Diving into the Mind of a Grammy Nominated Producer: A Conversation with Tyler Chester
Producer, composer, musician, renaissance man
Tyler Chester has been a producer for top artists such as Grammy Award-winner Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Switchfoot, Andrew Belle, and so many more. He’s also toured and recorded with a whole slew of household names too numerous to list here.
As seen in his formidable resume, Tyler is a sound wizard, coaxing superlative work out of songwriters and musicians. What better brain to pick than someone who has influenced some of the most consequential artists today?
Without further ado, let’s get into our conversation with Tyler…
What are your top 5 most important records for production influence?
In some ways, this is a really tough question! I think a really important part of being a musician/producer/songwriter is consuming a lot of music, and of many genres. It’s like studying to become fluent in a language. And as such, my favorites shift from time to time.
So my non-exhaustive list, in no particular order, as of today!, might be…
Ethiopiques Vol.4
Achtung Baby — U2
Exile on Main Street — Rolling Stones
Wrecking Ball — Emmylou Harris
At Town Hall- Nina Simone
Have you ever had a spiritual/mystical/religious experience while listening to or playing music?
I think I have a religious experience any time I’m playing music well or creating something true. If I’m really in a good head space, and have been able to shepherd in a spirit of trust and openness between everyone in the room, recording or playing music is like a meditation. And I can’t shake that incredible feeling that comes from recording with a group of people. Everyone focused on the same thing, the takes becoming almost a ritual, even a sacrament in some way. Lingua Franca. God/beauty/justice/kindness/truth flickering into the space between us for a few minutes like a mystical flame.
At least on a good day!
How do you know when a song is finished?
I used to romanticize this a bit, and wouldn’t think a song was finished until it made me cry or jump out of my chair and punch a wall (figuratively speaking). Sometimes, though, a song is better served living in a space of less intense emotional reaction. Sometimes you just want a bop, you know? My general, but unpopular, opinion might be that the song is done a lot sooner than you allow yourself to believe it is. Or so far from done you’ll never get there.
Which is worse: an out-of-tune piano or singing under pitch?
Out of tune pianos can be so beautiful! And singers with any skill at all only sing under pitch if they can’t hear themselves properly. Relative pitch, anyway, is an arbitrary term. Whitney is sharp on ‘I will always love you’, Sinatra is often flat, Morrissey and Liam Gallagher are sharp all the time… and I wouldn’t change a thing. Focus on tone, not pitch (both for voice and piano). And all will be well!
Tell us about “demo-itis,” (getting too attached to a demo and not wanting to make needed changes)
My cure for demo-itis is… don’t make demos! iPhone voice memos at best. Even that’s risky sometimes.
What advice would you give to a young artist about to record their first album?
Have fun, make something you like, understand the whole process as a great education, and move through the process with some haste so that you can start to get your head around the music that will come next.
Zombie Apocalypse Band: Who are the last four musicians left on earth who could keep music alive?
Such a person has never existed. The human expression of music as we know it could fade into the dusty wastebin of time, and yet another joyful and mysterious song would rise up almost immediately from the mouths of the remaining.
-Tyler
‘as the spirit wanes the form appears’- Bukowski
Tyler Graham Chester is a multiple Grammy-nominated producer, session musician, multi-instrumentalist, and composer, who spends most of his time nowadays in the studio producing and playing on records.
Visit Tyler’s website here:
Listen to music Tyler has worked on here:
Thanks for reading!
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-Jen
