I'm going to soon start working on my Master's thesis, and as an Interior Design student with a background in music journalism, I've decided to combine the best of both worlds. I'm really fascinated with how musicians seek alternative environments to write/record music. I've noticed a trend in recent years of bands straying away from the confines of a huge, elaborate studio in Los Angeles and instead opting for a more untraditional place to work on their music.
Some examples that I've already found are...
*Grizzly Bear cut some
Veckatimest tracks in old, weathered church in Brooklyn (the rest were recorded in the singer's house in Cape Cod)
* Death Cab for Cutie recorded some material for
Plans in a barn at Longview Farms, North Brookfield, MA
*Mike Kinsella (Owen) records the majority of his music in the basement of his mom's house
*a
fantastic Radiohead clip where Thom Yorke says "To me the environment in which one records is the only thing that matters..."
This is just a rough concept, it definitely needs to be tweaked and more defined. I am just fascinated with how musicians' creativity during the songwriting/recording process is influenced by where they are and choose to be. If you have any information or can point me to any articles/videos of bands talking about recording in an unconventional environment, I'd really appreciate the help!