Record producer

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A record producer (or music producer) is a person who takes charge of a recording session, in the same kind of way that a movie director is in charge of filming movies. Record producers help musicians and recording artists to make singles and albums.

[edit] Famous Record Producers

• Steve Albini is known for producing music for independent ("indie") and alternative rock bands, including an album for Nirvana and the Pixies. Many of the bands he produces are considered "underground music", because they are not signed to a large record label, they are not advertised on TV or played on the radio, so they reach a smaller audience. He is different from most popular music producers, because he doesn't try to create a smooth and popular sound. Instead, he usually records the band as they sound when playing a concert live. As a result, his recordings sometimes have rough edges. This inspired the "lo fi" (low fidelity) movement. Albini didn't even want to officially call himself a producer, but a "recordist", just someone who records. He wanted to be true to the sound without changing it too much using modern tools.
• Dr. Dre is known for his own rap music, produced by himself, and also for producing the music of Eminem. Dr. Dre left the rap group N.W.A. in the early 1990s. His first solo album introduced a new sound to rap music, which he called "g-funk". Dr. Dre's style of production was based on synthesizers and funky bass lines, and it became much more popular with the general public than any previous rap music. By the end of the 1990s, "old school hip-hop" was gone. His style of "gangsta rap" had changed the way hip-hop music sounded, and inspired the sound of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, although he did not produce their music. His greatest success came with Eminem. He "discovered" him, produced his music and introduced him to the public. Eminem became the first popular white rapper, and then the biggest selling rapper of all time. The success of Eminem's 2000 album produced by Dr. Dre was a watershed moment for rap, and from then on it would be the most popular form of popular music.
• Brian Eno is known for producing music for U2, David Bowie and Talking Heads. He worked with the younger producer Daniel Lanois sometimes on producing U2 music, and the U2 albums produced by Eno sold many copies and also won awards. Brian Eno was a member of the groundbreaking "glam rock" band Roxy Music in the 1970s. After leaving the band he helped invent "ambient music". Ambient music is more about an atmosphere, instead of having a melody or a rhythm like most music. Brian Eno was also influential on "art rock", which can describe bands and singers who try to experiment with different sounds and lyrics instead of making typical rock songs. Some of the music of David Bowie and Talking Heads was considered to be like this.
• Boyce and Hart
• Hugo and Luigi
• George Martin is known for producing almost all of The Beatles' music in the 1960s. He was trained as a classical musician. Because of this, he was able to write the parts for orchestras and other instruments that accompanied the rock band on some of their songs, like a string quartet on "Yesterday". George Martin's production was so important to the Beatles that some people considered him like an extra member of the band. The sounds he added were sometimes beautiful, sometimes strange, and sometimes different and more complicated than other popular music at the time, also making new use of stereo sound. Rock n' roll music usually just had guitars, bass guitar, and drums, but sometimes Martin and the Beatles added piano, Indian instruments (like the sitar), and brass bands. They could also reverse or stretch the tape they recorded on and cut it up to manipulate the sound. As a result of George Martin's influence, popular "rock music" after the Beatles became different from the more simple electric guitar music like "rock n' roll" and "rhythm and blues" that came before the Beatles. The Beatles are often considered the best rock band of all time partly because of Martin's work. After the band broke up in 1970, he had a long career producing other music and he sometimes worked with Beatles members, but he never achieved the same success again.
• Mickie Most
• The Neptunes are a team of two producers, Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams. They have produced many successful pop music and hip-hop (or rap) hits, mostly in the 2000s, for artists such as The Clipse, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg and Britney Spears. The Neptunes have also won awards, and they been called innovative and original producers by many music critics. Sometimes the songs they produce are not considered well written or successful, but they do not usually write the songs, just produce them in a distinctive way. Pharrell has also had a solo career singing his own songs, and The Neptunes have released albums of their own music. First they formed the hip-hop/rock band N.E.R.D., but later they just called their music The Neptunes.
• Rick Rubin is known for producing music for Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira and System of a Down. He has also produced music for many other acts in the pop, rock, country, and heavy metal genres. However, he got his start producing hip-hop music when he started the record label Def Jam with Russell Simmons. It later grew into a large company, and Rubin left to focus more on producing with his new label American Records. Rick Rubin is most famous today for bringing the country music star Johnny Cash back to the attention of the public and inspiring him to record music again. Rubin produced the music in a more simple way, sometimes just one guitar and Cash's voice. He also inspired the singer to record versions of songs by other artists from different genres of music. He made 5 albums with Johnny Cash, the last ones of Cash's lifetime. Rick Rubin's producing job with the popular band Red Hot Chili Peppers has lasted even longer. He is credited with getting a very agressive and loud sound on CDs.
• Phil Spector is known for producing Ike and Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, the last album put out by The Beatles, and many popular "girl groups" in the 60s, like the Ronettes and The Crystals. Spector invented the idea of a "wall of sound", which was a way of producing so that every space in the recording was filled with music. Phil Spector tried to design the music he produced so that it would sound good on cheap portable radios, as well as on the most expensive stereos. He has sometimes been called the best pop music producer of all time, but his career ended quite young. After years of retirement, in 2003 he was charged with murder.
• Timbaland is known for producing popular rap, pop and R&B music, mostly in the 2000s. His hits have included Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott and Brandy. Like other hip-hop producers such as The Neptunes, Timbaland is more responsible for writing the music of songs, which is usually electronic or takes a "sample" of another song and repeats it. Some rock music producers focus more on changing the sound created by a band, than on inventing the sound themselves. On the other hand, some rappers and pop singers will rely on their producer to create the entire "beat". Timbaland's style of beats is considered very original and among the best in the music industry by many.