Nick Launay

Launay is known primarily for his passionate approach to recording with emphasis on raw sounds and capturing mood. Some of the artists he has worked with include: Kate Bush, Talking Heads, David Byrne, INXS, Models, Midnight Oil, Grinderman, Lou Reed, The Veils, Anna Calvi, Supergrass, The Living End, Band of Skulls, Silverchair and IDLES. He lives in Hollywood, United States and travels to London frequently. More recent work includes producing Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Mosquito, It's Blitz!, mixing Arcade Fire's Neon Bible and The Suburbs, producing and recording Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Push the Sky Away, Skeleton Tree along with Grinderman and Grinderman 2, We Mean It, Man! By Gogol Bordello, and Cartoon Darkness by Amyl and the Sniffers. He is also known for setting trends by finding lesser known recording studios in the world and making them popular. In 2012, he encouraged Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to record what became the Push the Sky Away album at a little-known studio in France called La Fabrique. At the time, no foreign band had worked there. Since then Morrissey, Radiohead, and Foals have all followed suit. Similarly with La Frette studios he produced Skeleton Tree and then recommended it to Arctic Monkeys via Domino Recording Company owner Laurence Bell. Alex Turner now records all his projects there, and others have followed.

• Name — Nick Launay • Birth Name — Nicolas Launay • Born — 5 March 1960 • Birthplace — London, England • Genre — * Rock • post-punk • Occupation — * Record producer • composer • recording engineer • Years Active — 1978–present

The son of French author André Launay and fashion model Eve 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. The family returned to England in 1976, where Launay developed a love of punk rock.

In 1978, he began working at Tape One studios on Tottenham Court Road, where he was trained to edit hit songs for K-tel Top 20 compilation albums, reducing their length to 2½ minutes in order to fit 20 songs on one album. He recalled: "The trick was to keep all the good bits that people would recognize." According to his website, Launay was late at work one night "frantically editing and reconstructing an experimental version of "Pop Muzik" by UK pop band M, for his own amusement, when he was visited by respected mastering engineer Denis Blackham." Blackham was so impressed with the new extended version, he played it the next day to M's Robin Scott. Launay says his version was released as a 12-inch single and became a Top 10 hit in the UK and other countries. In 1980, 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. In 1981, as the most junior member assistant engineer, he was conscripted to work on a Public Image Ltd recording session for a single, "Home is Where the Heart is". In a PiL fan site interview Launay recalled: Days later Launay was told PiL wanted him to mix a new song they had worked on. He was asked by the Townhouse manager whether he had done a mix before. "I remember lying and saying, Yes of course I have," he said. "She told me I would have to work alone, as no other assistant would do it. Once again I couldn't believe my luck." Launay co-produced the band's The Flowers of Romance album (1981), 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. He worked for two months as engineer on Kate Bush’s self-produced The Dreaming (1982), about which he remembers: She had all these wild ideas. She would come in in the morning and go, in her very high voice, "Nick, can we make the drums sound like cannons?" So we would go in and try to make this drum kit sound like it was cannons going off – every kick drum, every snare. We made up these corrugated iron tunnels coming out of the drum kit, and we would mike up the tunnel. He worked with producer Colin Newman of Wire on the Virgin Prunes' If I Die I Die (1982) before securing his first major production role on the fifth album by Midnight Oil, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982).

• 1980: "Heart of Darkness" by Positive Noise • 1981: "Flowers of Romance" single by Public Image Ltd • 1981: The Flowers of Romance by Public Image Ltd • 1981: "Follow the Leaders" single by Killing Joke • 1981: What's THIS For...! by Killing Joke • 1981: "To Hell with Poverty!" single by Gang of Four • 1981: "Release the Bats" single by The Birthday Party • 1981: "Earthbeat" single by The Slits • 1982: "Empire Song" single by Killing Joke • 1982: "Pagan Lovesong" by Virgin Prunes • 1982: Junkyard by The Birthday Party • 1982: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 by Midnight Oil • 1983: Seance by The Church • 1983: The Pleasure of Your Company by Models • 1983: Grapes of Wrath by Spear of Destiny • 1984: Red Sails in the Sunset by Midnight Oil • 1984: The Swing by INXS • 1985: Big Canoe by Tim Finn • 1985: Out of Mind, Out of Sight by Models • 1985: Over the Rainbow by Virgin Prunes • 1985: Waiting for the Floods by The Armoury Show • 1988: Bonk by Big Pig • 1990: Code Blue by Icehouse • 1991: Honeychild (album) by Jenny Morris • 1992: Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites by Talking Heads • "Popsicle", "Gangster of Love", "Lifetime Piling Up" • 1992: Uh-Oh by David Byrne • 1993: Earth and Sun and Moon by Midnight Oil • 1994: Peach by The Lupins • 1995: Example by For Squirrels • 1996: Amazing Disgrace by The Posies • 1997: Freak Show by Silverchair • 1997: Transmitter by Automatic • 1997: Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Subrosa • 1998: Feeling Strangely Fine by Semisonic • 1998: Freak*on*ica by Girls Against Boys • 1998: Vicious Precious (EP) by Primary • 1999: Neon Ballroom by Silverchair • 1999: Chronicle Kings by Earth to Andy • 2000: Consent to Treatment by Blue October • 2000: Stereodreamscene by Deckard • 2001: Roll On by The Living End • 2002: Androgynous Jesus by Must • 2003: Nocturama by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds • 2003: The Art of Losing by American Hi-Fi • 2004: Aiming for Your Head by Betchadupa • 2004: Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds • 2006: Nux Vomica by The Veils • 2006: State of Emergency by The Living End • 2007: Young Modern by Silverchair • 2007: Grinderman by Grinderman • 2007: Welcome the Night by The Ataris • 2007: Is Is by Yeah Yeah Yeahs • 2008: Diamond Hoo Ha by Supergrass • 2008: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds • 2009: It's Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs • 2009: Quicken the Heart by Maxïmo Park • 2009: Ignore the Ignorant by The Cribs • 2010: Grinderman 2 by Grinderman • 2011: Ornaments from the Silver Arcade by Young Knives • 2013: Push the Sky Away by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds • 2013: Mosquito by Yeah Yeah Yeahs • 2014: Himalayan by Band of Skulls • 2015: Coming Forth by Day by Cassandra Wilson • 2015: Freedom by Refused • 2016: Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds • 2018: Wrong Creatures by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club • 2018: Hunter by Anna Calvi • 2018: Joy as an act of resistance by IDLES • 2019: Scatter the Rats by L7 • 2019: Ride Again by Shakespeare's Sister • 2019: Devour You by Starcrawler • 2024 Cartoon Darkness by Amyl and the Sniffers • 2026 We Mean It, Man! by Gogol Bordello

• Plush (2013)