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How Do Multi-Hyphenates Approach Production?

How Do Multi-Hyphenates Approach Production?

Public Opinion
March 21, 2024

A Note From Jack

The last few weeks at Track Star HQ have been full on, “pinch me I must be dreaming,” weeks. We interviewed Hozier, Charli XCX, De La Soul, Jack Antonoff, and Nile Rodgers. We went to Iceland to make a documentary about first-time Grammy winner Laufey (coming soon). We spent a few days at SXSW, and I got to see the Black Keys perform a killer set way past my bedtime, AND we released the second episode of Presents with probably the greatest country band in the country. Also it kind of feels like spring is starting to spring, doesn’t it? Check out Quinn’s amazing piece on two of the greatest music producers to ever do it…

How Do Multi-Hyphenates Approach Production?

By Quinn Moreland

Track Star was recently blessed with the presence of Nile Rodgers and Jack Antonoff, who share the rare distinction of being acclaimed producers and leaders of their own band. While making disco hits with his band Chic, Rodgers was concurrently producing best-selling records for the likes of Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, and more. Somehow, this man has never been nominated for a Producer of the Year Grammy, which feels like a huge oversight that the Recording Academy seemingly acknowledged in 2023 by honoring Rodgers with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Antonoff, of course, is the category’s reigning champ having won the award three years in a row for his work with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde while also steadily making music with his ’80s-tinged band Bleachers. How do these multi-hyphenates approach production?

Crucial to this approach is Rodgers’ role as an artist’s emotional confidant, someone who can absorb an artist’s present and help propel them towards the future. Take Rodgers work on Ross’ 1980 reintroduction record, diana. Before entering the studio, Rodgers and Chic bassist Bernard Edwards met with Ross in her apartment and conducted interviews. Later, the pair used elements of these conversations as sonic springboards. Rodgers’ personal life inspired the record as well—now an LGBTQ+ anthem, “I’m Coming Out” was written after he encountered a handful of Ross impersonators while out on the town.

Antonoff’s approach to production is similarly artist-forward. In the decade since he worked on Taylor Swift’s 1989, Antonoff’s technical prowess and emotionally intimate approach to songwriting has made him one of the most sought-after pop producers. Unlike producers such as Max Martin or Dr. Luke, who write songs that are later paired with a vocalist, Antonoff’s songwriting process is deeply collaborative. “Other producers want to squeeze you into some mold based on what has worked before,” Carly Rae Jepsen once said of Antonoff. “He wants to hear you come up with something that’s never been done, something that could only come from your brain.” Antonoff once said that he begins sessions with a question: “What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?” While that might sound like an intense introduction, artists seek out Antonoff for this sort of emotional excavation. For many, it has resulted in long-lasting artistic partnerships built on trust, an increasingly rare quality in a hyper-competitive industry.

To that end, artists have sought out Rodgers and Antonoff for their passionate and active production attitudes. The results speak for themselves!