Interview with Will Gosling (1984)
by Mike Bartram (from Country Club)

Mike
What exactly is your role as Big Country's engineer?

Will
An engineer's job is basically to bridge the gap between the producers and the band's fantastic concepts and the harsh reality of pratical possibilities. In other words they come up with idea of how they want something to sound and it would be my job to create the desired effect using the technology available. Of course it's rarely as clear cut as that. Since everyone in the band has had quite a lot of studio experience and Steve, of course, used to engineer himself, they often have a fairly good idea of how to get a certain sound and sometimes sounds will just come out of pure chance - we may be working towards one particular angle and stumble across something totally different which, although it bears no relation to what we originally had in mind, may sound great anyway. It's this open-mindedness which helps to create the originality of the 'Big Country Sound' - I suppose it's a sort of no-holds-barred sort of approach.

Mike
Do you feel the importance of your job is not really appreciated by people outside the studio?

Will
I don't think it's so much a case of my job not really being appreciated, it's more that most people who haven't spent time in studios don't quite understand an engineer's job. I'm sure a lot of people imagine an engineer to have a beard and to walk around in a white coat with a clipboard on his arm like in the old newsreel films of B.B.C. technicians. I think the fact that Big Country records sound good is really proof that the team works well. I'm not saying that if I wasn't engineering the records they make wouldn't be as good - but I'm sure they would be different.

Mike
On hearing a certain record, could you tell if the engineer has done a good job?

Will
Like all artistic mediums, I don't think it's ever possible to classify any recording as being good and another as being bad. It's very easy to say why one does or doesn't like a particular sound - but of course it's all just a matter of taste. I mean I've worked on records and been disapointed with my engineering and people have come up to me and said how great they thought it sounded ( and of course vice-versa). Having said that there are a few things that most engineers would frown upon or applaud - for example a bass that distorts and rattles unpleasantly and thus be considered a no-no but even then in certain instances this may be an important contributing factor to the sound of the record. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I can't necessarily say one engineer has done a good job and another hasn't but I can say whether or not I like it.

Mike
Are there any engineers you've got a high regard for?

Will
There's far too many to mention, but the people who spring to mind are Alex Sadkin for his Grace Jones stuff which has a sort of clarity and space to it unlike anything else I can remember hearing and whoever engineered "Thriller" by Michael Jackson can't be too bad. There's also people like Glyn Johns who's technical knowledge is immense (he's engineered and produced almost all the 60s-70s bands from the Stones to the Eagles and Joan Armitrading). I must just mention also Martin Levan who made a John Martin album called "Grace And Danger" which I think sounds fantastic and I always look to as a standard to aim for.

Mike
What other bands have you worked with other than Big Country?

Will
I started work ar RAK studios so I've done my share of RAK artists: a few Hot Chocolate and Kim Wilde records were my first adventures in the land of the engineer, but since then I've worked with Orange Juice quite a lot and I've just finished some work with their drummer Zeke Manyika whose solo album will be out soon, and also:- Bruce Foxton, The Adventurers, Care, Twisted Sister, The Pretenders, Thompson Twins, Danse Society and others too numerous to mention. Actually I find it very hard to remember what I've done - probably if I saw every record I'd ever worked on I'd be amazed.

Mike
"The Crossing" was recorded at the Manor and RAK studios, why the change to the Swedish Polar studios, was this move justified by the resulting material recorded over there?

Will
There were a few reasons for going to Sweden. There were some tax reasons which I don't understand for working out of the country, and we were originally going to work in a studio called Compass Point in Nassau in the Bahamas, but it was eventually decided that at the particular time of year we had to work it would be too hot to be condusive to artistic flow. So Sweden was chosen as Steve had worked at Polar before and been happy with the results and also I think there was the feeling that all the healthy fresh air and trees of Scandinavia could only help boost the Big Country sound. I think the fact that it was done in Sweden also helped by separating everyone concerned from the inevitable hassles of being at home or at least London. For a band like Big Country there's always a thousand people needing things done - pictures to be taken, interviews, meetings etc. and the fact that we were in Sweden meant that only the people with really important things bothered to interfere. So distractions were kept to a minimum and we were able to become immersed in the album in a way that probably would not have been possible in Britain.

Mike
You were assisted by Mike Nicolto and Steve Chase, was that the case with the new album?

Will
Assistant engineers are generally employed by the studios - basically they are trainee engineers. So by the time we were onto this album Mike and Steve were engineering themselves - Mike at RAK and Steve at the Manor. Of course there were assistant engineers involved in this album but not the same people. There was a guy called Kaj in Polar, Neal at the Roundhouse and a girl called Dana at RAK.

Mike
We've talked about your involvement concerning studio work, how about on the road? I'd imagine the pressures are far greater.

Will
Unfortunately I've never done any live work with the band apart from recording a couple of live shows on a mobile recording studio for various TV productions and the odd b-side. Althought the principles are the same live mixing is a fairly different art - balances vary from venue to venue depending on the size and acoustic qualities of each place and of course you've only got one chance to get it right. For this reason it's an exciting prospect and if I can find the time it's something I'd like to do in the future.

Mike
I believe you're moving onto production work, is that right?

Will
I've been co-producing Zeke Manyika's solo album on and off for a year and I've produced some Orange Juice tracks from their soon to be released new album. I've also had production work with Care and another band for RCA who are, as yet, unamed. But hopefully there are more projects on the way and if the Big Country album is a success it will no doubt help my reputation and my phone will ring ceaselessly for years with offers of production deals. It definatley feels like the next step for me now and I've been fortunate to have worked with so many good producers from whom I've learned a great deal. There is also the possibility of co-producing some film music with Stuart from Big Country, which I'm looking forward to immensely as I'm sure producing music for films adds another aspect to recording in that it has to work in conjunction with visual scenes and the mood of the music becomes as important if not more important than the actual melodies themselves.

Mike
Is that a big step and have many engineers made the grade as a producer?

Will
I would say that probably half the producers working at the moment have been engineers in the past and the other half are musicians, songwriters or hairdressers. It is a big step as it means taking on the overall responsibility of a project and it gives one greater control over how it eventually ends up sounding. I think it's very important to have a good technical knowledge of how the studio works so that you know exaclty what is possible and how to achieve it.

Mike
Steve Lillywhite is a very highly rated producer, did you learn a lot from him?

Will
Steve is probably the best producer I have worked with for several reasons. He has incredible enthusiasm for everything in the studio which inevitably rubs off on other people and inspires a great atmosphere in which to work. He has no limits to what he will try or accept as good. Sometimes things occur just by accident wich many producers would dismiss as mistakes just because they were not part of the original plan - but Steve has recognised that they has a certain quality - be it charm, humour or just a shock and such things often add character and a sense of spontineity to a track which one may not necessarily otherwise achieve. I've definately learned from everyone: bands, producers and other engineers and in that way I consider myself very lucky to have worked with so many talented people.

Mike
What are your own musical tastes?

Will
I could far more easily say what I don't like rather than what I do like. I listen to so much in the studio that if my tastes were not diverse I would never have lasted this long. I think working in the studio makes you far more appreciative of any records because you are trained to listen to so many different details that I often find myself liking something just because of the vocal sound or even the snare drum sound.

Mike
Good luck and thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

Taken from the Country Club fanzine Issue 10

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