Iconic rock ‘n’ roll producer Eddie Kramer has reflected on his working experiences with Jimi Hendrix, revealing that the famed guitarist had chromesthesia – the ability to see music in colour.

Kramer’s production career kicked off in the 1960s, and saw him work with artists such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, David Bowie, and the Rolling Stones across the decades. He was also instrumental in the creation of Electric Lady Studios, which was commissioned by and constructed for Hendrix.

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Speaking of his time working alongside Hendrix in an interview with The Globe And Mail, Kramer recalls, “Jimi and I had this instinctive connection. He didn’t talk about music in technical terms; he used colours. He’d say, ‘I need more purple,’ or, ‘Let’s add some green here.’ For him, reverb was green, distortion was red and each song had its own palette.

“It wasn’t just about notes or chords – it was about creating a feeling, painting a picture in sound. I haven’t really found that same language with anyone else. With Jimi, I’d just know what he meant. It was a kind of shorthand that made our sessions incredibly dynamic,” he states.

Kramer also shares that Electric Lady was Hendrix’s “creative home”, and in turn it reflected his ideas and his colourful visions of music: “The studio became an extension of his mind. He’d say, ‘I want the studio to be a place where the walls inspire music’… It wasn’t just about recording; it was about creating a space for music to happen.”

Earlier this year, a documentary about the studios was released titled Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision. It explores the creation of the studios from a Greenwich Village nightclub to the iconic recording facility it went on to become.

You can buy Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision digitally now, or find out if it’s heading to a cinema near you.

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