 He had expressed an interest in producing Everything but the Girl, and Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, feeling that they had lost their place within the UK music scene, contacted him and asked him if he wanted to hear some demos.He invited them to New York City, and then to Los Angeles, where they would eventually record "The Language of Life".Tracey Thorn performed lead vocals on the album, and Ben Watt played guitar and piano, as well as doing some singing.