Though, again, is this a bad thing? In a recent interview Pulse conducted with Arno Kammermeier of Booka Shade regarding their new album, Arno (unprompted from us) freely admitted his plans and excitement over the prospect of using a producer on Booka Shade's next album. 'With future albums, we’ll try and work with [other] producers. We realised we don’t have to do anything ourselves, we can get our own producers. I’d like us to focus more on the song writing and the performance in the future not necessarily putting every single sound in its right place. It takes weeks until you have the mix you want. It’s about leaving your comfort zone, getting new influences and then you can be open for new things that can happen.' This is exactly what Jan hopes to do with the artists he works with, both now and in the future, and what's been happening with most every other style of music in the last 50 years.
Before home studios were more easily available, even before analogue equipment was semi affordable, electronic music artists would, like any other type of musician, have to go to a full-scale studio and sit down with a sound engineer. The artist had an idea of the sound they wanted to achieve, and the engineer had the knowhow and equipment to make that a reality. Though for bands, who already had instruments in hand, the first step in making a record came with seeing the producer. Legends like Phil Spector pioneered certain sounds and methods of recording (the ‘Wall Of Sound’ for example) that are still replicated in one form or another today. They helped bands turn raw, moldable ideas into defining sounds through a deep understanding of their equipment and loads experience, and this is what someone like Jan hopes to do.
No, he’s not credited, but as we all know too well, everyone’s roles are changing in the industry. The role of a DJ used to be only to play great sets. Now they have to be marketing, PR, advertising, social media, design, photographer, videographer – the whole lot – because competition to sell yourself and seperate from the pack is stronger than ever. Yes, they could spend hours, months, weeks, years holed up in a studio hoping to break through with their productions like so many others have done before them. But as DJs make the transition from gatekeeper to performer to pop star, it’s more likely the trend of ghostwriting will continue. 'Someone writes for Rihanna, and then they introduce the tune as Rihanna, ‘Diamonds,’ but knowing she's not the songwriter doesn't make me like her as an artist,' Ranacat says. 'Its like Soul Clap with ‘Extravaganza.’ They put it out just like that on vinyl so it looks like it's their track, and it's not, but then it doesn't mean I don't fucking love that track!’
So the question remains – are we going to shun every single producer who chooses to make music production their solo occupation, and the artists they team up with, lumping them into some shameful subcategory of musical leech, or are we going to recognize that this music has become so big that, in essence, it’s becoming like every other style of music? I think in the end, it comes down to understanding what’s out there, good and bad, and collectively try and move forward in the right direction.