{"id":8441,"date":"2013-01-01T23:09:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T06:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=8441"},"modified":"2013-01-01T23:10:20","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T06:10:20","slug":"benny-blanco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2013\/01\/benny-blanco\/","title":{"rendered":"BENNY BLANCO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

BENNY BLANCO<\/strong><\/h1>\n

A prodigious talent schools the music business in Hit-making 101 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Michael Gallant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benny Blanco has crafted pop magic in the studio for today\u2019s biggest stars, including Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. He\u2019s scored more than a dozen No. 1 hits and was named Songwriter of the Year at this year\u2019s BMI Pop Awards. Oh, and he\u2019s 24.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an impressive career at any age, but only more so considering its humble beginnings. Blanco\u2019s first inspiration came in 1994 when he bought Nas\u2019 \u201cThe World Is Yours\u201d and All-4-One\u2019s \u201cI Swear,\u201d two very different and distinct singles. Moved by Nas\u2019 grooves, Blanco dived into beatbox and rap. The emergence of Eminem convinced the young producer to focus on beat-making and further hone his craft in the studio. While still in high school Blanco landed his first break apprenticing for producer Disco D, regularly commuting to New York from his native Virginia on weekends to work with his mentor. Grinding through entry-level studio grunt work, Blanco now credits that time with providing a solid understanding of production and the music business.<\/p>\n

In short order, Blanco\u2019s career blew up. He built a rapport with producer and songwriter Dr. Luke, which led to collaborations on two Britney Spears tracks for 2008\u2019s Circus<\/em> album. The same year he co-produced two of Katy Perry\u2019s breakout hits\u2014\u201cI Kissed a Girl\u201d and \u201cHot N Cold\u201d\u2014and the following year he co-produced and co-wrote Ke$ha\u2019s smash \u201cTik Tok.\u201d \u201cEvery record is different for me, especially since I write, produce and mix,\u201d says Blanco. \u201cI try to place the missing puzzle pieces in a song. Sometimes that means more writing, sometimes that means more producing. Sometimes that means being a ventriloquist. I just try to contribute wherever I fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanco\u2019s latest puzzle-piece contributions have been among his biggest. This year alone he helped create Rihanna\u2019s chart-topping \u201cDiamonds\u201d and multiple tracks from Ke$ha\u2019s Warrior<\/em> album, as well as radio monoliths \u201cPayphone\u201d and \u201cMoves Like Jagger\u201d with \u00a0Maroon 5. Blanco, who also serves as a guest lecturer at New York University, discusses the behind-the-glass stories of his smash records.<\/p>\n

\n

What are your go-to production tools?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As far as software, I\u2019m all Pro Tools. For sounds, I don\u2019t use MIDI or any virtual instruments. I love it when people ask, \u201cMan, what do I need to buy to produce? These keyboards are so expensive!\u201d Some of my biggest songs were made with keyboards that cost $25. I\u2019m all about vintage or toy instruments, so I\u2019ll find keyboards at garage sales and use them on my next project. I\u2019m into anything that doesn\u2019t sound like something else. I don\u2019t want people to hear my tracks and say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s from the Triton or Fantom [keyboard synthesizers].\u201d I want to use what nobody wants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Example?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a Yamaha PSS-100 that I used for Katy Perry\u2019s \u201cCalifornia Gurls,\u201d Ke$ha\u2019s \u201cTik Tok,\u201d and a million other songs. I think it cost $20 and didn\u2019t even have an audio output, just a speaker\u2014so I modded it out to plug it in.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next in your process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I record everything in Pro Tools as audio. I\u2019ll do one note or one chord at a time. Then I edit and use lots of effects, as many effects as possible. [laughs<\/em>] When in doubt, I just pile on a bunch of reverb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What was the process for \u201cDiamonds\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was working with StarGate [production team of Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen], trying to come up with material for Rihanna. We came up with something that was almost hip-hop\u2014very musical, but it felt like Kanye West could rap over it. Then Sia Furler came in and wrote an amazing top line over it, and it turned into this huge thing. Rihanna was on the road the whole time, so we sent her the track and she put her own spin on it. You can do what you think is a good song, but once someone as great as Rihanna sings it, the song comes to life on a whole new level.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Describe your work on \u201cPayphone.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It started with two of my writers, Ammar Malik and RoboPop, working on a writing retreat in Virginia. Just as they were leaving, they made one last one and sent it off to me. There was this janky little organ sound that blew me away. It became the start of the chorus for \u201cPayphone.\u201d I worked on it on my laptop as a demo and sent it to my friend Shellback, who\u2019s in Sweden. We kept going back and forth with it until the chorus had most of the lyrics, even though the verse was only melody. Ammar flew to L.A. and started writing lyrics and perfecting the melodies with [Maroon 5 frontman] Adam Levine. Then we all came to L.A. and recorded most of the song there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How\u2019d rapper Wiz Khalifa get involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the time, I was already working with Wiz, and I remember asking myself, \u201cWhat could make this song really special?\u201d I always want to do something unexpected, so I called Wiz and got him to come in. But just as he was heading over to the studio I realized we didn\u2019t actually have a beat for him to record over. So as he was on his way, I frantically created a beat for the bridge. I finished in time, he recorded his part over what I\u2019d put together with Adam and everyone in the studio\u2014and it was great. We fiddled with the song for a few more weeks and then it came out.<\/p>\n

Did Wiz write his parts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wiz gets in the booth and starts going off the top of his head. He\u2019ll scribble on a piece of paper for a few minutes beforehand, but when you look at the paper afterward, it will be something like a single word or a drawing. He\u2019s so talented\u2014the guy does it all on the spot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u2019s your approach to vocals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to make the artist feel comfortable. Maybe the first few days we\u2019ll go walk in the park, play basketball or watch some comedy show. You have to massage the artist like Play-Doh for a bit. When you\u2019re finally in the studio, you need to make sure you\u2019re getting takes that sound natural. Rather than pasting together a million tracks\u2014which I wind up doing sometimes\u2014I\u2019d rather get as much of a natural take as I can. Even if you\u2019re putting tuning, compression, reverbs and delays on the vocals, for me, it\u2019s all about making the sound as intimate and natural as possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sounds like there\u2019s lots of tuning on \u201cMoves Like Jagger.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s crazy, but Adam\u2019s voice just sounds<\/em> like that. There\u2019s barely any tuning on that record at all\u2014I swear. In fact Adam hates Auto-Tune and won\u2019t record with it. Sometimes when I had it turned off, I\u2019d ask myself, \u201cWait, it\u2019s really<\/em> off?\u201d He has the perfect voice with a great high range.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you approach backing vocals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you have a really good singer like Adam, they nail the lead. But when you\u2019re adding in harmonies and doubles, the way you get them to sound that tight is due to timing, not tuning. I use VocALign to make the harmonies sync to the lead. With\u00a0Maroon 5, everything was very close already. We wanted the vocals to sound human but we still VocaALign-ed the backgrounds so it sounded perfect. Especially if you want your backing vocal tracks panning left and right, you need them to line up so the\u00a0song doesn\u2019t sound lopsided.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is it challenging switching genres from pop to rock to hip-hop?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was in the studio with OneRepublic the other day and had to take into consideration that these guys play their material live every night. It\u2019s OK to have a lot going on in the production, but it has to be simple enough for them to play it believably with the amount of people that they have onstage. I can\u2019t have 20 drum parts going at once, for example. I often rely on bells, whistles and tricks that I like to add, but when I produce rock, it makes more sense to keep it bare, raw and edgy. Same with hip-hop. I hear all these things I want to add\u2014say, to smooth transitions\u2014but sometimes to preserve the essence of what you\u2019re producing, you have to\u00a0tone yourself down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You also worked with Bruno Mars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known him for five or six years\u2014the guy\u2019s a legend in the making. He can play every instrument flawlessly. He can sing every note. Melodies come to his head. You just have to keep up with him in the studio. The guy is hilarious, too. You\u2019re getting a comedy sketch and a hit song whenever\u00a0you work with him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why teach at this stage of your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to say the things that I wish someone had told me when I was first starting out. We go over everything from writing songs to how to act in meetings, how to send your music out, how to propose business plans\u2014the ins and outs of the business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Any advice for aspiring producers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing to do to get bigger is to move to New York, L.A., Nashville, Miami, Atlanta\u2014one of the big places. It\u2019s not going to happen if you\u2019re just sitting there. And right now, we\u2019re probably in the best, most accessible time for trying to get in. You can do so much completely in the box on your laptop with a MIDI controller. You can upload your music to tons of places, and every person in the music business is basically a click away. You can Tweet, Facebook, Skype or MySpace anyone. It\u2019s about getting in and working with a bunch of people, that\u2019s exactly what I did. It\u2019s not the easiest of times overall\u2014but it\u2019s the easiest time to get yourself heard.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BENNY BLANCO A prodigious talent schools the music business in Hit-making 101 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 By Michael Gallant Benny Blanco has crafted pop magic in the studio for today\u2019s biggest stars, including Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. He\u2019s scored more than a dozen No. 1 hits and was named Songwriter of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3844],"tags":[5670,5672,5671,2303,5673,5475,4673],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8441"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8444,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441\/revisions\/8444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}