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AG

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Behind The Board: AG behind-board-ag-connecting-vocal-breaking-sync-more

Behind The Board: AG On Connecting With The Vocal, Breaking Into Sync & More

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The songwriter/producer/mix engineer also talks about how music saved her life, why music for picture is more artist-driven than the industry realizes, and some of her favorite projects
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 23, 2020 - 3:55 pm

"Any song that I hear...  it's the vocal," said songwriter/producer/engineer AG from her studio in Los Angeles. "That's the point of entrance for most people. If an artist can get though that and if I can help them arrive at an incredibly honest vocal that will connect with people, that, to me, is the whole ball game."

AG has applied her vocal-first approach to an impressive catalog of work, including collaborations with Larkin Poe, Snow Patrol, Natalie Imbruglia, Deap Vally, Aloe Blacc, KYGO, Robert Delong, Warpaint, MORGXN and more, plus a long list of syncs and in-episode song placements.  In the latest edition of Behind The Board, AG talks about how music intervened in her life just in time.

Behind The Board: AG

"Early on I realized that music was going to save me, and it has saved me so many times in my life," she said. "I always knew I was kinda different for many reasons, and I think that music was where I always felt like I belonged, so i was like, 'if I don't do this, I'm going to die [laughs]... I have to figure it out because this is what I know I'm meant to do, and I just have to figure out how I'm going to make money.'" 

AG was able to foray her skills into music for tv/film, a move many music makers attempt though few succeed. As a woman in the industry, AG recognizes the margin for error was even smaller. 

"I sort of fell into the sync world, and I just had a knack for it," AG said, adding, "Granted, I had to get good at it very quickly, because women don't have permission to suck."

Drawing upon her expereince and success in music, both as making her own and working with a wide array of different artists, AG carved her own lane i the sync world, recognizing that, even in the world of sync, there are certain artists who have a sound that naturally lends itself to syncing to picture. Her work can be heard in trailers for films and shows such as "The Handmaid’s Tale," A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Highwaymen, ad campaigns for brands such as Cadillac, Guess, Ford, and the Olympics, in television shows including "Grey’s Anatomy," "Riverdale" and Blacklist" and in films such as Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and The Last Witch Hunter.

Watch the video above to hear AG discuss some of her favorite projects, including collaborations with Christina Perri, MILCK and more.

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Behind The Board: Jozzy On "Old Town Road," Learning From Her Mentors Timbaland And Missy Elliott & More

GRAMMYs

Tainy

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Behind The Board: Tainy behind-board-tainy-traces-his-path-selling-his-first-beat-working-j-balvin

Behind The Board: Tainy Traces His Path From Selling His First Beat To Working With J Balvin

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The GRAMMY-nominated producer talks about growing up surrounded by music, his journey into a studio career and collaborating with some of music's biggest names
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Apr 13, 2020 - 3:26 pm

GRAMMY-nominated Puerto Rican producer Marco “Tainy” Masís has played a key role in the continued explosion of reggaeton and Latin pop around the globe through his work with J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Wisin & Yandel, Anuel AA, Arcangel and more. In the latest episode of Behind The Board, Tainy takes us through his career's journey, how he got his start and some of the keys to his massive success.

Behind The Board: Tainy

 

"Music is a part of every house," Tainy said of his musical beginnings. "I  was growing up, reggaeton was starting to boom."

Tainy, called "one of the architects of modern reggaeton" by Rolling Stone, quickly became part of the movement. His childhood friend Josias de la Cruz, known as the producer Nely, introduced him to FL Studio and eventually to Francisco Saldaña and Víctor Cabrera of the production duo Luny Tunes.

"Even when I started to do music, I never knew this was going to by my career," he recalled. "I used to draw a lot, so that's what I thought I would eventually be doing. I'd be an architect or an artist. I was in love with music but I never knew how to create it."

Tainy began to pickup the tricks of the trade from his heroes while developing a sound all his own. Once he sold his first beat, he began to realize this was something he could excell at, and his career has come a long way from pitching packs of his beats to collaborating from the beginning of a project with some of music's biggest names. 

"[With] Balvin, it was a totally different experience for him to sit down beforehand and say, 'Okay, this is my vision. This is what I want to do. I want to try these sounds,'" he said of the formative expereince. "Giving us all those ideas and see how can we make this into music. Having him trust us with that input helped me grow as a producer."

Tainy was nominated for his first career GRAMMY nomination, a nod in the Record Of The Year category, for his production work on "I Like It," the star-studded smash hit by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Reflecting on his success, Tainy talked also about how he incorporates what inspires him with his own ideas and what makes a great record.

"I think I understood, 'Okay, I have something that's me. Nobody else can be this or do this,'" he said. "All of these influences that you have will create something different eventually.. You're learning from them, taking different pieces to create something totally different."

Hear more from Tainy in the video above and stay tuned for more episodes of Behind The Board. 

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Behind The Board: Joel Little On Working With Lorde, How Vans Warped Tour Inspired Him & More

GRAMMYs

Joel Little

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Behind The Board: Joel Little behind-board-joel-little-working-lorde-how-vans-warped-tour-inspired-him-more

Behind The Board: Joel Little On Working With Lorde, How Vans Warped Tour Inspired Him & More

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The GRAMMY-winning producer/songwriter talks though his path of starting a band, a record label and a successful studio career
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Apr 6, 2020 - 2:44 pm

New Zealand-born producer/songwriter Joel Little's career took off when he co-wrote and produced Lorde's 2013 smash hit, "Royals." But as with any successful professional, the journey began long before the accolades rolled.

Behind The Board: Joel Little

A guitar player since age 13, Little's road to a career in music started with Vans Warped Tour in 1998, where everything changed. He started taking the idea of forming a band seriously after seeing that show, and went on to form pop/punk outfit Goodnight Nurse in Auckland in 2001.

On the side, he started a label with his Goodnight Nurse bandmate, Sam McCarthy, and found some early success working behind-the-scenes on music. He setup a recording studio, and one of the first artists who came in to work there was Lorde. Little earned a GRAMMY win for Song Of The Year and another nomination for Record Of The Year for his work on "Royals."

In the latest episode of Behind the Board, Little shows us around his current setup, and talks about what works for him as a producer/songwriter. To Little, it's not about his ego or imposing his influnce into the process.

"I shouldn't be trying to force myself on the song," he said. "I'm there to help [the artist] say what they want to say."

He aslo recounts the best advice he's ever recieved, talks about learning the ropes and setting up his studio without studying audio engineering in school and more above in the video above.

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Behind The Board: Jahaan Sweet On Working With Boi-1da, Drake & What Makes A Great Record

 

GRAMMYs

Louis York

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Behind The Board: Louis York behind-board-chuck-harmony-claude-kelly-their-anti-side-project-louis-york

Behind The Board: Chuck Harmony & Claude Kelly On Their Anti-Side Project Louis York

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"We're trying to shatter what you know about us already,” Kelly said of their band and songwriting/production duo's growing catalog of work
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 3, 2020 - 2:34 pm

Having teamed up to write and produce songs with pop heavyweights such as Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige, Brittney Spears, and Rihanna, to name just a few, the songwriting/production duo of Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly could easilty consider their band, Louis York, a side project. Instead, Harmony and Kelly are clearly full steam ahead with the band.

Behind The Board: Louis York

"I think it's also easy to think of two successful musicians who started a band to kind of see it as a side project, and it's completely the opposite," says Kelly. "We're trying to shatter what you know about us already with better things. So the records that we've done that people know us for, we're very proud of... but Louis York and Weirdo Workshop and everything that's coming out of this is all of that on steroids, because we learned from the best."

Drawing upon not one but two careers' worth of hits, the duo enters their second decade of working together with a brigh outlook at what's to come in music, and how they fit in..

"A few months ago, I was on a treadmill, and I realized that 2020 was a few months away," said Harmony. "I got excited, because... every decade the sound of music changes, so it made me excited that I could be a part of what's coming... And it's with that mindset that I create for Lous York."

https://twitter.com/LouisYorkMusic/status/1184997235253223424

WARNING:
For most intense eargasms, please consume this album from beginning to end. Avoid jumping around or skip songs on first listen. We want you to get the complete journey from opening to closing...like a great story.
Extreme feelings may occur. 🎶#AmericanGriots pic.twitter.com/8YiAfDdJdy

— Louis York (@LouisYorkMusic) October 18, 2019

The band's hightly anticipated debut album, American Griots, arrived last October to even higher crital acclaim. The goods they delivered are a testament to the deep well of experience and total creative freedom Harmony and Kelly weild when working together.

"Louis York is definitely about me expressing myself, totally," said Harmony. 

Watch the latest edition of Behind The Board in the video above, where Harmony and Kelly, both GRAMMY nominees, take us deep into their Weirdo Workshop to talk about their musical beginnings, collaborating with other artists and more...

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Behind The Board: DJ Khaled Reflects On His Early Days, Working With Music's Biggest Artists & More

GRAMMYs

Misha Kachkachishvili

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Behind The Board: Misha Kachkachishvili behind-board-esplanade-studios-owner-lead-engineer-misha-kachkachishvili-capturing

Behind The Board: Esplanade Studios Owner & Lead Engineer Misha Kachkachishvili On Capturing The Magic

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The producer/engineer dishes on how he learned to be a producer, creating Esplanade, where the real magic heard on a record comes from and more
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
May 18, 2020 - 5:01 pm

Producer/engineer Misha Kachkachishvili has a pretty cool office. As studio owner and lead engineer of Esplanade Studios in New Orleans, Kachkachishvili has created one of the most inspiring locations to record found anywhere on earth. In the latest edition of Behind The Board, he talked about how it came together, his path to becoming a studio professional, and where the magic of a great record comes from. 

Behind The Board: Misha Kachkachishvili

Kachkachishvili got a jump start on a life in the studio, starting music school at just 5 years old. Later he became a defacto producer and honed his ears and his chops by helping friends make music in any genre you can throw at him.

"I ended up producing Irish records that I didn't know much about, so it was kind of a learning curve." he rememberd. "What I learned is how to make any record regardless of genre."

As his career progressed, he was often working with Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and found himself looking for a place to record them. After hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, he found the abandoned building that now houses Esplanade. Kachkachishvili was blown away by the vibe and the acoustics of the big room, and Esplanade Studios was born. The world-class studio is known for it's spacious control room and glorious live room.

"The control room that used to be a choir loft. this is a 1,700 square-foot control room." he told us. "Originally I was going to partition a little differently, but because of the stained glass, I decided to keep it big and open. So that makes the space [and] the control room unique to me."

With such an awe-inspiring space to create in, you might think Kachkachishvili relies on Esplanade's hallowed walls to provide the creative energy for the records he makes. Not so...

"Everybody thinks the studio is the solution for everything. No, the magic doesn't hapen here," he said. "The magic happens on the writing side of it. Just writing the great song and delivering the song, delivering the emotion, the message. That is the most important thing. Our job is to amplify that and just make sure whatever the artist brings to us, we do justice to it."

Find out more about Kachkachishvili's path and Esplanade's history in the latest edition of Behind The Board above.

Behind The Board: Manny Marroquin On Mixing, Balancing Confidence With Humility, 'The College Dropout' & More

 

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