page_title: The Waterfall (album)
section_title: Recording and production
hierarchical_section_title: The Waterfall (album) / Recording and production
caption_attribution_description: English: A foggy sunset over Stinson Beach, California.
context_page_description: The Waterfall is the seventh studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. Produced by Tucker Martine and group frontman Jim James, the album was released on May 4, 2015 by ATO Records and Capitol Records. After touring 2011’s Circuital, for two years the band took a break before regrouping in late 2013 to begin work on The Waterfall, a process which took eighteen months.
  Much of The Waterfall was recorded at a hilltop studio located Stinson Beach, California, where the band rented seaside homes while recording. Many elements of the album—from its tone to the album art—are heavily indebted to the area and its nature. James mostly brought unfinished lyrics to the group to create a spontaneous development process. In addition, he suffered a back injury during the sessions that hindered its production. His lyrics, likewise, document injury, romance and heartbreak, and spirituality, but center most on renewal. The album's music encompasses several genres, including folk, R&B, and psychedelia.
  The album received favorable reviews from music critics, who considered it an improvement on their previous two albums.
context_section_description: The Waterfall was mainly recorded at Panoramic House, a hilltop mansion in the coastal town of Stinson Beach, California. The band felt the surroundings were "slightly supernatural," which produced a largely idyllic recording process. The group rented two houses on the seaside, and would "record during the day, then cook dinner together and walk on the beach." These long walks to and from the studio was "no better way to defragment your mind than to let it wander off in the air, up in the treetops and gliding along the waves," according to Blankenship. James found himself inspired and "hypnotized" by being able to view the ocean from large windows. He likened the experience to having their "own little universe" where they could simply make music and experience nature, calling the entire process a "beautiful experience." Their time there left them with a strong affinity for the area, and it profoundly impacted the album's tone; Blankenship remarked, "When I listen to the record it [...] sounds like a sunset out there."
  The band first began recording in late 2013, and took eighteen months to complete. For the album, the band reunited with producer Tucker Martine, who also worked on Circuital. The band approached creating the album with a sense of freedom, with the "mantra" being "anything goes, no stone unturned, it'll be done when it’s done." James wrote most of the songs on The Waterfall in the group's hometown of Louisville, but later noted that his time in Stinson Beach affected each song in spirit. James recorded demos of songs via voice memos on his smartphone to present to the band, but refrained from rehearsing songs to create spontaneity. The band would unwind from recording by their longstanding recording tradition: "late night DJ party/Nintendo Ice Hockey tournament."
  The sessions were marred by James' back injury, which he discovered while moving an amplifier. He spent three days in bed "in agony," before returning to record with the band. To record songs, James often had to lay on a couch. He considered the injury the result of "being unkind to my body" while on various tours. He eventually turned to surgery to repair his herniated disc, and following two months' rest, rejoined the group with more songs.
  While previous albums by the band were recorded to tape, The Waterfall was recorded digitally. This allowed James to splice together recordings liberally, sometimes harkening back to pieces he had recorded years before. In addition to the Stinson Beach recordings, the band worked on The Waterfall at Flora, Martine's Portland studio, La La Land and Removador Fun Ranch (James' home studio) in Louisville, and In Heaven Recording Studios. The sessions were fruitful, producing over 24 completed songs, enough to fill two albums. Consequently, the band planned to release a second album of material in 2016, although material for that album was incomplete at the release of The Waterfall. This was decided when the band returned to their hometown of Louisville to re-record "Big Decisions" and record "Believe". James felt it unnecessary to compile the two as a double album, instead viewing the two as very separate entities. The band eventually completed and released the second album in 2020 as their eighth studio album, The Waterfall II.
caption: A sunset on the shores of Stinson Beach, California in 2013, where the band lived and recorded.
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