did not generate enough money to produce the episodes to the quality level desired. Instead, the producers went to international TV networks to receive money up front to produce the series.^[4]

Broadcast

The podcast launched on 18 December 2006. The first UK broadcast was on Sky Arts on 1 December 2007 and premiered in the US on Rave HD on the 22 February 2008, followed by a run on the Independent Film Channel in the fall of 2008. The IFC chose to split the episodes listed below into shorter, half-hour segments.^[5]

They were also amongst the final programmes broadcast by the now defunct YLE Extra in Finland.^[6][7]

MHD (Music High Definition) network on Comcast cable in the US is now broadcasting a Radiohead only version of the program. It is unclear whether the show was produced all at once, or was recorded over multiple sessions.

A second series of shows ran on Sky Arts from 3 December 2008 to 7 January 2009.

On 10 March 2009 the series of performances was released on DVD.^[8]

Episodes

Each episode of From The Basement features performances from several musical artists. The first podcast episode of the series featured Thom Yorke on the piano performing songs from the then upcoming Radiohead album In Rainbows, alongside performances from The White Stripes and a collaboration between Four Tet's Kieran Hebden and drummer Steve Reid. The episode was filmed by director Sophie Muller.

Episode 6 of series 1 was filmed in Bob Clearmountain's Berkeley Street Studio in Los Angeles rather than in London’s Maida Vale Studios.

Podcast

Television Series 1

Television Series 2

References

External links

• Official Website
• Official YouTube site