Rick Rubin says he plays few instruments and has no technical ability. He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t like, and is determined about it.
”[I’m paid for] Confidence in your senses and the ability to express what you feel has proven useful for artists,” Rubin told Anderson Cooper on this week’s 60 Minutes.
Cooper and his crew traveled to Rubin’s Shangri-La, California studio to witness a recording session with legendary producer Rubin. They found Rubin kept things minimal. He listens while lying barefoot with his eyes closed. And there are no records of gold medals or awards on the walls.
“I used to send them all to my parents,” Rubin said. “And I don’t know where they are now. It robs you of your purity.”
That way of thinking is closely related to his production philosophy. Rubin calls himself a slowdown rather than a producer.
“I like the idea of getting the point across with minimal information,” Rubin said.
“Is that what you do in the recording studio?” Cooper asked. “Are you listening to music, hearing sounds, and trying to strip them away?”
“To see what is actually needed,” Rubin said. “Understanding its essence in the first place is very helpful in understanding what it is.”
What Rubin needs is “feelings”.
“I listen to that sentiment,” Rubin said. “My body is moving. I feel like the melody is awakening something inside me. It feels familiar, it feels good.”
Rubin is now sharing what he’s learned in a book out this week called The Creative Act: A Way of Being. This is his guide to harnessing creativity, which he figured out 40 years ago at New York University. While in school, Rubin started Def Jam Recordings with music manager Russell Simmons. The label was defined by the new hip-hop sound Rubin listened to in clubs every night.
“It wasn’t made by people going to conservatories,” Rubin said of the genre, which was still in its infancy at the time. “Children who felt something made it.”
By his senior year, Rubin had worked with Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, and teenage LL Cool J. And after Rubin graduated, Def Jam signed a seven-figure sales deal with Columbia Records.
Since then, Rubin has become perhaps the most popular producer in American music. He left Def Jam in 1988, but has continued to work with hip-hop artists, producing artists ranging from Johnny Cash to Metallica, Tom Petty and Kesha.
“Working with him really changed my life,” Kesha said of Rubin. “I was writing a song and I couldn’t express what I wanted to say, and he said, ‘Go home and write an essay that says everything you want to say until you can’t write anymore.’ I said.” And the song took shape naturally. ”
Making music is, of course, a business, but Rubin argues that it has always been a deep emotional exploration for him, no matter who he works with.
“We’re trying to use emotions,” Rubin said. “We try to tap into something that makes you want to lean forward and pay more attention. because it is related to
“And you don’t want people listening to the music to think, ‘Oh, is that a Rick Rubin record?'” Cooper asked.
“No,” said Rubin. “I want them to say, ‘This is the best I’ve ever heard,’ and I don’t know why.”
