First before moving onto to the article/interview, we would like to say congratulations to Linkin Park! for reaching 10 million U.S. sales for Hybrid Theory! Read more about that HERE. Now the interview – a recent interview with Mike Shinoda, posted by Southtown Star, Mike talked about LIVING THINGS – how the band is comfortable when they made the album and how it’s more energetic. Shinoda then talks about producing the album and writing most of the demos, moves onto the electronic sounds from before and now and how the visual aspect is very important to the band. He then mentions that the band is very involved in everything they do, including social media, the last part is about LIVING THINGS reaching number one in the U.S. Read the full article HERE, the excerpt below:
LIVING THINGS

“With the fifth album, we looked back and realized we were comfortable with the whole journey maybe for the first time ever.


“Having been together for so long, we’re had lots of opportunities to second-guess what we’ve done or feel uncomfortable about ways we were portrayed at this moment or that moment, especially during the early years.


“We were young. There was a lot of stuff. There were rumors about the band and ways people took the band’s image.


“For example, the whole nu metal thing. We never really felt like we belonged in that genre in the first place. Every time they tried to shove that flag into our hands, we tried to effectively drop it.


“Coming back with this new record, we just really came to terms with all that stuff. In talking to the band, the guys really have a sense of humor about that era and about themselves.


“They are comfortable with themselves, maybe more than ever.


“With this record, you’ll hear a sense of all the things the band has done and some things we’ve never done before all smashed together into one album.


“It’s frankly the most energetic thing we put together in the last few years.”

Producing & Demos

“I make a lot of the demo tracks and bring them in and see what the guys think of the different ideas.


“I write most of the demos and then, as we flesh out those demos, I’m always kind of the hub of all of that recording and writing.


“With [vocalist] Chester [Bennington], just to give an example, he generally feels the most comfortable writing a vocal when it’s me and him.


“It’s not so much about the mechanics about that relationship. It is what our comfort zone is, and we made some stuff that we really love to listen to.


“By approaching it that way, it’s fun to do and we get great results that make great songs. We’ve done a lot of that.

Electronics and art

“At any given moment, we can say this song feels like it needs something. Let’s take it into a direction that feels fresh and unexpected.


“What random unexpected thing can we bring to the identity of the song that will keep it interesting for us and the fans?”


It’s not just about the music, but it’s also about the visual for Linkin Park, with disc jockey Joe “Mr. Hahn” Hahn directing several of the band’s videos and Shinoda lending his artistic flair to the group.

Hands-on

“Our approach is a holistic approach, The band is involved in everything we do,” Shinoda said of Linkin Park, which also features co-founders Brad Delson (lead guitars) and Rob Bourdon (drums) and bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell.


“Some people are used to some artists not even doing their own social media. You see tweets by them, but it’s not even really by them.


“When you see album covers, they didn’t have anything to do with it. For some artists, it’s even the songs themselves.


“Ours is the polar opposite of that. We’re involved intimately in every aspect of the band whether you’re talking about the buttons on the website [linkinpark.com] or talking about the production on the album.


“And clearly when you’re coming to the show, we’re very particular about the details of not only the sound but also the look. We started this look about two years ago with the idea of building upon it as time went on. We’ve been kind of adding pieces to this stage look over time and adding themed music, the visuals and what not. It’s been a work in progress.”

Hitting No. 1

“That was actually a really interesting story,” Shinoda said. “Maroon 5 was at our heels by only 1,000 records that week before the results came out.


“Before the final number was tallied, we were looking at it from the standpoint that [Maroon 5 singer] Adam Levine is on one of the biggest shows [“The Voice”]. He’s a huge pop star. They have a song on pop radio, a mainstream hit.


…


“I think it’s stuff like that that sets the Linkin Park online community apart from other bands. It’s not like you can just write it down as a formula. It’s got to be fluid. It’s got to be go with the flow and just know your fan base, be in touch with them and show them that you care and have a real relationship as opposed to some kind of marketing scheme.”