I find the songs that have the most human components in production are the ones that will stand the test of time.
Any time you have a song that is directly connected to a very specific musical trend of the moment, you have immediately cut it off at the knees, doesn't matter if it goes to number one in the world, if you're too attached to a production style.
I listen to the far left which informs the far right. Somewhere in the middle is where we end up.
Just because a suit fits, doesn't mean it looks good. You need a tailor. You want to get bespoke.
I knew I could make money from songwriting, so how much and when was not really the question.
I have to shut down from other artists, because otherwise I end up giving them my stories.
I have to sing it every night, I can't get up on stage if it's some bullshit story.
I can go write an absolutely saccharine pop record with a really catchy lyric for another artist that could become a hit without meaning anything to me, but that's more the science laboratory, that's the other thing.
There is maybe a cynicism because of my past as a writer.
I'm in an odd position because I write across so many genres for so many people and they all influence me, and if I'm going to write as honest an album as possible, it's going to be layered.
The only thing contrived is the production - you can over-produce to the point you kill a good idea, you can under-produce so that the song's amazing but you'll have folks at a radio station saying they won't play it, so there's this balance, and it has to be true.
When life gives you the opportunity to check off a thing on the bucket list, you have to check them.
The difficulty in working with someone on a show like Idol or X Factor is they have an idea of what they think is cool in their heads, and it's important as a producer to maintain control of the session and not let it get side-tracked or chase too many rabbits. But it's also important to let the artist feel like their opinion matters, so that balance is difficult.
As for me, the only stuff I've ever had success with is when I'm trying to be completely original and not thinking about mirroring what else is out there.
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