Interview With Producer Arif Mardin -- Part 1
Arif Mardin is recognized as the consummate record producer. Some of those with whom he works are Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Brandy, Carly Simon, Roberta Flack, Patti Labelle, and Jewel. And those are just a few of the females! For balance, let me add the Bee Gees, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Michael McDonald, and Willie Nelson…
Mardin is senior vice president of Atlantic Records, although his deal with Atlantic allows him to produce with other labels as well. He has produced hit after hit for over thirty-five years. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Mardin started in the U.S as the first recipient of the Quincy Jones scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He soon joined Atlantic as assistant to Nesuhi Ertegun, which led to positions there as studio manager, house producer and arranger, and since 1969, vice president.
Some of those hits of his include “I Feel For You” (sung by Chaka Khan), “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Bette Midler), “Jive Talkin’” (Bee Gees), “Pick Up The Pieces” (Average White Band), “Against All Odds” (Phil Collins), and “Good Lovin’” (The Young Rascals). Mardin has received more than forty gold and platinum albums and six Grammys. He was inducted into the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences Hall Of Fame in 1990. No wonder.
Mardin also composes. His writing ranges from songs with Chaka Khan to, more recently, several art songs. His one-act opera, I Will Wait, was performed last year in New York City.
I spoke to him by phone about his take on the art and business of songwriting and production:
JC: What is the typical process you go through to produce a song – for example, who comes to whom?
MARDIN: Usually publishers or songwriters I know send me songs, and, in some instances, I call the songwriter and say “Do you have something for this artist,” or “I’d like you to write a song for this situation, this life situation.”
JC: Do you have a core of songwriters that you call on?
MARDIN: Yes, many. Diane Warren, Steve Dorff, you know, all the well-known songwriters. They’re good friends of mine as well. Another way is that the artist writes the song. I think that the most important situation is to marry the song to the artist. It can be a fabulous song, but it may not match the image or even the musical style of the artist. Of course, sometimes, musical styles can be changed. You can take a country song and make it R&B. So that’s the [song selection] process. Then comes finding the setting for the jewel--the arrangement, the kind of instrumentation that will showcase the song. Preproduction for me is very important. I have to have the right key for the song, the key for the artist that would be… not comfortable. I don’t like comfort in keys. It has to have an edge. If the artist would like to sing it in b flat, I’d say, “Could we try b,” that kind of thing. After we’ve settled on the preproduction--the length of the song, the form, how many bars for the intro and interlude-- if it’s the sort of song that needs to be arranged on a piece of paper, like the last Barbra Streisand song I did, well, I sharpen my pencil and start writing on a score pad, a complete arrangement with the violins, woodwinds, etc. If it’s the Pop style of today, I work with an arranger/programmer. I am very hands-on. I come from an arranging background, so I can say try this chord here…
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