Meet the Producers Behind The Record Of The Year Nominees
by Christina Lee
Earning a GRAMMY nomination for Record Of The Year is truly a team effort. The artist, producer, mastering engineer, and mixer must all work together to make sure the nominated song is not only impeccably performed, but flawlessly recorded. This past year was no exception. Here, we look at the producers whose golden ears helped the following songs earn GRAMMY nominations.
Adele — “Hello”
Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin scored his first Billboard hit 18 years ago as part of alt-rock band Geggy Tah. He has since played in the electro-lounge outfit the Bird And The Bee, as well as an experimental jazz solo project for Verve Records, and even as a sideman for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beck. Once he began working with Lily Allen, however, Kurstin became a go-to producer for female artists, whether they defined or bucked pop radio trends. (Past collaborations include Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Pink, Sia and Lana Del Rey.) By the time Kurstin started working with Adele for 25, she had just scrapped an LP’s worth of material. Yet with “Hello,” Kurstin helped Adele gain the momentum she needed to complete that anticipated third album; the moment they had an idea, Kurstin recorded himself playing guitar, piano, drums and bass while Adele wrote lyrics. “I thought I was on a roll, but I wasn’t on a roll. And then Greg Kurstin came to London, and we wrote ‘Water Under The Bridge’ and ‘Hello,’” Adele said. Kurstin is also nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, for his work on Tegan And Sara’s Love You To Death, among other recordings.
Additional contributors to “Hello”: Julian Burg, Tom Elmhirst, Emile Haynie, Greg Kurstin, Liam Nolan, Alex Pasco & Joe Visciano, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers.
Beyoncé — “Formation”
Beyoncé
“Formation” marks the fifth time that Beyoncé has been nominated for Record Of The Year. Her experience as a producer dates back to when she was in Destiny’s Child: She co-produced 14 of the 15 tracks on 2001’s Survivor, including the Stevie Nicks-sampling “Bootylicious.” On that same album, she even earned a solo producing credit for the gospel medley “You’ve Been So Good.” That take-charge attitude also made for a powerful statement; since Michelle Williams had just joined Destiny’s Child after LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Farrah Franklin left, Beyoncé wanted to show the group was still standing strong. Now, 15 years later, she surprised with the stacked credits for her second visual album, Lemonade, which featured nearly 100 collaborators. But those who worked closely with her attest to how, as executive producer, she still runs the show. Take Just Blaze, the hip-hop producer she enlisted for the fiery Kendrick Lamar collaboration “Freedom.” “She gave me the direction in terms of how she wanted it to feel, what she wanted it to sound like, the feeling she wanted the music to deliver,” he said, “and she’s the one who had the idea to come get me. That’s production in itself.”
Mike WiLL Made It
When first-time nominee Michael Williams was still in high school, he scored some of his first production credits — and his moniker — by handing Gucci Mane a beat tape. “Mike WiLL Made It / Gucci Mane slayed it,” the Atlanta rapper would spit. From there, the producer from Marietta, Ga., built his résumé with music made for blaring out of Tahoe trucks, using 808s, hazy filters and hard-hitting, textured drums. He produced for 2 Chainz, Future, Juicy J and Jay Z. In 2013, he turned those Southern hip-hop sensibilities pop when he produced the entirety of Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz. And he would take that same approach with “Formation.” While Swae Lee of rap duo Rae Sremmurd wrote the hook (“OK ladies, now let’s get in formation”), it was Mike WiLL who first envisioned this song having a larger cultural resonance. “That could be a big song for the females,” he thought. So he pitched “Formation” to Beyoncé — an artist who not only has long empowered women with her music, but, like Mike WiLL, has deeply understood Southern hip-hop’s crossover potential.
Pluss
Pluss started making music when he was a teen; he and Mike WiLL Made It were classmates who used to critique each other’s beats. Now, his individual production credits include Trey Songz (Trigga), Kid Cudi (Passion, Pain & Demon-Slayin’) and Rae Sremmurd (SremmLife). More importantly, as a member of Mike WiLL’s production team Ear Drummers, Pluss is also part of hip-hop’s collaborative, pop-informed present — a far cry from the one-producer, one-emcee standard that has been the norm. “When I first started Ear Drummers I was like, ‘I’m going to build a team,’” said Mike WiLL Made It.”I’m going to build a dynasty of people who are cut from the same cloth as me. People that…aren’t pigeon-holed in one box.” Years later, their work in Beyoncé’s “Formation” epitomizes all of what Mike WiLL envisioned. When Sremmurd rapper Swae Lee came up with the hook at Coachella, Mike WiLL called Pluss, who was in his native Atlanta laying down the beat’s rap-informed foundation, and talked him through this song’s concept.
Additional contributors to “Formation”: Jaycen Joshua & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer.
Lukas Grahams — “7 Years”
Future Animals
Morton “Rissi” Ristorp and Stefan Forrest make up Future Animals, a production-songwriting duo who have worked with Lukas Graham since the band’s still-recent beginnings. Ristorp was the band’s original keyboardist, before Kasper Daugaard replaced him in 2012. Forrest helped frontman Lukas Forchhammer write his first songs. Together, over several years’ time, these first-time GRAMMY nominees fine-tuned what became Lukas Graham’s sound — soulful pop rock with drums inspired by Dr. Dre’s 2001, one of Forchhammer’s favorite albums. Lukas Graham’s self-titled debut went quadruple platinum in its native Denmark back in 2012, before the introductory track “7 Years” broke out in America.
Pilo
Without newcomer and first-time nominee Morton “Pilo” Pilegaard, Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” might never have come to life. In 2014, Pilo revisited a “7 Years” demo that was recorded several years prior, only to be set aside. Originally, principal songwriter and frontman Lukas Forchhammer only sang the wistful ballad accompanied by a piano. But in the radio version that went quadruple platinum, Pilo samples a film projector to make Forchhammer seem like he is viewing a slideshow of his life. Pilo also featured the sounds of ticking clocks, vinyl playing and crowd noises, the latter symbolizing the folks who will be singing Lukas Graham songs 20 years from now. The band’s hopes for its music was to channel Aloe Blacc and Amy Winehouse; for it to be “organic, alive and real, but at the same time also to be able to compete with what’s on radio,” Pilo said. But thanks to Pilo’s hard work (the final version of “7 Years” features 65 tracks recorded over several years), that vision of Lukas Graham playing to crowds decades from now seems all the more possible. Lukas Graham is only the second group/duo from continental Europe to be nominated for Record Of The Year, following Daft Punk.
Additional contributors to “7 Years”: Delbert Bowers, Sebastian Fogh, Stefan Forrest & David LaBrel, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer.
Rihanna Featuring Drake — “Work”
Boi-1da
Boi-1da has produced recordings for the likes of Jay Z, Nas, Kanye West, and Eminem. He collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on his GRAMMY-winning album To Pimp A Butterfly. But his career-long relationship with Drake is what has set him apart. What ultimately became Drake’s third collaboration with Rihanna, after 2010’s “What’s My Name?” and 2012’s “Take Care,” is no exception. While fellow Toronto native Sevn Thomas created the basis of “Work,” it was Boi-1da who ultimately figured out what the instrumental needed to stand out. Boi-1da had producer Allen Ritter play a keyboard melody recalling the “Sail Away Riddim” by Richie Stephens — a dancehall staple since 1998. Not only was that riddim a callback to Boi-1da’s own heritage (he was born in Kingston, Jamaica, while Toronto boasts a large Afro-Caribbean population), but, with Drake favorites like Popcaan leading a dancehall resurgence, the cultural reference also felt right on trend at the time. Boi-1da’s instincts proved to be spot-on: “Work” is Rihanna’s 14th №1 hit, and resulted in the third time she has been nominated for Record Of The Year.
Additional contributors to “Work”: Noel “Gadget” Campbell, Kuk Harrell, Manny Marroquin, Noah “40” Shebib & Marcos Tovar, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer.
Twenty One Pilots — “Stressed Out”
Mike Elizondo
Before Mike Elizondo worked with Dr. Dre for 11 years, he was a metal bassist. The only reason why he didn’t join Linkin Park was because he had the chance to work with Eminem. His first GRAMMY win was for Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album. He reestablished this reputation with “Stressed Out,” the breakout hit by Twenty One Pilots that has charted on seemingly every radio format but country. The current iteration plods from a piano-based rock hook to an angst-ridden rap verse — part of principal songwriter Tyler Joseph’s (above) overall refusal to stick to one genre. Behind the scenes, Elizondo tweaked the song’s flow while maintaining its rebellious spirit. “It was a song that, when they brought it in, had just certain sections that were in different places,” Elizondo said. “I’m like, ‘What if we took this here and tried that there?’ and they were open to that. I feel that our collaboration, in making sure the pieces [fit], are what allowed it to be improved.”
Tyler Joseph
As the voice and brains behind first-time nominees Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph has never been one to play it safe: A demo he recorded years ago, before drummer Josh Dun joined the band, features a remix of opera singer Andrea Bocelli’s “Time To Say Goodbye,” complete with a rap. “If you want to transition from a hip-hop verse to a rock chorus to a techno pre-chorus or whatever it is, you have to make those transitions feel right. And at first they aren’t going to feel right,” Joseph said. The vaudevillian “Stressed Out,” from Twenty One Pilots’ fourth album Blurryface, begins with Joseph doubting his own capabilities as a musician (“I wish I found some better sounds no one’s ever heard / I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words,” he sings). Yet, he delicately balances his anxious verses with piano-pop punch and a rap breakdown. “Stressed Out” is also proof of how Joseph’s hard work — OK, and impatience for any song that is consistent throughout — has paid off. Prior to earning two GRAMMY nominations, “Stressed Out” was certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA.
Additional contributors to “Stressed Out”: Neal Avron & Adam Hawkins, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer.
Christina Lee is a music writer living in Atlanta. Follow her on Twitter.
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