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The large winner finally night time’s BRIT Awards was life itself. The second greatest winner was Dua Lipa.
The ceremony, which occurred on the O2 Area, received UK authorities approval as a pilot reside occasion, as Britain seems to haul itself right into a post-pandemic world. Some 4,000 individuals attended – in individual! maskless! – together with 2,500 frontline employees who had been gifted tickets by organizers.
As anticipated, Dua Lipa collected the British Feminine prize, however she additionally triumphed within the Greatest Album class for her disco-tinged Future Nostalgia, which additionally lately picked up a Grammy – the artist’s third – for Greatest Pop Vocal Album.
When Future Nostalgia was launched, on March 27 final 12 months, such triumphant outcomes had been certainly not a positive factor.
You’d have been forgiven for betting that an upbeat electro-pop file would have met a troublesome industrial response because the ghoulish turmoil of Covid-19’s results started to be understood by the broader world.
Joe Kentish, Head of A&R at Warner Information, and the person who signed Dua Lipa to the label (then Warner Bros) in 2014, admits he needed to metal his nerves.
“From the beginning, the entire thought of this file was to take it reside,” he tells MBW. “Dua’s catchphrase had change into, ‘That is going to sound nice at Glastonbury!’ All of the sudden that each one acquired taken away from us, apart from all the things else occurring on this planet.
“We knew we had an artist who’d made one thing particular. However we had been at this level of, ‘Oh, really, this would possibly simply not occur.’ However Dua was like, ‘Nah, we are able to’t maintain this in anymore.’ So we went with it.”
The choice to not delay has paid off, with Future Nostalgia now cemented in historical past as one of many few issues that put smiles on faces and motion in hips in the course of the extra depressing pockets of the previous 12 months. (For the music biz, it additionally put money in coffers: Future Nostalgia has bought 3.8 million equal albums worldwide to this point, with over 4.5 billion streams on Spotify alone.)
“Dua was like, ‘Nah, we are able to’t maintain this in anymore.’ So we went with it.”
Tellingly, Kentish’s identify was the primary amongst these from Warner that Dua Lipa thanked from the BRITs stage – others included Max Lousada and Warner Information UK boss, Phil Christie. (She additionally thanked her crew at Faucet Administration… and demanded British PM Boris Johnson pay NHS nurses more cash.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OxyKNBsuQ
Lipa’s victory capped a golden interval for Warner Information UK and Kentish, who additionally signed – and is now growing – Griff, who carried out and picked up the coveted Rising Star award on the BRITs yesterday.
Right here, Kentish talks us by way of the unorthodox making of Future Nostalgia, his personal strategy to A&R, and what the flurry of current successes means for his label…
Final time MBW spoke to you, in March 2019, Dua had simply received her first Grammy – two, the truth is. What’s been the story from then to now?
That story is basically the story of Future Nostalgia. Even at that time, Dua had the thought of it was going to be: massive, reside, and referencing her icons.
On the time, there have been no disco information within the chart; there have been no information doing what she did. Issues have taken a really completely different flip.
We had been within the thick of it for a few 12 months, making an attempt issues out, however we didn’t actually have a file. It’s a testomony to Dua, her supervisor and the form of tradition that Phil [Christie], Max [Lousada] and now Tony [Harlow] have allowed on the label that we got time to determine it out, and shielded from a number of eyes.
“We made a deliberate selection not to try this.”
After a few 12 months we acquired this file, Levitating [released in October 2020, a Top 5 in the US and UK]. That was a file Dua wrote. She invited me right down to the studio, and stated, ‘What do you reckon about this?’ And it was like, ‘Play it once more! Play it once more!’
It was a Eureka! second – a recent lyric, however with this old style factor, and nonetheless feeling trendy. And that set the tone for the remainder of the album.
By the top of it, we had the album prepared fairly far up entrance [ahead of release], which isn’t common as of late – often the way in which of constructing an enormous pop file is you’re at all times chasing the hit, you’re at all times following [trends], kind of barely catching up with your self.
We made a deliberate selection not to try this.
We began to get fairly assured when the primary [single] took off, after which Covid hit.
Dua has taken a number of classes from this expertise – all of us have – the principle one being to belief your intestine.
The UK trade can get a bit down on itself as of late about its artists’ possibilities of breaking the US. what would your message be to A&Rs in Britain now you’ve gone by way of two profitable albums with Dua which are international successes?
I’ve spent my profession speaking to artists and executives who wish to break America. But it surely’s been my commentary over that point that the UK artists who’ve really carried out effectively in America have by no means been the plain ones – they’ve at all times had one thing uniquely British about them.
We’ve a unique cultural combine on this nation. We converse the identical language, clearly, as individuals within the States, however we’ve acquired a extremely distinctive, superb tradition that’s very fast-moving and vibrant.
“The UK artists who’ve really carried out effectively in America have by no means been the plain ones.”
I consider that in case you lean into that, you’ll give you music that [other markets] don’t – and the perfect of that music has the potential to journey.
I additionally consider within the means of getting right down to what an artist’s essence is. When you succeed at that, you’ll give you one thing distinctive. Which may make individuals cease for a second and lean in. And that’s usually all you want.
Clearly it’s onerous to interrupt [UK] artists when so many necessary broadcasting and playlisting selections are made in America. For that you must work actually carefully along with your companions within the US, getting them on board on the proper time.
Are there any methods within the a&r course of that may assist UK artists making an attempt to interrupt the US?
No, I feel all of that’s an absolute purple herring.
Each time I hear an A&R individual discuss making a file for America I roll my eyes. I can’t consider a recipe to make a worse file than to strategy [A&R] like that.
“I can’t consider a recipe to make a worse file than to strategy [A&R] like that.”
It’s like, don’t make information that different individuals would possibly like – make information that you just assume are nice.
It’s so patronising to [the fans] that somebody would possibly make music that method: ‘I’m not likely into this, however I’m making it for this viewers over there.’
You need to attempt to make sensible information that basically broaden on what the artist’s imaginative and prescient is. That method you’re going to give you one thing distinctive.
And in case you give you one thing distinctive, individuals would possibly cease for only a second and lean in. Typically that’s all you want.
Final time we interviewed you, you jokingly acknowledged the self-doubt of the A&R government was a driving drive in your individual profession success. Absolutely you’re much less uncertain of your talents now?
Yeah, it’s all gone – I’ve acquired it sussed now [laughs]!
No, clearly not. I come to this job on fairly a human stage – the way in which I attempt to perceive artists, colleagues, music. I strive to consider the challenges that artists and their assist crew round them have.
One of many issues meaning making information is such a novel and fraught course of is as a result of it’s fully subjective, but we put these information out right into a industrial world that’s fully goal.
“It is best to doubt your self from time to time if you’re serving to nice individuals make information…”
The self-doubt is a really crucial a part of that course of. It is best to doubt your self from time to time if you’re serving to nice individuals make information, as a result of in case you don’t query your self, you’re going to make critical errors and lead individuals down the flawed path.
On the identical time, your job is to maintain as a lot of that [doubt] as doable away from the artists, shelter them from it, so they’re on a ahead trajectory and be happy to create.
How good a author is Dua?
I don’t assume you set collectively a file like Future Nostalgia as an artist until you’re a wonderful author your self. I don’t assume it occurs.
She’d inform you herself that when she began going into writing studios it was intimidating. That was one thing I attempted to pay attention to and accountable about – a younger lady, 17 or 18, going into these environments, usually with guys who had been older; she wasn’t accountable for the environment. No matter the rest, you’re the rookie within the room.
Individuals usually don’t understand that there are simpler methods out than studying to be an excellent author as an artist, as a result of it’s a slog writing songs. Future Nostalgia is simply 11 tracks lengthy; I might say Dua comfortably wrote not less than 150 songs [for the record], concepts, jotting issues down.
“Individuals usually don’t understand that there are simpler methods out than studying to be an excellent author as an artist.”
And each a kind of songs is one or two days of your life.
When you’re not captivated with changing into an excellent author, that course of goes to change into actually boring. Particularly for somebody like [Dua] who has so many different choices to take action many different nice issues – getting invited to the kind of events you or I usually are not!
However as an alternative of all that, she stayed within the studio and slogged it out. That’s a testomony to her ambition.
You’re not attending to a file like this until you may have a powerful narrative. And that narrative comes from her.
Following the success of Dua and Griff, how do you hope to distinguish Warner Information UK from every other label?
This label is completely the sum of the relationships we now have with our artists.
I really feel it’s a mistake to place your self on the middle of all of it, like: ‘What’s the character of our label?’ That’s placing the cart earlier than the horse.
We don’t have a set character as a label. We attempt to create superb, nourishing, difficult, inspiring environments for these younger inventive individuals, and see what they give you.
“A&R to me isn’t nearly discovering songs.”
With Griff, I’m actually happy with her and what we’re doing to assist this super-empowered individual. The manufacturing expertise and writing expertise she possesses – usually writing 100%, or not less than 50% of her singles… once more, we’re being considerate and guarded about ensuring her distinctive voice can come by way of, slightly than simply placing her in with the subsequent massive [songwriter or producer]. That’s how we’ll get actually authentic information.
A&R to me isn’t nearly discovering songs. It’s about discovering somebody you actually consider has expertise, then making them really feel nice – like they will obtain something. But it surely’s additionally about difficult artists, mentoring them, calling them out when the work’s not so good as I do know it may be, and inspiring them when the work’s nice.
The product of all of that can outline this label.Music Enterprise Worldwide
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