Mark Ellis (record producer)
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Mark Ellis a.k.a Flood, is one of Britain's most acclaimed post punk/alternative rock record producers. Some of his biggest collaborations include The Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Erasure, Curve, Anna Domino, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and P.J. Harvey. He is most well-known for his cutting-edge electronic sound, which seamlessly blends synthetic and organic elements.
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Biography
Not much is publicly known about Flood's personal life.
Career
Flood's music career began in the late 1970's. He started on the very bottom as the bassist for The Lambrettas. In 1978, he got a job as a runner at London's Morgan Studios.
In 1981, Flood went on to work solo, scoring his first major studio project as an assistant engineer on New Order's debut Movement. He went on to work alongside Soft Cell, Psychic TV, and Cabaret Voltaire before helming his first true production project with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on The Firstborn is Dead and Kicking Against the Pricks and with Erasure on Wonderland and The Circus.
1987 saw Flood's first big commercial break when he engineered U2's The Joshua Tree alongside producer Brian Eno. From there, he worked with Nine Inch Nails on Pretty Hate Machine, Depeche Mode on Violator, and Pop Will Eat Itself on This is the Day, This is the Hour, This is This. He then went on to work again with U2 on Achtung Baby.
In 1993, Flood graduated from engineering U2's albums to producing them, sharing duties with Brian Eno on Zooropa. In 1994, he worked again with Nine Inch Nails, this time on the ground-breaking The Downward Spiral; this same year he also reunited with Depeche Mode on their Songs of Faith and Devotion album.
1995 put Flood with two new bands, The Smashing Pumpkins for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and PJ Harvey for To Bring You My Love - albums that were smash hits that year. Shortly thereafter, he assisted producer Nellee Hooper on The Sneaker Pimps's Becoming X.
In 1997, Flood teamed up with U2 once again to produce Pop.
Since Pop, Flood has kept a low profile, only resurfacing in 1998 to assist Billy Corgan and Brad Wood on The Smashing Pumpkins's Adore and co-produce PJ Harvey's album Is This Desire?.
Random Facts
- According to pop-legend, Flood acquired his nickname at Morgan Studios because, unlike the other intern (nicknamed "Drought"), Ellis kept everyone's tea cups filled to the brim around the clock.
- Although his signature instrument is the Kurzweil K2000 series, he's known for using all sorts of instruments in the studio.
References
- Ackney, Jason. Flood. Music.com. 18 June 2004. Accessed 12 April 2005. [1] (http://music.com/person/flood/1/).
- Beyda, Adam. Flood. Interview with Mark Ellis, excerpted from Music Producers. 2nd Edition. Accessed 12 April 2005. [2] (http://www.sibcorp.com/writehitsongs/flood1.html)
External links
- http://www.sibcorp.com/writehitsongs/flood1.html
- Flood biography on artistdirect.com (http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,431181,00.html?artist=Flood)
- http://www.depechemodeitalia.com/profili1.htm (Italian)