Interview With Producer Arif Mardin -- Part 1

JC: Do you ever consult a songwriter during or after production?

MARDIN: Sure. In fact, there could be changes requested either by the artist or myself. “This line doesn’t really suit the story,” or “I can’t say this line because this doesn’t really make sense to me.” Sometimes they don’t really want to change the line. But most of them do because they want to see it happen.

JC: You write, too. How does that affect the way you approach a production?

MARDIN: It broadens my scope. I know how hard it is, the process to create a song. I appreciate the labor, the creativity.

JC: How influenced are you by what’s extremely current on the charts, in terms of the sounds that you use?

MARDIN: First of all, I don’t copy. I don’t steal, but I definitely listen all the time, not only to top 10 U.S., but England and world music. The other day I was listening to an NPR station, an Algerian girl singing in Arabic. I was interested because the arrangement was fantastic, and I ordered the record. Of course, sometimes, grooves change--it can be like the soup de jour. It’s very dangerous to lock into some groove that will be passé in six months. And if the record is not going to be released that quickly, that’s a dilemma.

JC: Are there production rules for different markets?

MARDIN: Sure. If you have a certain R&B song sung by an Afro-American, you don’t put steel guitars in there. For a big film theme, we’re talking about big strings and backgrounds. Production values definitely change according to what segment of the record-buying public the producer is targeting.

JC: What do you think about that?

MARDIN: Oh, it has to be. Maybe it’s not right. Maybe it should be just one arrangement for one song. But it’s like you have different television commercials for different markets.

JC: I sometimes wonder whether it limits that particular audience, because then they only hear one thing.

MARDIN: Don’t forget, we make different mixes, too, for different radio stations. And then a beautiful ballad is turned into a dance number by a dance mixer. They’re going to try to maximize the different markets.

JC: Do you think that a great song can be produced in any style?

MARDIN: Any style. Definitely.

JC: You just did the Rent and Smokey Joe's cast albums. In the 50s, the songs that were on Broadway were also the Pop hits. Do you think

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