{"id":624517,"date":"2026-10-08T16:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/624517\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T16:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:12:09","slug":"dhani-harrison-and-nigel-godrich-talk-dragonflies-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/624517\/","title":{"rendered":"Dhani Harrison and Nigel Godrich Talk Dragonflies: Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDhani Harrison<\/a> and Nigel Godrich<\/a> didn\u2019t set out to form a new band together. In fact, neither was particularly looking for more work when the project they call Dragonflies began. Godrich was attempting to move toward retirement, and Harrison was burnt out. But then a friend hang led to their new group and a self-titled album, deepened their friendship, and reinvigorated them.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis also happened kind of by pure providence,\u201d Harrison says when we meet up in Los Angeles following Dragonflies\u2019 first live shows and album listening event in late September.<\/p>\n

\n\tTheir collaboration came about fortuitously. Harrison had moved back to England in the fall of 2020 after spending 20 years in Los Angeles, where he worked with his band thenewno2<\/a>, released a solo debut, and composed music for films and television alongside bandmate Paul Hicks. But Harrison was finding the work unfulfilling \u2014 spending countless hours on multiple revisions for five-minute compositions to make \u201cmusic that no one\u2019s going to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe time was just adding up,\u201d he tells Rolling Stone. \u201cI was just thinking, this isn\u2019t even the music I want to make. And so, I kind of stopped.\u201d When Harrison turned his creative eye back toward \u201cmaking the music I wanted to hear\u2026 starting with the feelings that I wanted to feel,\u201d the result was his second solo LP, 2023\u2019s Innerstanding. \u201cI did a couple collaboration records with bands and world-music people that I wanted to hear \u2014 things like Bulgarian ladies\u2019 choirs or Tuvan throat singers \u2014 it was purely selfish to try and enjoy music again, because I burnt out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Godrich \u2014 renowned for his work with Radiohead<\/a>, Beck<\/a>, and Paul McCartney<\/a>, along with playing in Atoms for Peace<\/a> with Thom Yorke<\/a> and Flea<\/a> \u2014 was looking to step back a bit. \u201cI\u2019m not pursuing a career anymore,\u201d he says. \u201cSo anything I\u2019m doing is for pure enjoyment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continues: \u201cProducing is a lot of work, so it\u2019s got to be something that I really get something from. I was more into just, like, making music. There\u2019s no game anymore [in producing]. It used to be a lot more fun to sort of do those kind of things, and now it\u2019s a bit like, \u2018Let\u2019s go back to what I was like when I was a teenager, just get together with my friends and make music.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tHe rediscovered that sense of youthful fun again while working on Dragonflies, and it\u2019s evident when we meet at their old L.A. stomping grounds. Harrison and Godrich had just played two shows at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and the pair was still buzzing with how well the concerts went. The renewed excitement they found while making music together was contagious as they traded jovial banter the way old friends do.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDebi Del Grande*<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile they met about 15 years ago, crossing paths at shows and around town, this project drew them closer. It started when Harrison was working on what would become Innerstanding in the fall of 2021, alone and isolated in the English countryside in Henley-on-Thames after months of Covid shutdowns. He reached out to Godrich. \u201cIt was a time when everyone was trying to reconnect because we\u2019d all been disconnected,\u201d Harrison adds.<\/p>\n

\n\tShortly after that, they hung out at Harrison\u2019s studio, and Godrich invited him to his own Brixton studio. \u201cWe made something straight away \u2014 it was very encouraging,\u201d says Godrich.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile they weren\u2019t necessarily planning anything more Harrison says now that he was hoping that session would ignite the spark that it did. \u201cWhen my dad was young, it was like, George Harrison would join Eric Clapton with Delaney & Bonnie,\u201d he says. \u201cOr, you\u2019d get these crossovers like Derek and the Dominos, and amazing albums that would just be one-off things \u2026 People would be in each other\u2019s bands. Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Pieces would move around, and you\u2019d end up with these amazing collaborations \u2026 Suddenly Billy Preston would be in the Beatles or something\u2026 So I like it when that stuff happens, and I\u2019ve always felt like that never really existed in my generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tHe adds: \u201cI didn\u2019t really have my own gang in England. My gang was all in L.A. Nigel has a working hub that I kind of turned up at, and it was just like, \u2018Oh, this is like having a clubhouse again. This is a really cool feeling.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt Godrich\u2019s studio, they began building songs from tape loops, and it was productive and physical, as Godrich sculpted loops in real time. \u201cIt\u2019s really fun actually,\u201d the producer says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a very organic way of generating stuff very quickly. It\u2019s very fruitful.\u201d Harrison adds that his own style of studio work is quite different: \u201cMine is a lot more clicky, in a room by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGodrich likens his approach to inviting friends over to come and mess around in the kitchen. \u201cHe\u2019s the chef,\u201d Harrison says. \u201cWe just made a lasagna,\u201d Godrich jokes.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarrison mentions how it sometimes felt like a hip-hop session, with loops and beats and then writing and layering lyrics on top of it. \u201cOnce everyone\u2019s finished their lyrics, suddenly it\u2019s linear,\u201d he says. On the record, Godrich plays drums, bass, and keyboards, while Harrison plays guitar and sings.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDebi Del Grande*<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the live band, they recruited percussionist Joey Waronker, the Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi, and keyboardist Maurice Talbot. \u201cOnce we got a certain way forward, we\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, we should see this through,\u2019\u201d Godrich says. \u201cThis should be a band,\u201d Harrison adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThey also assembled backing singers because of all the harmonies on the album, some of which are provided by Godrich. \u201cI would never have ever expected to be in a band that had backing singers,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we sort of were like, \u2018This could actually really work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always hoping that I would be in a band that had backing singers,\u201d Harrison adds. Godrich responds, \u201cYou manifested it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThey also recruited composer-arranger David Campbell, a longtime collaborator of Godrich\u2019s (who is also Beck\u2019s father). \u201cIt\u2019s just something about his orchestration, his voicing. He\u2019s, like, the best on the planet,\u201d Godrich says. \u201cIf you add that element, it goes panoramic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTheir approach in the studio was a bit daunting at first, Harrison says, but it was also energizing. And while they\u2019re thinking about what\u2019s next, they are focused on enjoying their newfound band and savoring the experience. They released Dragonflies this fall on Dark Horse Records, the label George Harrison launched in 1974 and Dhani resurrected in 2020. Now, their next set of shows are during Pitchfork Music Festival Paris on Nov. 3 and Pitchfork London on Nov. 8.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was 100 percent out of my comfort zone,\u201d Harrison admits. But he says it was a valuable learning experience. \u201cIt\u2019s very humbling in a good way,\u201d he says, adding that working with Godrich gave him a new perspective. \u201cWhat do I know, what makes me happy, what do I want to do in the future \u2014 how can I improve my happiness levels by changing my method?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBut also as a friend, I want to make you happy,\u201d Godrich says.<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYeah, and same,\u201d interjects Harrison.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m gonna make you happy, and that makes me happy,\u201d Godrich says. \u201cThat\u2019s better than going to a pub.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dhani Harrison and Nigel Godrich didn\u2019t set out to form a new band together. In fact, neither was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624518,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[265240,156,157,111,139,265241,69],"class_list":["post-624517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-dhani-harrison","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nigel-godrich","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}