Legendary recording engineer and producer Eddie Kramer is one of the few people who had an inside perspective on the remarkable talents and creative processes of Jimi Hendrix, and he helped him create the musical legacy we enjoy today. A new documentary on Electric Lady Studios will now explore this and more and we have an exclusive clip from it detailing the first song Kramer really dug into from inception with Hendrix at the studio.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision details the New York studio's creation that was rooted in the guitar maverick's desire for a permanent recording base. In the exclusive clip above, Kramer details working on the ambitious Night Bird Flying at the New York studio during sessions in 1970.
We've gone from England 1967 four-track to Record Plant 1968 12-track – a big jump, we skipped eight-track – so we come to Electric Lady and everything is 16
"This is actually the first song that Jimi and I work on from scratch at Electric Lady," says Kramer in the clip above. "We've gone from England 1967 four-track to Record Plant 1968 12-track – a big jump, we skipped eight-track – so we come to Electric Lady and everything is 16 and I'll tell you what, there are so many tracks that you need to consider. Ideas that he put down and each one of them was great but what is the right one?
"You sometimes get into trouble because there are just too many choices and you have to figure out, right, that really does not work over there, we've got to be selective."
Kramer then isolates some of the "many layers of guitars" in the track that showcase just how rapidly Hendrix's creative vision for the instrument was growing in scope, with overdubs that Hendrix went back to track in July and August after the initial Electric Lady session on 16 June 1970 with drummer and co-producer Mitch Mitchell alongside bassist Billy Cox.
The footage is a fascinating insight into how Hendrix was building parts on Night Bird Flying. "I mean the man's mind was just on so many different levels – it's amazing," marvels Kramer.
Check out the clip above to hear it in all its glory. Night Bird Flying was one of the few songs Hendrix would live to complete for his planned fourth album and has since appeared on a number of posthumous compilations, including the 1971 record Cry Of Love.
The documentary Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision will be released on 13 September with Hendrix L.L.C., in partnership with Legacy Recordings and a deluxe box set will be available offering 29 tracks (38 of which are previously unreleased) that were recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience featuring Cox and Mitchell at Electric Lady Studios between June and August 1970.
For more info and to preorder visit jimihendrix.com
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