MAKING OF THE ALBUM: Beastie Boys – Ill Communication

In the twelve years since their first release, Beastie Boys had evolved from a hardcore punk group from the streets of Brooklyn to one of the most successful and acclaimed hip hop artists of all time. Whilst still most known for the camp rock anthems (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) and No Sleep till Brooklyn, the trio had begun to experiment with different sounds on their subsequent albums, with 1992′s Check Your Head proving that the group had matured and developed. Their fourth – and many would argue their finest – effort would come two years later and would see them once again work alongside Brazilian producer Mario Caldato, Jr. (who had worked with Beastie Boys since 1989′s Paul’s Boutique, with their debut having been produced by Def Jam’s Rick Rubin).

Following an extensive tour in support of Check Your Head, the band had a brief a short break before returning to the studio in mid-1993 to commence work on their next album, Ill Communication. This would mark their first recording sessions in New York since their debut album almost a decade earlier and the group retreated to Tin Pan Alley with Caldato, Jr. Unlike many hip hop albums that were recorded without real instruments, Beastie Boys were themselves accomplished musicians, with Michael Diamond (MIke D) a drummer, Adam Yauch (MCA) a bassist and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock a guitarist). They would also be joined during their sessions by a violinist, percussionist and keyboardist.

One of the first to be recorded was the track Sabotage – a three-minute punk rock track that was born from various jams as an instrumental number and would eventually be released as the lead single from the album – although it would prove to be one of the last songs to be completed during the sessions. Having made friends with Jonathan Davis, better known as Q-Tip from hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, he was invited into the studio to perform vocals on the track Get it Together, which he had also co-written with the band. Once all the instruments were recorded for the album, they relocated to Los Angeles to perform the vocals at G-Son Studios, a facility that they owned in Atwater Village, where they would also mix the material.

Sabotage was released in late January 1994 and, aided by a tongue-in-cheek promo video directed by rising filmmaker Spike Jonze, would land in the Top 20 in both the UK and US. Ill Communication followed on May 23rd and became their most acclaimed album to date, producing three further singles that would become fixtures of MTV and alternative radio stations; Get It Together, Sure Shot (also directed by Jonze) and Root Down. Critics would applaud the band for their experimentation, particularly on tracks such as Bodhisattva Vow, and the range of styles that the album offered. Ill Communication would eventually be certified multi-platinum in North America and Gold in Britain and, aside from a few low key EPs (including the hardcore Aglio e Olio), would be their last major release until Hello Nasty four years later.