Max Martin is considered to be the most important thing to happen to Swedish/American pop music, since, well, since ever really.
In the late 90’s, Max Martin pretty much owned a significant portion of radio air time, simply because majority of the songs being played were produced by him.
From Britney Spears, to the Spice Girls, Backstreet to Nysnc, all the way to artists like Pink and Kelly Clarkson, Usher and Avril Lavine, Max Martin has crafted and produced chart topping hit, after chart topping hit. He is the music industry’s ’go to’ guy.
Ace of Bass pays tribute to Max Martin who was responsible for producing their career topping single, “All that she wants”. The story goes, that their demo tape (yes tape) was stuck in the cassette deck of his car and it was the only thing he could listen to for months straight, he finally got sick of their demo and brought them into the studio and the rest was history.
Here are the top 5 philosophical quotes from the legendary Max Martin on what makes his music production a testament to time itself:
1. I feel that I only have one chance, just one chance to make them like the song, and that chance is within the first 5 seconds of the song. Actually if you listen to my music, often times, the first 5 seconds of the song, IS the song.
2. The whole piano thing (Da-Dun Dun) in the beginning of Britney’s – “Hit me baby” IS the entire song, and I was betting that if people liked the opening of that song, then they would like the rest of the song; that if they heard it before they listened to it, they would enjoy it even more.
3. I do not consider myself a poet, I just write what I feel sounds good with an ear of what is going on at that time in the world. Relevance is an important factor of making timeless music.
4. Writing a song could take as short as 5 mins, the basic idea anyhow, but the whole work around it, you wouldn’t believe it! If it takes an entire month to mix a track for Britney’s record, it will take an entire month of listening to that same record, that’s what it takes. It has to be perfect.
5. Max Martin studied Abba, who in turn, studied every pop act in their time and anyone proceeding. Find out who your influences are, and understand who and what influences them. The growth and development of music is all about continuity. Pharrell often quotes that one of his beats is really his own rendition of the song “Another one bites the dust”.
Videos: Most Recent Releases by Max Martin’s Shop
