The Black French Touch !
For those who ever wondered, the French Touch isn’t just made of Guetta-like, binary electronic beats, with two fingers and a French accent !
We, the Ethnic people of France represent the thriving underground culture and offer a funkier approach to making music.
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Interview with Willy Wizz
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Ironically, the project I am most proud of never came out for it turned out to be too ambitious for the production: I was composer and producer for a HipHip-Soul Funk album featuring all the biggest artists from the Marseille Hip Hop scene as well as top musicians like Lucky Peterson, Frank Mc Comb, Michel Alibo, Stéphane Goldman, Yohann Dalgaard etc. My pride comes form the fact that I had composed 18, very tight Hip Hop-Soul tracks, and that I succeeded in reproducing them with virtuoso musicians in the studio. The challenge came from the fact that they were not Hip Hop specialists but jazz and pop musicians who tend to play a lot of notes for Hip Hop standards. My strategy to direct them, was to make them exactly and strictly play the parts written for them, thus leaving them with very little space to express their major talent... The result was just fantastic, having machine-tight grooves with all the organic heat and touch of live instruments. I have since then used the same technique for all of my projects.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Among many other projects that I have, I’m currently working on a club dancehall album for a French artist, as well as producing music for Fox Tv and other broadcasters...
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital at home, then analog in the studio ! Digital for speed and ease, analog for warmth and texture...
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Fast and accurate, I deliver serious contemporary music to professionals.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The opportunities of meeting and working with great new artists, and the human adventure that comes along, as well as all the wonderful emotions creating music brings me.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you create something that sounds like this? Sure, I usually can after thoroughly analyzing the given example...
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I am a composer and producer, not an engineer so I don’t mix (at least professionally) I work from home with very little equipment so I do recordings in studio, and re-edit prior to mixing.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Precise brief with examples, budget, destination or audience, deadline and specs...
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: If you want to stand out from the noise whilst staying away from the greedy producers out there, don’t miss the chance to try me out, for there is a lot more beneath the surface ! Guaranteed !
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: That would be an easy answer if there was electricity there, but since maybe not (yet) I would bring percussions, maybe a guitar and a wind instrument... but mostly the ability to illustrate our inspiration just by singing and clapping !
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been doing this for over 30 years. I was raised in an artistic family, having my parents in the game since the mid 70’s with their disco band in France called Fireball and then on the US billboard with songs composed by Earth Wind and Fire.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I have been told my style is urban yet open, groovy, sometimes cinematic or classical but always powerful !
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: This is not an ego trip but I would love to work with Beyoncé. She has such a powerful energy, I feel she could benefit from a different angle for her future music...
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Sure ! To bring clarity and listening comfort I suggest to side chain compress whatever gets in the way of comprehension of the track...
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Funk, Hip Hop, Reggae & Dancehall, Club music
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Speed
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: My 30 years of experience as an open format Dj keeps me in touch with what the public likes, as well as the overall trends.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I usually start from scratch or am given an a capella to work around on... I lay down the beat first then start grooving with the bass, then play around to find a top line... This gives me a matrix to expand the rest of the song, aside from the bridge...
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Being used to working with professionals to bring life to my work, I settle for a midi keyboard, a powerful computer and badass monitors...
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: My biggest inspiration comes from the Soul Funk era...
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I compose, remix and arrange songs as well as produce the full works using the best players around..,
