Aguilera takes control on double-disc album

 

Christina Aguilera spoke directly to Music Week about the making of her new double album, Back To Basics with DJ Premier and Linda Perry.

 

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When sourcing the right producers and songwriters for her new studio album Back to Basics, Christina Aguilera put a challenge to potential collaborators direct. The singer, whose last studio album Stripped sold 2m copies in the UK and 9m internationally, compiled a double CD of her favourite old throwback music from the jazz, soul and blues greats and asked them to listen to the songs, and come up with ideas and concepts that brought their sound into the year 2006.

 

"I sent a note out to various producers that I thought might be able to wrap their head around what I was trying to do with this record and the concept," she says. "Literally, I just wrote each one a letter stating 'Dear producer, I am setting out to make a full soul album next and these are a few of my favourites. Feel free to experiment, chop things up, mix things around, re-invent, be inspired, play around and experiment with new songs and creating a modern day feel'."

 

Geffen/A&M head Ron Fair, who originally signed Aguilera while he was still at RCA, A&R'd the album which takes the shape of a 22 song double-disc. As is to be expected with a new Christina record, an all-star cast litters the songwriting credits however from a production perspective it is largely a 50/50 affair split between cuts from DJ Premier and Linda Perry.

 

Indeed, Premier - the New York based producer best known for his work with rap group Gangstarr - produces the entire first disc. His involvement, says Aguilera, was key in the finding a thematic beat for the record. "DJ Premier was very cool. He experimented so much with the music and getting the idea together and we also got along so well. He was constantly making me laugh." Aguilera also managed to convince the hardened New Yorker to work away from his home base. "He lives in New York and he really doesn't leave his studio for anyone, or his New York base at least because that's where he gets his sound and where he feels most creative, but I got him to come out to LA [laughs]."

 

Songwriting credits on the first disc include Rich Harrison (Amerie, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys), Mark Ronson (Nikka Costa, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse) and Kara DioGuardi (Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Pussycat Dolls, Kylie, Britney Spears), who contributes to all but one song on the first disc.

 

Sessions with Perry were interspersed with Premier's and, while both were working to the same beat, their efforts resulted in decidedly different results. Perry's session's featuring real instrumentation and largely sample-less songs were the polar-opposite of Premier's beat driven, heavily sampled contributions. The differences played a big part in the decision to issue a double-disc. "I didn't set out to make a double disc record," she affirms. " I made that decision as a creative choice because working between DJ Premier and Linda, I was getting an entirely different sound, but I was getting such great material I thought I just can't part with any of these songs. They all deserved an important place on this record."

 

Perry's history with Aguilera goes back to 2002 when the pair collaborated on Beautiful, a song written by Perry in 2001 and originally intended to put her own solo career back on the map. Ultimately it proved one of the biggest hits from Aguilera's Stripped album. "I love her approach to making music because she really challenges herself, she has no safety box," says Aguilera. "We push each other to go to new places together."

 

 

RCA will be offering the double disc at the standard cost of a single album at music retail. Senior marketing manager Paul McGee says he does not expect the double disc to hinder their efforts at retail. "I don't think the double CD poses a challenge at all. If you look at her last album for example, Stripped had 19 tracks, so to be offering 22 over two discs at the standard price is just good value for money."

 

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RCA managing director Craig Logan agrees. "Until I heard it I didn't really understand but the way it's produced, the shape of the record, it makes sense. The way its priced as a single album, there's not really a negative."

 

The label is keen to exploit 360 degrees of opportunity with the record and a nine-month sponsorship deal which Aguilera signed with Orange and Sony Ericsson in March, forms a key part of this. The partnership has already seen exclusive content from Aguilera's launch event at Koko in London last month made available to Orange customers and as the singer commences her European tour in the final quarter of this year, Orange customers will have access to exclusive mobile music content via the Orange World portal. Full-track downloads, exclusive remixes, unseen videos via streaming and download, ringtones, realtones and wallpaper will all feature. Logan affirms that the relationship with Sony Ericsson is a vital part of their release strategy. "It's a massive part of the puzzle. We've been working hand in hand with them, very closely on this release, and we intend to get much more involved," he says. "It's a two way street and I have to say it works very well. They're obviously after content and it's about ensuring we get our value out of the relationship."

 

RCA is also taking a new approach to marketing the album at TV and the weekend prior to release will be sponsoring a number of shows on satellite television channel Living TV. Shows such as Will & Grace and Charmed. McGhie says it is a first for a music product. "It's a new way of tv advertising for us. The audience is predominantly 18 - 35 year old female and a very high percentage of Christina's audience is female. It's a very targeted audience for us."

 

Now that the singer has completed the album she admitted that she has been enjoying listening to some slightly more contemporary artists. Australian singer Sia, is currently top of her list. "I'm finally starting to get back into modern music." She said. "I was so absorbed with Billie Holiday and other throwback artists from days gone by, so now I guess I'm starting to listen to other things and one album that I'm really intrigued by is this Sia. I really like that album."

Interesting article... I read every word ^_^ I like it when pop artists get involved and have their own ideas instead of leaving everything to their writers.

 

6 days to go! :wub: :cheer:

Interesting article... I read every word ^_^ I like it when pop artists get involved and have their own ideas instead of leaving everything to their writers.

 

6 days to go! :wub: :cheer:

I know :wub:

Thanks for posting Mikey, really interesting article.

thanks for posting mikey!!

 

i found out some things i never knew from this article!! :D

I know I shall be watching out for promotion when I watch Charmed. :lol:

Yep great read there, thanks for posting it Mikey :D

Don't you love it how Admins take time out of their schedule to give us info? :lol: