Production Advice

The term ‘music producer’ means different things to different people. Some are musicians, some are engineers, some are remixers.

So what does a music producer do ? The shortest answer I can come up with is – they try to create musical alchemy.

I’ve identified seven distinct types of record producer – here they are:

1. The Engineer

Possibly most people’s stereotypical idea of the “classic” record producer – hunched over a mixing desk, obsessing about compression settings, reverb tails and drum sounds – the studio is their instrument, and they play it like no other, obsessively burning the midnight oil to produce their sonic masterpieces.

What many don’t realise is that although most producers nowadays have a solid technical knowledge, historically this was far from the norm, as we’ll see.

2. The Mentor

As a case in point, some producers don’t claim any technical expertise at all. Rick Rubin is a well-known example of this – despite being an audiophile in his own right, he doesn’t actually sit at the desk on the records he produces, but instead specifically chooses different mix engineers to work with on each project.

“Mentor” producers like Rubin instead focus solely on the artist’s intent, motivation and performances, coaching them to produce the best music they are capable of - by whatever means. Rubin for example seems to have a gift for freshly inspiring and invigorating artists and re-focusing them on their core strengths.

3. The Golden Ticket

Some producers seem to have a near magical touch – a secret formula that guarantees almost anyone who works with them success. Phil Spector with his trademark “wall of sound” was an early example, whereas in the 80s Stock Aitken & Waterman’s trademark blueprint for success was instantly recognisable.

Of course a distinctive sound is only a good thing if the producer’s style suits the material – witness Paul McCartney’s outrage at what Spector did with “Let It Be”. Dr Dre is a more recent example of a “golden ticket” producer – he is single-handedly responsible for the output of a vast swathe of  the biggest rap and R&B artists in recent years.

4. The Remixer

Many people think of the remix producer as a recent phenomenon, but it’s origins actually lie in the fusion of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s dub remixes with Tom Moulton’s extended disco mixes in the mid 70s. Artists like Grandmaster Flash pioneered the use of cutting and scratching, and midi and sampling took this to another level. Remixing has now become so much a part of the mainstream music culture that often the remix becomes the hit before people know the original song.

5. The Musician

Perhaps the least recognised but most fundamental skill a producer requires is musicality. A producer will contribute, comment and advise on songwriting, arrangement and performance – and many are also musicians themselves.

Some even play on the albums they work on – Daniel Lannois contributed guitar to U2’s Joshua Tree, for example; and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Horn played – well, nearly everything – on Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” album. Also a brilliant engineer, he even combined the two by practically single-handedly inventing sampling through his early experiments with the Fairlight keyboard.

6. The Artist

Some producers take this musicality to another level, though – by actually being the artist. The two ultimate examples of this must be surely be Prince, who rejoices in the credit “Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by Prince” on many of his albums, and the incomparable Brian Wilson – who on his masterpieces “Pet Sounds” and “Smile” somehow managed to equal and perhaps even surpass the musical achievements of all “five” Beatles put together.

7. The Bonkers Visionary

Some producers however simply defy categorisation – like Lee “Scratch” Perry, who some hail as a genius but others dismiss as certifiably insane ! Without doubt though he was incredibly influential – at least until he burnt down his extraordinary low-tech Black Ark studio in a fit of rage.

Joe Meek contributed to over 245 records, 45 of which were major hits, despite committing suicide at the tragically early age of 37, and not having any formal music training, or even being able to play an instrument. Somewhere along the way he became a key figure in the development of multi-mic and multi-track recording, as well as experimenting with largely home-made reverbs and compressors.

So, there you have the seven styles I promised.  Of course many producers span many or most of these simultaneously. In fact, this is so true of the very best producers that they simply can’t be pigeonholed, and achieve an entirely different level of production brilliance as a result.

So, I can’t resist adding just one more category:

The Godlike Genius

I’ve already mentioned several producers who I think deserve this title – Brian Wilson and Trevor Horn, for example. Brian Eno is another – simultaneously: an engineer breaking new ground almost by default (he invented “ambient” and “generative” music, and “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts“, his early 80s collaboration with David Byrne, brilliantly anticipates the sampling revolution to come); a musician whose playing effectively qualifies him as a band-member; a mentor in his innovative working methods, embracing mistakes and random elements; and a genuine “golden ticket”, as his work with Bowie, U2, James and ColdPlay (amongst others) proves.

Perhaps the ultimate producer for me though, is George Martin. A mild-mannered English gentleman, his understated and brilliant arrangements both enhanced and transformed the music of The Beatles into so much more than the sum of their parts, and earned him the title of “The Fifth Beatle”.

Meanwhile his enthusiastic adoption of the latest engineering techniques ensured that there are still very few ideas in pop music that he hasn’t already exploited. He mentored the Beatles, expanding their experience of different styles of music; his use of sound effects and multiple takes and arrangements (on “Strawberry Fields”, for example) surely constitutes remixing and sampling long before the terms were thought of – and he added bonkers visionary sound effects, inspired by his time working on The Goon Show !

The common requirement running through all these suggestions is musicality, and the ability to see the “big picture” while the artist focuses on details of writing and performance . George Martin exemplifies these qualities, and like all the names mentioned here he reminds me why I fell in love with recording, producing and mastering music in the first place.

Have I missed any important styles of music production ? Who are your favourite producers, and why ?


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