Recording Anxiety Quotes

When I'm in the studio, I like to be in there by myself because if I'm in the mike room, and I look out and see people talking, or they're not nodding their head or rocking to the music, it makes me feel like it don't sound good, or I'll be scared to really open up vocally because I might mess up, and they might be in there laughing.

I'm not one for sitting around listening to my own music, because I tend to cringe and think that I could have done better. I also suffer from red light syndrome quite a lot. I tend to narrow my thinking when the red light goes on to record. Instead of just relaxing and playing and emoting, I think of time being wasted so I won't take a chance on something. Consequently, when I hear it back, I think, "Why the hell did I play it so safe on that piece of music when I could have really opened up?" Well, it's because of not wanting to make a mistake.

I used to almost not look forward to recording, because it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to have to sacrifice?'

When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done.

'Storm' was the first song I did as a member of YG. The record gave me a lot of pressure. I didn't think I was prepared at the time.

Most of the time I like to start an album abroad, not at home, just to avoid the pressure, to not wake up and think, 'OK, it's the first of recording this album.' I like to avoid that.

I do have a huge problem, a huge problem. In fact, worse than watching is hearing. I cannot stand to hear my own voice. When it's coming out of my mouth right now it sounds fantastically interesting to me. It's rich in light and shade, it goes up and down. But when I hear it either on TV or even on someone's answering machine, I just sound like I've had half my brain removed.

Getting comfortable again and being in a vocal booth on the opposite end of the spectrum, when you're normally the one tracking the vocals, is kind of scary.

It was always difficult for me to listen to my singing voice for the first 20 years or so. I mean, I really enjoyed singing, and I enjoyed doing live shows, but being in a recording studio and having to hear my voice played back to me would really drive me up the wall.

That's why I've never made a live album - I can't bear listening to myself!

We were all kind of freaked out recording the first album because we didn't know what it would be like.

Artists tend to get this thing called demo-itis, and I'm extremely guilty of that.

It was always important to me that I made a record where I really sang well, and I don't think it's happened yet. There's always a possibility with each album that I might not record again, and I wanted to produce one that I could feel was mine.

I don't really like to be filmed.

On record dates like that I never felt too nervous because everything was really overdubbed. When we did that album, we were in the studio for probably a week, so you had a lot of opportunity to fix things.

I was always a little bit afraid because I found out at a very early age that once you make a record, all the mistakes and all the good things are there for eternity.

I don't know any people that like watching themselves. I prefer not to.

I still recall how nervous I was when I went for the recording of 'Guzarish'… When I reached the studio, all of them were there - Rahman, Aamir Khan, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and director A.R. Murugadoss.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I showed up for my first official 'Wreck-It Ralph' recording session.

I like when I have to act and direct; then, when you have to dub, you're by yourself in front of the wall, and I'm always scared that you're not good like when you are in real when you act.

Whenever I go into the studio, I'm like, 'Guys, we're probably not going to get an uptempo out of this!'

I did make a solo album in my house when I was there. And because I was just afraid of flying, I wouldn't promote it, and I wouldn't tour. Actually, it wasn't a very good album anyway - it got buried underneath the pits of Hell, I suppose.

If you are recording, you are recording. I don't believe there is such a thing as a demo or a temporary vocal. The drama around even sitting in the car and singing into a tape recorder that's as big as your hand - waiting until it's very quiet, doing your thing, and then playing it back and hoping you like it - is the same basic anatomy as when you're in the recording studio, really. Sometimes it's better that way because some of the pressure is off and you can pretend it's throwaway.

For any producer I've ever worked with, their toughest job is to convince me to not to obscure my vocals. A lot of people don't like the sound of their own voice on, like, cassette tape or something. It's like that for me, and other songwriters I know. Like, "Oh God, that's what I sound like?"