THE PROJECT - THE MUSIC PRODUCER AS ARTISTIC CO-CREATOR

This project is about a music producer's artistic co-ownership in relation to the production of music in the recording studio. It explores the continuum between the roles of a music producer as both facilitator and initiator. Through in-depth engagement with real-world scenarios in professional music production, I, as both the researcher and the music producer, observed the dynamics and nuances of how these roles negotiate, intersect, and shape the final artistic outcomes. 

The underlying research focus was to explore how the role of the music producer is changing in modern practice and what implications this has for the broader collaborative landscape. The core topic is not only relevant for music or music production but can be found across all artforms where collaboration is taking place. I began by researching my own previous experience and examining the role of music producers in relation to taking part in the creation of music itself. I also delved into understanding the essence of fusion in music.

In past projects, my involvement in a diverse range of endeavors has seen me oscillate between being the primary creator and a co-creator. My primary role has often been aiding other artists in realizing their vision. Nevertheless, my influence as a producer is almosts by definition palpable in the final productions, underscoring any project's detailed benefits of my participation. 

Music production blends creativity and technique. To me, it starts with a basic idea – something that catches your attention – and then a developmental process unfolds that begin with composition / songwriting. The recording phase captures the sounds, the mixing and mastering phase emphasizes clarity and balance, and the resulting expression comes out. Though the process has clear steps, it's a blend of art and skill, and there is no set recipe. Every project is different, and the described process is linear, which most of the time is not the case.

The first subproject was a collaboration with an ensemble undertaken in cooperation with the Danish National Radio in June 2022. It was an interdisciplinary art initiative called ‘Streger & Toner’ and with my current connection to the Danish Radio I was given the chance to use my Artistic Research in conjunction with this artistic project. The project integrated drawing, live-drawing, and painting from various periods with a live musical performance of newly composed music. My role as the music producer was pivotal in translating the compositions for radio and television broadcast, ensuring optimal sound quality, managing technical aspects, and guiding the post-production. Despite the project's complexity, my artistic leeway was relatively limited due to the somewhat conservative nature of working with acoustic classical music. My artistic co-ownership as a music producer was more traditional, with a clear structure and set role definitions. The role of the music producer in this subproject was only as a facilitator of the artistic process of others. So, it is my impression that subproject one did not contain any co-ownership in reality. In the dissemination here I will treat subproject one as more of a prototype or test as the findings from this seemed to largely inform the scope and approach of subproject two rather than contribute towards the research findings - it turned out to be more of a turning point than an output for the project and diminishing its role for the output will support the transparency of structure.

In the second subproject, I took on the roles of music producer, composer, and artist. Here, the expectations on the musicians and engineers involved were traditional in a sense, but the scope of my artistic imprint was without boundaries. This subproject involved an intricate fusion of bossa nova/samba and country music. I invented this project, and the challenge was to merge these culturally distinct styles. The process included recording similar compositions with two different groups of musicians in two countries. Questions arose regarding how I could push boundaries or conventions around negotiating artistic authority in collaborations. This project also sparked discussions about cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation and the power dynamics in music production. I will address this later.

Subproject two was definitely the most challenging but also the most insightful and revealing. As the initiator, I came up with the foundational artistic idea. Every project hopefully retains some of ‘me’ and is deeply personal, even if some choices are more consequential than others. As a facilitator, this personal ‘something’ can be vague or hard to pinpoint, whereas as an initiator, it is far more obvious. The personal imprint is, of course, often what an artist is associated with – how we recognize them.

An intriguing element in creating something new is discerning the origin of an idea, be it a chord, melody, or lyric, and nurturing its potential. It's essential to embrace the idea authentically, without force-fitting it. My past works demonstrate a spectrum of roles and degrees of artistic co-ownership, ranging from simple contributions to laying foundational soundscapes for musicians to explore. While I have been crafting songs and lyrics since my teenage years, I've primarily focused on refining my skills as a sound engineer and music producer. Stepping into the ‘primary artist’ role in this Artistic Research project has helped me understand the implications and pitfalls associated with that position.

When I work with music, my primary goal is authenticity, and I strive to create music that resonates deeply with myself initially, with the intention that others will also be affected. Authenticity in art, particularly in music, refers to capturing the genuine, sincere, and original essence of creative expression. From a music producer's perspective, it involves maintaining artistic integrity, reflecting the artist's true personality and emotions without commercial compromise (Moore, 2002). It also includes fostering originality and innovation, encouraging unique sounds and themes true to the artist's spirit (Frith, 1996). Emotional truth is essential, as authentic music conveys genuine feelings and experiences (Negus, 1992). This involves creating a supportive environment for artists to express vulnerability. Consistency with personal and artistic values is vital; producers should make decisions they can stand by with integrity (Zagorski-Thomas, 2014). From this Artistic Research project, I also found it useful to identify what artistic qualities are important to me and what my aesthetic consists of. I will get back to that later.

The foundational idea of subproject two was to merge two distinct genres into a new singularity. This idea and its implementation required acute awareness of negotiations in art and extraordinary cultural sensitivity because subproject two was recorded in both Rio de Janeiro and Nashville and finalized in Copenhagen.

The music producer makes many decisions, and while being sensitive to participants and culture, I have also experienced the need to figure out the hierarchy of decision-making. It is a fluid dance between my aesthetic and the people involved, but the hierarchy of decision-making varies during different stages of the music creation process. In the beginning, it is essential to be open and non-judgmental. When it comes to recording and bringing in studio musicians, precision and clear agreements are crucial. In the final stages, when combining elements into a new entity, being critical of your work becomes critical. This includes considering what others might think, freeing oneself from egotistical attitudes, and refining the contributions to the music.

Negotiation in art is an art form that involves understanding, connecting, and correlating different perspectives even though they can be abstract – you sort of have to ‘play along’ even though you might not know what you are agreeing on. Successful negotiation often depends on the willingness of everyone involved to adapt and evolve. In subproject one, the composers and performers were naturally given the spotlight as artists. In subproject two, I began without a predetermined artist, imagining that person would materialize later in the process. This absence of a typical primary artist was fruitful during creation and recording but also created diffusion in the direction of the project.

In my usual work, I see myself as a collaborator, not the primary artist. In subproject two, I’ve exposed myself completely, taking on both the initiating and facilitating parts of the artistic process. A music producer's main job is to support and enhance the final artistic vision and that is the responsibility. This exploration led to a comparison between the roles of a traditional classical music producer and a modern music producer who also contributes to the composition. 

The project's research question, a catalog for negotiating artistic authority, and the musical works of subproject two are all documented in this exposition. To encompass the entirety of the project, I decided to include both a podcast and an exposition as part of the dissemination strategy. I chose to create a podcast because this research project is about music. Music and text are two different media; while text can describe musical concepts, it cannot convey musical essence or feeling. Therefore, text-based dissemination risks being out of context with the music itself and the focus of the research. The podcast format allows for a more authentic representation and understanding of the music in its natural form and how the project played out. It enables coherent dissemination of complex ideas and sound examples, creating an immersive and integrated experience.