Nick Launay is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Anna Calvi, IDLES, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Arcade Fire.
12 Facts About Nick Launay
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Nick Launay is known primarily for his passionate approach to recording with emphasis on raw sounds and capturing mood.
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Nick Launay is known for setting trends by finding lesser known recording studios in the world and making them popular.
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The son of French author Andre Nick Launay and fashion model Eve Nick Launay, he was born in London, England and moved with his family to the village of Frigiliana in Spain at age eight, where his parents adopted a bohemian lifestyle.
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The family returned to England in 1976, where Nick Launay developed a love of punk rock.
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Nick Launay says his version was released as a 12-inch single and became a Top 10 hit in the UK and other countries.
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In 1980, Nick Launay moved to Virgin Records' Townhouse studios, where he worked as an assistant engineer on albums including The Jam's Sound Affects and XTC's Black Sea, assisting producers John Leckie, Tony Visconti, Steve Lillywhite and Hugh Padgham.
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Days later Nick Launay was told PiL wanted him to mix a new song they had worked on.
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Nick Launay was asked by the Townhouse manager whether he had done a mix before.
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Nick Launay co-produced the band's The Flowers of Romance album, which brought praise for its sonic oddities and prompted other bands including Killing Joke, The Slits, The Birthday Party and Gang of Four to collaborate with him in the studio.
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Nick Launay worked for two months as engineer on Kate Bush's self-produced The Dreaming, about which he remembers:.
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Nick Launay worked with producer Colin Newman of Wire on the Virgin Prunes' If I Die I Die before securing his first major production role on the fifth album by Midnight Oil, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.