He told Pitchfork: "[It was amazing] to see such a snapshot of that time: you get to see [the musicians], warts and all... [We were] just saying what a shame it was that there wasn't anything that really felt as honest as that any more.
"[2] Godrich conceived From the Basement to capture "the true representation" of the artists' work without the pressure of television promotion or interference from presenters and audiences.
He wrote that he wanted to make "bands as comfortable as possible so that they can give great performances without the usual agony of TV promo which everyone has to do but no one seems to enjoy.
The first UK broadcast was on Sky Arts on 1 December 2007 and premiered in the US on Rave HD on 22 February 2008, followed by a run on the Independent Film Channel in the fall of 2008.
The first podcast episode of the series featured Thom Yorke performing songs from the Radiohead album In Rainbows (2007), the White Stripes, and a collaboration between Four Tet's Kieran Hebden and drummer Steve Reid.