Greg Haver talks…
In July 2022 Producer Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers) joined us from New Zealand as Headline Producer at the Pro7ect Residential Songwriting Retreat at Rockfield Studios.
We took some time out of the studio to chat about the importance of songwriting collaboration, how to find the right producer for your project, what it’s like to work Rockfield Studios, and the state of the music industry in New Zealand.
“A lot of really good partnerships come out of writing camps, and I’ve seen a general elevation in whole music communities just by having a regular writing camp like Pro7ect.”
– Greg Haver, Pro7ect Headline Producer
Why do you think songwriting retreats like Pro7ect are so important?
GH: It’s the collaborative aspect of getting everyone in a room, exchanging ideas and networking. There are so many positives that are not just music related, like the ability to be able to create connections face to face. A lot of really good partnerships come out of writing camps, and I’ve seen a general elevation in whole music communities just by having a regular writing camp like Pro7ect. It’s good for people’s mental health as well, you get to see that other people have the same problems as you. So, there’s nothing but positives in my book for events like Pro7ect and other songwriting camps.
You’ve worked at Rockfield many times over the years and with some incredible artists, tell us a bit more about your experience at Rockfield.
GH: Sixty Years of heritage just comes out of the walls here, and it’s a wonderful, inspiring place to be. There are plusher looking studios. There are studios with more equipment, but there’s something inspiring that happens when you put a musician in a room that they know their heroes have been in. And I feel it the same.
I also feel a sense of responsibility when I work here. So many producer friends of mine love coming to Rockfield, but we don’t want to be the one who lets the side down. The records we make here have to be good because of the people who have gone before us, so there’s that little bit of extra pressure, but it’s good pressure.
The environment’s great, the people are great, you feel like a family member when you are here, that’s why producers keep coming back really. It’s also got one of my favourite sounding drum rooms in the world here in studio one in the Quad.
“Something inspiring happens when you put a musician in a room where they know their heroes have been… sixty years of heritage just comes out of the walls here, and it’s a wonderful, inspiring place to be.”
– Greg Haver, Pro7ect Headline Producer
What do you think songwriters need to consider when choosing a producer?
GH: That whole production, artist, songwriter relationship is a really delicate one. It’s like any relationship throughout life, it’s something you have to choose very carefully, and make sure they’re the right person. Sometimes you make mistakes. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it’s a happy accident.
They key for me with any relationship between artist and producer is communication. That’s got to start a long time before you go into the studio. Talk about music, talk about anything, see if you actually connect, or, if you have different views, that those different views could benefit the project.
It’s often good to have people with different musical styles working together, especially at writing camps. A lot of really creative things happen when you force two different styles against each other, and sometimes that works in a production relationship as well.
I think it’s important for any artist to spend time with the people that they feel they’d like to work with. Don’t just look at what they’ve done before, that’s a pointer to the sort of things that you might like, but it still doesn’t mean that they’re going to be the right person for you because it’s more about the personal connection than it is about the work they’ve done previously. You don’t want to make the same record as someone else, you want to make your own record, so you’ve got to find someone who’s going to take you to that place rather than just recreate something they’ve done before.
Greg Haver songwriting team - Day 3, P72023 at Rockfield
If a band or songwriter want to work with you Greg, how do they approach? And what would they need to make you want to work with them?
It’s really different now how I would choose an artist to work with because I don’t really go out and pitch for work anymore. I’m in the very fortuitous position where I can pick and choose what I do. I’ve also reached a point in my life where I physically can’t do everything that I wanted to do when I was younger. I can’t do the 24-hour day sessions, month to month, and endless records back-to-back, so I have to be quite careful about what I pick.
My first decision is always do I like the person? Do we get on? Could we have a good working relationship? Do they genuinely want me to make their record? Or could I suggest somebody who would be better for them? I’m quite happy to pass on work to other producers, especially within New Zealand, where I run the Music Producers Guild (MPG). I don’t want to be the person who takes all the big jobs. I want to be the person who enables other producers to be able to get work.
If I get on with a person, I’ll ask them to send me some demos. Sometimes people send you demos that are really good, and then it’s like, well, you don’t really need me. You just need a mix engineer or maybe someone to work with on the vocals. It doesn’t have to be from the ground up anymore. It can just be an additional production project.
So, if I like them, we have a chat on the phone, see if it works. I’m very relaxed about it now. I still have a manager, Stephen Budd management in London, and some work comes through Steve, but a lot of the time people just pick up the phone, or they just send me a message on twitter or Instagram asking “do you want to make my record?” It can be as simple as that. I think the ability to DM people now has changed the whole game really. So, you can go to people that you would think were untouchable before, they’ll often reply. Just try it! What’s the worst that can happen? They don’t reply?
Budget is not the most overriding factor anymore. It used to be a hugely important part, especially when we had to hire studio. Now, with a realistic amount of money, you can make a really great record. For me it’s more about the content than it is about how much I can earn from the record. I still like to earn some money from it, but you want to be looking at a record that could be successful and look at long-term income streams as opposed to “how much can I get upfront”.
Legacy is important to me as well. I want to leave records that are really great. That people like and they connect with. I think the more you produce, and the older you get, the more that idea of leaving a body of work behind is important. It sounds really morbid but it’s an important part. How many people make a record? How many people get to produce records? So, you want to make sure that what you leave behind is a good, solid body of work.
What’s the music industry like in New Zealand at the moment?
GH: It’s very healthy. It’s a really good industry. It’s run by a lot of very skilled people. A lot of American and British industry people have immigrated to New Zealand, and it’s made the structure of the industry itself really strong. We’ve got some really great songwriter/producers, like Joel Little (Taylor Swift, Imagined Dragons, Lorde), Josh Fountain and Dion, but also lots of hip hop producers who are working on Kanye records. Remote working has been a really big part of the industry as well, for obvious reasons.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
GH: Don’t be scared of stuff. It’s easy to be scared and think the competitions really tough and ‘I’ll never get a break’. You’ve just got to be good so when your break happens, you’re ready for it. I’ve had this conversation with so many producers… you just keep plugging away, you get good at your craft and then when somebody walks through your door who can change your life, you’re ready. You usually get one chance, and you don’t want to mess it up.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by it all, especially now when so much music is getting released. Just make the record for yourself and the artist you’re working with, first. Make it really good and make it a pleasurable experience. Enjoy the music and the universe will decide what the rest is going to be. To quote Douglas Adams “don’t panic”!
Greg Haver with a songwriting team at Pro7ect 2022 - Rockfield’s Quadrangle Studio
Watch the Greg Haver interview at Pro7ect 2022:
ANNOUNCING OUR 2023 RESIDENTIAL DATES:
PRO7ECT WILL BE RETURNING TO ROCKFIELD FROM 18TH TO 26TH JULY 2023
SESSION 1: 18TH - 22ND JULY
SESSION 2: 22ND - 26TH JULY
SONGWRITING MASTERCLASS (DAY ONLY) SAT 22ND JULY
HEADLINE PRODUCERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED 30.09.22
APPLY BEFORE 01.01.23 FOR THE *EARLY BIRD RATE*
Now in our 8th year, Pro7ect Songwriting Retreats at the world famous Rockfield Studios, is the only residential songwriting retreat in the UK offering music production in the room and an opportunity to collaborate with internationally acclaimed writer/producers.
P7 Headline producers include Stew Jackson (Massive Attack), Youth (Sir Paul McCartney, The Verve, The Orb), Roni Size (Reprazent), John Fortis (Razorlight, Ellie Goulding), Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers), Iain Archer (Snow Patrol, James Bay), Andrew Levy (Brand New Heavies) and Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh, just to name a few.
So far, we’ve had 18 releases & 4 sync’s from songs written at Pro7ect retreats, as well as numerous collaborations and professional opportunities via the P7 Alumni artists community.
I look forward to sharing with you in this monthly column songwriting & music production experiences, advise, tips and insider secrets that I’ve discovered along my Pro7ect Collaboration Navigation adventure.
Take risks,
Lisa Fitz
Pro7ect Session Notes is an insider’s guide to real life songwriting, collaboration, and music production experiences from Pro7ect Songwriting Retreats & Creative Director Lisa Fitzgibbon.
Links to media mentioned in this blog: https://www.pro7ect.com/session-notes
For more information and to apply for Pro7ect songwriting retreats and Masterclasses: www.pro7ect.com
Pro7ect is proudly sponsored by Prism Sound.
Images: by Ian Wallman