Some producers discover their area of interest and keep on with it. Others, like two-time Grammy winner Andrew Watt desire to problem themselves with every new venture.

He’s made himself at dwelling whereas working with pop heavyweights like Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, and Woman Gaga and rock royalty alike: see Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, and the perpetually shirtless Iggy Pop for proof.

His potential to spearhead success tales has made him one of the crucial in-demand producers within the enterprise. A guitarist first, he’s additionally performed on many of the data he’s labored on and his chops have proved as versatile as they arrive every time. So how does he do it?

“It’s not about ‘your factor.’ Within the studio, it’s about what’s proper for the tune,” Watt tells Guitar World. “There are such a lot of musicians that you just hear or see stay that you possibly can be blown away by, however as soon as they get into the studio, they will’t provide you with components that may final ceaselessly.

“That’s what being within the studio is about. It’s about an amazing half, one thing that makes a child need to go and play guitar, or one thing that’s simply accentuating rhythmic accents or offering a superb accompaniment to what’s being sung.”

The studio, he feels, is a humanizing expertise. When the songs are within the can, artists can waltz onto levels throughout the globe, play rock star, and really feel 10 toes tall. The experiences to get to that time, nonetheless, are the place an artist may be challenged, and belittled even, if inventive struggles get the higher of them.

David Gilmour just lately mentioned that his 2024 album Luck and Unusual was the most effective factor he’d put out since The Darkish Facet of the Moon. That was thanks, partly, to the truth that producer Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Wolf Alice) did not care about his prestigious again catalog. His function was to problem Gilmour and make sure the file was the most effective it may very well be.

“He has an exquisite lack of expertise or respect for this previous of mine. He’s very direct and never in any method overawed, and I really like that,” Gilmour defined. “He mentioned issues like, ‘Effectively, why does there must be a guitar solo there?’ and ‘Do all of them fade out? Can’t a few of them simply finish?’”

Watt’s strategy is wholly comparable. For whoever he works with, he has however one burning query.

“What’s the half?” he asks. “That’s what leads every part – offering a groove for the tune or a superb chord base for the tune to do its factor, and for the message of what’s being sung to hit somebody within the coronary heart. I’m parts-focused, and I’d say that’s crucial factor when being within the studio.

“It’s not simply concerning the jam,” he continues. “Even the Grateful Lifeless had components, you already know what I imply? It’s about discovering the half.”

Engaged on Affected person Quantity 9 with Ozzy – a file that appears prefer it is likely to be the Prince of Darkness’ final – noticed Watt recruit a trio of guitar legends in Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, and Eric Clapton. Nonetheless, in terms of a participant who understands this mentality higher than the remaining, he at all times refers to a British indie rock legend: Johnny Marr.

“That man’s components on each single tune he’s on, it doesn’t matter what the artist is,” he enthuses. “Every time he performs, he has his tone and sound, however he’s simply sculpting these excellent components, weaving out and in of the tune, even when the tune is written to what he’s taking part in.”

Watt’s full interview with Guitar World, which charts the evolution of his producing profession, his love of Black Sabbath, and his function within the band’s star-studded ultimate present, shall be printed within the close to future.

A contract author with a penchant for music that will get bizarre, Phil is an everyday contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Complete Guitar magazines and is particularly eager on shining a light-weight on unknown artists. Outdoors of the journalism realm, yow will discover him writing angular riffs in progressive metallic band, Prognosis, by which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Unique, churning that low string by means of a wide range of tunings. He is additionally a printed creator and is at present penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into an amazing huge melting pot.