The first speakers says: Linkin Park’s rap/metal formula has worked for them in the past selling 40 million records. They now return with a little different album, “Minutes To Midnight”
Mike: In the beginning we focused on the melodies and the sounds of the songs, just that took us over 12 months, in the past it would only take us a couple of months. When we recorded “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora” we were younger and looked for inspiration within us.“Minutes To Midnight” is a more mature album, now that we are wiser we looked outside of us and into the world.
Reporter: What I’ve Done is the new single, but there are other songs in “Minutes To Midnight” that are distant from the Linkin Park sound.
Brad: “ Minutes To Midnight” is our most various album. We even changes the recording process for each song, using different settings and instruments, I would say “Minutes To Midnight” contradicts itself between the contrast of each piece, its eclectic.
Speaker: The new direction was possible due to the collaboration with one of the best producers around, Rick Rubin, awarded for a Grammy in 2007, Mike Shinoda explains the necessity of having a producer like him.
Mike: After writing our previous two records we had exhausted that sound, and we could write that sound with our eyes closed. We were in need of something new, we were looking for someone who had already experience in changing the sound in an artist. Rick was definitely the person most qualified, he directed us towards new instruments and even showed us how to use them in order for us to obtain our goal.
Speaker: The recording process of “Minutes To Midnight” took about 14 months, but since “Meteora” came out, 4 years have past. This time was also used to launch side projects, such as Mike Shinoda’s “Fort Minor” , and Chester Bennington’s “Dead By Sunrise”.
Mike: Fort Minor, was a project that I began working on towards the end of recording “Meteora” and to the beginning of “Minutes To Midnight” , after 5 years of touring this time was used to recuperate ourselves , and I chose to go back to my original roots and listen to the music I originally wanted to make at the beginning of my career.
Reporter: In 2004, you worked with Jay-Z and did a mash up of some of your songs, with who would like to do this with in the future?
Mike: On our usual albums like “Hybrid Theory” , “Meteora” and “Minutes To Midnight” , we don’t like to do collaborations, but in between albums it would be interesting to work with someone. We have a long list of artists and genres we would like to experiment with.
