Elliott Smith completed the 15 songs on from a basement on the hill prior to his death in the Fall of 2003. from a basement on the hill was written, performed, produced and recorded by Elliott. He recorded these songs at new monkey, satellite park, audobahn recording, sunset sound, cherokee recording, fort apache, two beers & everybody sings, chateau brion, and Elliott's homes in Portland and Los Angeles.
from a basement on the hill took its final shape at the same studio where Elliott recorded much of the material on 1998's xo and its 2000 follow-up figure 8. The album features Elliott's final recordings compiled by his immediate family, Joanna Bolme and producer Rob Schnapf, who worked on three of Elliott's albums and did the final mix on from a basement on the hill.