Music Producers Roundtable With Ari Levine, RedOne And Alex Da Kid

Above photo courtesy of the L.A Times

This past Saturday (January 15th), I had the privilege attending a music producers roundtable presented by the L.A.Times - The Envelope at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live downtown. Ari Levine of the Smeezingtons, RedOne and Alex Da Kid were on hand with L.A. Times' Ann Powers as moderator, brought together in honor of the upcoming Grammy Awards in February.

All of the producers on hand presented their latest works to the sold out audience. Ann Powers was especially smitten with the Bruno Mars hook in the Smeezingtons' written song B.o.B's "Nothing On You" ("They might say hi and I might say hey").

The overall encompassing phrase of what it means to be a music producer in the 21st century is "Global Music". Moroccan born and schooled in Sweden RedOne echoed that phase often during the panel, as did his other music producer counterparts.

Ari Levine described the Smeezingtons' creative writing process as a jam session that eventually turns into a song. With drums, keyboards and other equipment around where everybody can jump in and add musical parts.

Alex Da Kid wrote Nicki Minaj's “Massive Attack” on a London subway on his laptop, while drawing inspiration from the electronica group by the same name. He also mentioned that Eminem / Rihanna's "Love The Way You Lie" was written with a $100 acoustic guitar.

Equipment each producer could not live without:
Alex Da Kid - Logic and Waves plug-ins.
Ari Levine - Akai MPC
RedOne - Guitar

None did reveal their secrets, but each producer did say something about upcoming projects they're working on.

Alex Da Kid is working with his new artist Skyler Grey (who is currently heard on the Diddy: Dirty Money's song "Coming Home" and soon to be heard Lupe Fiasco's 2nd single)

RedOne is working with new artist Porcelain who has an upcoming song with a Lil Wayne feature. Zander Black a self described cross between Jim Morrison and Bono and new artist Mohambi, all coming through his new label 2101 Records via Universal Music.

and Ari Levine kept his lips sealed.

Advice to artists out there who want to make it in the music business:

Alex Da Kid:
If you are meeting with someone (industry person) research them. The internet is a great tool, use it.
Judge the competition and do better, out do them.

RedOne:
Learn to write and play an instrument.

All the producers:
They like to work with an artist with their own true musical vision.
Have faith in what you do.
Make yourself stand out.

Although no technical aspects of producing music were bought up, we got a true sense of what it means to be in the music producer drivers' seat, driving pop culture. This being the first music producers panel sponsored by the L.A. Times, judging by the response and turnout, I think there will be more planned in the very new future.

Read the Los Angeles Times account from the event HERE

Akon Plucks Lady Gaga From Talent Farm Obscurity To A Global Phenomenon

via the Assoicatee Press spotted on barkbiteblog

Akon's done some regrettable things since making it in the music industry: Signing and unleashing the autotune-fueled artist known as T-Pain, dry humping an underage girl at a Caribbean concert and letting his fists fly at a fan in the crowd are just a few examples. But putting aside what you think about Akon as a person or an artist, the truth is if he didn't take a chance on Lady Gaga when many others had turned a blind eye to her, we might not be enjoying her new world order now.

A few years ago, Gaga was bouncing from label to label and Akon had closed the deal on his imprint under Interscope. He collaborated with Gaga in the studio and walked away incredibly impressed with her talents. He later told Jimmy Iovine of Interscope that he wanted to sign Lady Gaga to his label Kon Live Distribution. Voila! Before you can say "Ro-ma-maaaa!" Gaga was signed to a joint deal with Interscope/Kon Live music and put to work with RedOne on what would be her multiplatinum debut album, "The Fame." Akon explains his role in Lady Gaga's success in an interview with the AP.

Producer RedOne On 'We Are The World' Involvement L.A. Times Interview

L.A. Times: How did you become involved with the remake?

RedOne: I got a call last minute from Lionel Richie asking me to come up with a track for the song.

L.A. Times: Just like that?

RedOne: Yeah. It was like a dream-come-true kind of phone call, you know? He’s a friend of mine. He’s always been supportive of my music. He’s always given me advice on how to do things. He’s been like a big brother to me. So I got a call from him and Quincy [Jones, who produced the original single] saying I should do a version of this. I did, last minute. I was so nervous. I had nightmares. Thank God I delivered. The next day, we went to play the song for Quincy. There were a few people who tried different versions. But Quincy said, “Your version is by far the best.” So that was pretty nice.

L.A. Times: A huge roster of stars participated.

RedOne: Yeah. We recorded after the Grammys [where RedOne took home two trophies for his work with Lady Gaga], so that helped. All the stars were in town. It was an experience of a lifetime. The funny thing is, a few months ago, me and Lionel were at the same studio and he was telling me all these stories about the original “We Are the World.” About how magical it was … all these huge names in the same room. He was like, “Those things don’t happen every day.” I was listening like a little kid. The next thing you know, I’m experiencing it. … it was like the next generation. To be chosen as the producer from this generation to do it, it was incredible.

L.A. Times: What was the vibe like with so many big stars in one room?

RedOne: It was a nice spirit. This thing isn’t about me as a producer or the artists as artists. It was about helping Haiti. It was like how Quincy said, “Check your egos at the door.” Everybody was helping.

L.A. Times: How do you manage all those voices?

L.A. Times: In the studio, we had a few rooms. We didn’t have a lot of time. We had one day when everyone could do it. We were doing different vocals in different rooms. The choir, we did it live with everyone there.

L.A. Times: As a producer, what was it like to be part of remaking something that has such a huge legacy?

RedOne: I think that's why Quincy and Lionel asked me. They wanted someone current but someone who would stay true to the first one. Honestly, I didn’t want to change too much. I have too much respect for the original. It's such a classic. I kept the magic and the musicality of the first one and just gave it a little fresher sound for the audience of now, so the new generation could appreciate it.

L.A. Times: I’m sure you felt a lot of pressure taking on the project.

RedOne: Oh, of course. My God. The pressure was big. But having people like Lionel and Quincy -- the most humble people who were very supportive -- helped. They gave me directions. But it was a lot of pressure. I told you, I had nightmares. Thank God they loved it. I was living a dream.

L.A. Times: Did you feel the spirit of Michael Jackson that day?

RedOne: Absolutely. Michael was a charity person. He loved helping people. He loved it. He loved helping anybody who needed it. And, of course, the spirit of Michael was there with us. We felt his energy. And with what’s going on in Haiti, I mean, that’s why we were all there. Nobody was thinking about their ego. This was about Haiti. Like Jaime Foxx, he told me … Jamie Foxx came to me and said “Red, don’t worry about me. I’m here for as long as you need me. Do your thing. If someone wants to sing first, I’ll wait.” There was a lot of that. Good spirit and positivity.

L.A. Times: Did you ever think that you'd be working with Tony Bennett on a track? Or so many of the other artists?

RedOne: Right! There was Wyclef, Tony, Celine, Akon, Barbra Streisand. I would never have thought it was possible. It’s incredible. Just sitting with Quincy Jones and Lionel in one room -- it’s beyond comprehension. And it’s all to help a country. The main idea is to touch people’s hearts. To send a message: help, help, help. We tried to perfect our creativity to transmit that to people because music is the No. 1 thing that unites people. We just want to raise as much money as possible for Haiti. (source)