Re:Ghost Producing: What the EDM Industry Doesn’t Want You t...
by skrebbel on Monday June 24, 2013 @08:02AM
(#5932339)
Thing is, DJing and producing dance tracks are entirely different crafts. Somehow, when DJs playing other people's records achieved stardom, people started expecting them to release their own tracks, too. Some were good at it, but some weren't, so they hired someone else to help.
It isn't a very big problem, really, in my opinion. Most dance music fans can pick out the good from the bad anytime. An artist who consistently produces good records (acts like deadmau5, laurent garnier, and, yes, skrillex, come to mind, but there's a gazillion more) probably has control over what goes on in the studio. Ibiza deejays who have a dance chart hit or two, well, not so sure.
In fact, the amazement is a good thing. It means we expect dance producers to be original, the real thing. In other genres, most notably pop, we all expect the writing and composing and arrangement and everything else except the singing to have been done by anonymous, behind-the-scenes people.
As an example I was more amazed to discover that Take That actually write their own songs, than to find out that Afrojack hired a studio guy.
ps. As an interesting aside, great reading material is "The Manual" by the KLF[1]. Written in 1988, a big part of it is about how to get hired studio engineers and programmers to basically produce your hit record for you, without any necessary talent from your side. You just sit there and encourage them.
It isn't a very big problem, really, in my opinion. Most dance music fans can pick out the good from the bad anytime. An artist who consistently produces good records (acts like deadmau5, laurent garnier, and, yes, skrillex, come to mind, but there's a gazillion more) probably has control over what goes on in the studio. Ibiza deejays who have a dance chart hit or two, well, not so sure.
In fact, the amazement is a good thing. It means we expect dance producers to be original, the real thing. In other genres, most notably pop, we all expect the writing and composing and arrangement and everything else except the singing to have been done by anonymous, behind-the-scenes people.
As an example I was more amazed to discover that Take That actually write their own songs, than to find out that Afrojack hired a studio guy.
ps. As an interesting aside, great reading material is "The Manual" by the KLF[1]. Written in 1988, a big part of it is about how to get hired studio engineers and programmers to basically produce your hit record for you, without any necessary talent from your side. You just sit there and encourage them.
[1] http://www.kirps.com/web/main/resources/music/themanual/