RYAN TEDDER Can Come up With, and They’Ve All Been Do You Have Your Own Sound? Adele Written Or Recorded Before
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ISSUE #28 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #28 MMUSICMAG.COM PRODUCER What were the album's challenges? can adapt ideas from more underground Staying fresh without copying what’s cultures to help create a song to be current—that’s nearly impossible to do, commercially successful. especially if you’re a producer who helps create a lot of what’s current. If you walk away What’s an example? from a project for even nine months, your Maroon 5’s single “Love Somebody.” The entire cache of sounds and methodology original idea was inspired by Robyn’s can become outdated. It helps that there are electronic music—songs like “Hang With certain fundamentals of production that work Me” and “Call Your Girlfriend.” We loved the a lot of the time—tried and true techniques vibe, feel and the huge, emotional choruses. you can rely on. Another example is Adele’s “Rumour Has It.” That song exists because of Radiohead. I Such as? was a massive fan of their song “I Might It all starts with a chorus. I get the chorus Be Wrong,” and that was the inspiration sounding as good as humanly possible and Gavin DeGraw behind my work with Adele. So many hit then work backward. At the end of the day, songs come from a songwriter sitting in a the verse is going to be a broke-down version if you’re talking about acts like Arcade Fire, room and saying, “Man, I wish I could go of the chorus when it comes to drums and Elbow or Radiohead. Those rules don’t apply back and write Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your instrumentation. So I start with the biggest to more esoteric music. Eyes.’” Then they sit down with that song part of the song, getting the instruments in their mind, and what comes out could be as tight as possible and everything Do you try to stay current? something extraordinary that was inspired by in its right place. You have to be careful not to chase what’s Peter Gabriel, even though it may out there now. By the time you write or sound nothing like it. produce a song with that same sound and it gets pitched, placed, cut, recorded and How about from the new album? released, it will sound dated. Producers need On “Can’t Stop,” I’m basically channeling to be very cautious about that. You must Gabriel with the drums, weird synths and have an angle, something different. Either piano. The chorus is Annie Lennox—I’m a tudios S the song itself has to be extraordinary—and huge fan. Somebody in their 30s might apitol C then it doesn’t matter that the production is get those references, but to an 18-year- somewhat derivative—or you need elements old it just sounds new, and that’s all that in the production that are unique. It’s hard matters. M83 was also a big inspiration for to do, since we’re all dealing with the same the album, and we even incorporate one of equipment, software and instruments. There their songs into our set. are only so many notes that a human being RYAN TEDDER can come up with, and they’ve all been Do you have your own sound? Adele written or recorded before. A lot of the hits I had prior to the last Rock star, songwriter, hit producer—he does it all and makes it look easy two years were me creating my own What's next in the writing process? How do you deal with that obstacle? sound without realizing it. It was basically By Michael Gallant It’s about creating chapters. About every You stay inspired. I listen to a lot massive, percussive drums combined with four bars, I’ll introduce a fresh piece of of new music, and that keeps me on my the opposite end of the spectrum, which is TO CALL RYAN TEDDER A MASTER OF MUSICAL TRADES IS news in 2007 with the massive hit “Apologize.” Timbaland’s remix of the information. Even if it’s the slightest thing— toes. I always try to mine for new music, beautiful, super-emotive, ethereal, cinematic an understatement—the Grammy-winning wiz is an international tune pushed the song—and the band—into the international spotlight, like high-hat on the two and four or some and noncommercial music in particular. music. I loved where those two worlds rock-star-songwriter-producer phenom. Tedder’s most visible gig helping “Apologize” garner a Grammy nod. Timbaland had signed the indefinably weird sound—the ear picks it up. That’s where I find a lot of ideas. met, and I got there from years of listening is as frontman of OneRepublic, but pull away the curtain and his band to his Mosley Music Group label, which released their debut The result is this constant build, and then Regardless of whom you’re working with, you to Peter Gabriel. superstar production and songwriting credits are revealed. He’s album Dreaming Out Loud and another hit single, “Stop and Stare.” the chorus explodes. For the second verse, helmed landmark albums and penned hits for pop’s biggest A-listers, After recently releasing the band’s third studio album Native, you might reapproach things, strip the track including Adele, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Maroon 5, Leona Lewis, Tedder reveals challenges the group faced. “I wanted to create down to nothing and bring it back slightly. Adam Lambert, B.o.B., Kelly Clarkson, the Wanted, Gavin DeGraw, something new and inspiring,” he says, “but it’s difficult because But even in the second verse, I focus on Natasha Bedingfield, Wiz Khalifa, Hilary Duff and many more. we’re not Mumford and Sons. With those groups you know for the creating new elements of sound every four The son of a family of musicians and missionaries, the Tulsa, most part what their albums are going to sound like. But we’re more bars. And each chorus has a slightly different Okla., native graduated from Oral Roberts University and landed his of a moving target. Inspirations for Native came from everywhere, sound or percussive element than the one first record deal after winning an MTV singer-songwriter contest that from Muddy Waters to hip-hop to Peter Gabriel.” before it, so there’s a subliminal build from attracted the attention of producer Timbaland, who took Tedder under Musical inspiration in Tedder’s singular career also comes from first note to final chorus—and that final chorus his wing. It was during this period in the early 2000s that Tedder everywhere, whether he’s touring and recording with OneRepublic or is the apex. developed as an artist while writing and producing for other artists. writing and producing with an array of artists. Tedder spoke with us about Meanwhile, Tedder’s work with OneRepublic became national maintaining balance as one of today’s most cutting-edge producers. Does this apply to everything? Jeff Fasano, Ryan Tedder; Patrick Fraser, Gavin DeGraw; Alison Clem, One Republic Fraser, Patrick Jeff Fasano, Ryan Tedder; It’s more macro generalization of production. It’s the fundamental approach I would take ‘You can adapt ideas from underground cultures to help to any song in regards to radio. Although everything I’m saying can go out the window create a song to be commercially successful.’ OneRepublic 50 51 M mag 28.indd 50 7/2/13 6:15 PM M mag 28.indd 51 7/2/13 6:15 PM ISSUE #28 MMUSICMAG.COM ISSUE #28 MMUSICMAG.COM PRODUCER Maroon 5 Chuando & Frey ‘There’s a subliminal build from first note to final chorus—and that final chorus is the apex.’ Natasha Bedingfield How’d you write Beyoncé’s “Halo”? was pure panic. I locked myself in Germano How about Gavin DeGraw? My Achilles tendon had exploded while I Studios and worked on recreating the entire Gavin is one of my favorite singers, and he’s was on tour and I was put on bed rest. My track because I hadn’t written down the had some really good success, but he’s wife was out of the house and she’d warned patches I’d used or saved the settings. I overlooked and should be way bigger than me to not work, but I was getting antsy. I had to dig through multiple keyboards he is. He can pick up an acoustic guitar or called my friend Evan Bogart and said, “I and folders on hard drives to re-create the sit at a piano with nothing else and just blow have three hours at the house by myself. song from the ground up—and I did it in an everybody in the room away with his singing, Let’s write something for Beyoncé,” since afternoon. It’s infinitely harder to re-create lyrics and talent. It can take the two of us she’d hit me up a couple times and I wanted something than create it for the first time. forever to finish anything we start, but once to deliver something. He showed up, and the it’s done, it’s great. first thing I started playing was the opening What was it like working with a singer pad of “Halo”—that angelic-sounding, like Adam Lambert? Any advice for aspiring producers? atmospheric sound. Adam is one of the most authentic, funny These days most demos sound like final people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work recordings, so it’s important to learn how How close was the demo to the final? with.