Record Producers

[EricMontreal22]

I admit I was mad she left Laurent, but the new album still has a lot of his sound (I guess that makes sense) and... isn't bad. I was impressed (but I had no expectations...) I don't like Moby at all, but maybe I don't mind him with other vocalists--though the most interesting tracks are the three produced by Darius Keeler from some UK act I'd never heard of called Archive.

What was enjoyable was how people claimed she was ripping off Gaga in her video for Mais Non. As much as it's obvious Gaga loves Madonna, etc, I am sure she must be aware of Mylene because her somewhat macabre imagery has always resembled Mylene more than Madonna, IMHO

Anyway this is the better of the RedOne tracks IMHO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLAj4hFCKlc

[Adam]

I've really come to enjoy Guy Sigsworth, especially following his collaboration with Alanis Morissette on her last studio record (Flavors of Entanglement).

[Toups]

I like seeing b-t-s stuff too. Thanks, Eric! Love Dr. Luke because like Kesha said, he creates awesome hooks, melodies, and catchy songs. Also, he doesn't need artists to have great voices to have hit songs. I think Christina needs to go see Dr. Luke to revive her music career.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Not that I'm necessarily a fan of her or them, but I think Stargate does what Dr. Luke and Martin do and do it better and with more creativity as well.

Rihanna will never have a good voice, but her singles aren't often interchangeable (like Ke$ha's can be), despite the majority of them being produced by Stargate. And the majority of her singles end up being huge worldwide and radio hits as well.

Stargate have shown a lot more diversity in their producing career as well as they can easily work with pop, dance, and hip-hop artists. I was hoping Britney would ditch the dated Dr. Luke/Martin stuff for Stargate...

[Sylph]

Which is what I find surprising. Y&RWorldTurner championing Stagate? To me they are very bland. I've just checked the introduction in the Wiki article about them, and voilà: the songs I associate them with appeared in the first paragraphs. It's Irreplaceable and So Sick. The article states they have no sound, that they're adaptable, but I always feel like they're twinkly, guitar-ish, piano & not to complex drums, just like in the aforementioned songs. It's just bland, but works, I guess. And it's somehow anachronistic to me as well, like a 90s or 80s sound a bit too polished and slick.

As for Rihanna, I love her voice. Especially when it's quite nasal and processed, just like in All of the Lights, from 00:14 to 00:28.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I am not championing them at all, but compared to the other producers hogging up Top 40/pop radio, I find them a lot more bearable than whatever Dr. Luke is doing for Ke$ha or Britney.

Their sound is not as generic and isn't always passed over from artist to artist, like Dr. Luke's songs can often be.

Rihanna's Only Girl and What's My Name? are very different from Beyonce's Irreplaceable for example. And both are different from Katy Perry's Firework (which Stargate did produce) and one of the few non-Dr. Luke Katy Perry singles.

They've done many songs with the sound you've listed (guitar-ish, piano & not to complex drums), but they've also done the standard Euro-pop sound, and a lot better than many of their commercial contemporaries I believe. There's a lot more diversity to their sound than many of the other producing teams currently scoring hits.

[Sylph]

I did, thank you! I love stuff like that.

[EricMontreal22]

I love Stargate's stuff for Alexandra Burke--not sure if you've heard it, but go back and forth on them in general. I'm not a big fan, but I do think Ne Yo has talent (and helped to usher in that whole hip hop meets dance sound that's so pervasive now...)--I know Ne Yo isn't officially a part of the team, but he might as well be.

I go back and forth about Dr Luke. I find his stuff infectious enough that if it's on the radio in the car or at work I don't mind (unlike much that I hear ont he radio) and might even turn it up (much to my horror if it's Ke$ha ...), he has undeniable talen for catchy, instant dance pop. But I think he might have to show he has a few more tricks in his bag sooner or later...

Still, like Sylph (and Toups) i love behind the scenes stuff like that, and it's rare that we get to see it on mainstream media--it still shocks me (though really, it shouldn't), how little many realize that the producer with this kind of music is arguably even more important than the singer... (Even when you hear RedOne's name shouted at the start of dozens of tracks, to use one obnoxious example--I hate "shout outs"). As for RedOne, I just read that Michelle Williams (who has had her dance CD on hold for over a year now it seems--I think she even released four or five singles from it in the UK LOL) is now working with him. Man he must be rolling in it by now... I admit I do like a lot of his stuff, as much as I hate a lot (and even have started liking his J Lo song despite myself--and the fact that it feels like Ibiza in 1995--maybe actually that's why I kinda like it), and his big UK hit for Nicole Scherzinger, Poison is a big guilty pleasure of mine - and was slightly surprised and impressed that he managed to do decent work with Mylene Farmer's sound (and I do love all five of his tracks for Alexandra Burke...)