Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin | |
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![]() Kurstin in 2017 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Gregory Allen Kurstin |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | May 14, 1969
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Website | gregkurstin |
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, musician, singer and songwriter. Described as "the consummate DIY writer and producer", Kurstin has been associated with releases which have cumulatively sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. He has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year in 2010 and 2014. In addition to three other Grammys, Kurstin won Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 2017.[1][2][3][4][5]
Kurstin co-wrote, produced and played most of the instruments on the record-breaking 2015 Adele single, "Hello". Among others, he has worked with Sia, Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Ellie Goulding, Pink, the Shins, Tegan and Sara, Lily Allen, and the Foo Fighters. He often plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, and engineers and programs the records he produces.[3][6][7][2]
An "exceptionally accomplished" musician, Kurstin began his career as a jazz pianist and later co-founded Geggy Tah. He has collaborated with Inara George in The Bird and the Bee since 2004.[8]
Early life and education
Kurstin was born and raised in a Jewish family[9] in Los Angeles, California. He started playing piano at age 5; soon after, he picked up guitar and bass. Kurstin joined his first band at the age of 11, and co-wrote "Crunchy Water", the b-side to classmate Dweezil Zappa's "My Mother Is a Space Cadet" at 12.[10]
In high school, Kurstin focused on jazz piano. After graduation, he moved to New York to study with Charles Mingus' pianist Jaki Byard at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In addition to coursework, as a student Kurstin played with prominent jazz artists including Bobby Hutcherson, George Coleman, and Charles McPherson.[11] He returned to Los Angeles to finish his degree, and graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in 1992.[10]
In a 2013 interview, Kurstin said that his education in jazz had played a vital role in his pop success. "It's still something I carry over into my pop music work. It's really important to me that the notes I'm choosing strike the right emotional chord."[12][13]
Career
1994–2004: Geggy Tah, studio and session work
Kurstin continued to perform with Hutcherson, Coleman, McPherson and others following his graduation. In 1994, he formed Geggy Tah with Tommy Jordan, whom he had met at an LA jam. A friend passed a demo they recorded on to David Byrne, who signed them to his label, Luaka Bop. "They incorporate so many disparate elements into their sound that one senses a new sensibility afoot", Byrne said in 1997.[14]
Geggy Tah released their debut album Grand Opening in 1994; Kurstin played bass, clavinet, guitar, organ, piano, synthesizers and drums, and was credited as a songwriter, producer, programmer, and backup vocalist. In 1996 the band released Sacred Cow. It included the song "Whoever You Are", which became a hit in 2001, after it was used in a television spot for Mercedes Benz. As the song ascended the charts, Geggy Tah released their final album, Into the Oh.[15][16][17]
In addition to playing with Geggy Tah, Kurstin did session work, one-offs and tours with artists including Beck, Ben Harper, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2001, he released an album under the name Action Figure Party on the Verve-affiliated label Blue Thumb Records. Flea, Sean Lennon, Soul Coughing's Yuval Gabay as well as musicians who performed with Beck, Air, Gil-Scott Heron and Garbage appeared on the record.[18][19]
Kurstin signed a worldwide publishing deal with EMI (now Sony/ATV) in 2002. While he had consistently written songs since the age of 12, he intensified his efforts, working "day and night, pumping out songs". In addition to writing on his own, he collaborated with songwriters and artists including Sia, whom he met through Beck in 2003.[20][21]
2004–2010: The Bird and the Bee, Lily Allen, Sia
In 2004, Kurstin was introduced to singer Inara George by a mutual friend, Mike Andrews. Then producing George's solo debut, Andrews hired Kurstin as a pianist for the album. Kurstin and George clicked musically in the studio and together they formed The Bird and the Bee (stylized as "the bird and the bee"). Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Blue Note Records chairman Bruce Lundvall.[22] Described by Entertainment Weekly as "space-age pop that cunningly combines bossa nova languidity with Beach Boys-style lushness", they have since released four albums and an EP. Kurstin was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album for the Bird and the Bee's 2015 release, Recreational Love.[23] [24][25]
After working on tracks with artists including Peaches, All Saints, Pink, the Flaming Lips, and Kylie Minogue, Kurstin was introduced to Lily Allen. Along with other musicians, co-writers, producers and engineers, he worked on her 2006 debut, Alright, Still, which went on to achieve platinum status. For her second album It's Not Me, It's You, Allen worked exclusively with Kurstin; he co-wrote every song and played all of the instruments on the record, which he also engineered and produced. The album's first single, "The Fear", spent four weeks at number 1 in the UK, and the album hit number 5 in the US and charted in the top 10 in eight other countries. With Allen, Kurstin won three Ivor Novello Awards for his work on the double-platinum It's Not Me, It's You. Based in part on the album's success, as well as his work on a bird and the bee record, Kurstin was nominated for his first Producer of the Year Grammy in 2010.[26]
Kurstin's first commercially available collaboration with Sia was "Death by Chocolate", released on her 2008 album Some People Have Real Problems. In 2010, he produced Sia's fifth album, We Are Born. It reached number 2 in Australia and number 37 in the US. It won ARIA Music Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Independent Release.[27]
2011–2016: Kelly Clarkson, the Shins, Pink, Adele
In 2012, Kurstin earned his first number 1 song in the United States and two Grammy Award nominations for Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", which he co-wrote and produced. He reunited with Clarkson in 2013 (on Wrapped in Red) and in 2015 (on Piece by Piece). "I think what makes him stand out as a producer is his skill as a musician", Clarkson said. "He can play anything phenomenally. His abilities as a musician give him an advantage, because he doesn’t have to rely on anyone else to interpret his vision."[28] In 2012 Kurstin produced and wrote or co-wrote five songs for the Grammy-nominated Pink album, The Truth About Love, including its first single, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". The album was Pink's first number 1 in the United States; it charted in the Top 10 in 31 countries, and as of 2016 had been certified seven-times platinum. Later in 2012, he began production on Tegan & Sara's Heartthrob and worked closely with the Shins' James Mercer on Port of Morrow, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200.[29]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/GregKurstin2013.jpg/220px-GregKurstin2013.jpg)
In addition to Clarkson, in 2013 and 2014 Kurstin wrote and produced songs which appeared on albums by Lana Del Rey, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, Lykke Li, Katy Perry, and Charli XCX. He co-wrote and produced Ellie Goulding's "Burn", which was the number 1 single in the UK for three consecutive weeks, teamed again with Allen, and collaborated with Sia on 1000 Forms of Fear. Her most successful album to date, 1000 Forms of Fear debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and charted at number 1 in Australia and Canada and reached the top five charts in Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 1000 Forms of Fear earned three ARIA Music Awards. Kurstin was nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy for the album's lead single, "Chandelier", and once again nominated as Producer of the Year.[7]
Kurstin scored the 2014 adaptation of the film Annie and served as the soundtrack's executive producer. With Sia, he created new arrangements for the Broadway musical's original tracks and co-wrote several new songs for the film, including "Opportunity", for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.[30][31]
Kurstin began working with Beck on his follow up to the Grammy-winning Morning Phase in 2015. He co-wrote and produced "Dreams", the first single from the album "Colors".[32]
Kurstin co-wrote and produced three songs on Adele's 2015 album, 25, including its first single, "Hello". In an interview with Rolling Stone, Adele said: "This song was a massive breakthrough for me with my writing because it'd been pretty slow up to this point, and I felt after I worked with Greg [Kurstin] on this, it all poured right out of me." Kurstin also played bass, guitar, drums, piano and keyboards on "Hello", which reached number one in 28 countries. It was the first record to exceed 1 million in digital sales over a 7-day period. As of February 2016, the album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[33][34][35]
2016-present: Producer of the Year, Liam Gallagher, Foo Fighters, No Expectations
Kurstin's fourth album with Sia, This Is Acting, was released in January 2016.[36]
In February 2017, Kurstin won four Grammy Awards. For Adele's 25, he won Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year for his work on Adele's 25. He won Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in recognition of his work with Tegan and Sara, Sia and Ellie Goulding.[37]
In March 2017, the BBC reported that Kurstin was working with Paul McCartney on a new studio album.[38] Kurstin co-produced the song "Love" on Kendrick Lamar's album Damn, released in March 2017.[39] On June 1, 2017, a single by Liam Gallagher entitled "Wall of Glass" was released.[40] The track was written by Gallagher and Kurstin.
Kurstin produced the Foo Fighters album, Concrete and Gold, which released on September 15, 2017. In an interview with Music Week, Dave Grohl said: “If you want to survive you have to kind of push a little bit. I just imagined the sound moving outwards. Not necessarily alternative instrumentation and shit like that, just sonically to push it out. Greg is a fucking genius. He’s a brilliant producer and he has this sonic intuition that I have never seen in anybody else."[41]
In 2017, Kurstin launched No Expectations, a publishing joint venture with Sony/ATV. The first artists signed to No Expectations were Jesse Shatkin and Wendy Wang.[42]
Discography
Awards and nominations
Golden Globe Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | "Opportunity" with Sia Furler and Will Gluck (from Annie) | Best Original Song | Nominated |
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Body of work during eligible year | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Nominated |
2013 | "Stronger" (Kelly Clarkson) | Song of the Year | Nominated |
Record of the Year | Nominated | ||
2015 | "Chandelier" (Sia) | Nominated | |
Body of work during eligible year | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Nominated | |
2016 | Recreational Love (The Bird and the Bee) | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Nominated |
2017 | 25 (Adele) | Album of the Year | Won |
"Hello" (Adele) | Song of the Year | Won | |
Record of the Year | Won | ||
Body of work during eligibility year | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Won | |
2017 | Pending | ||
"Never Give Up" | Best Song Written for Visual Media | Pending |
Ivor Novello Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Greg Kurstin, Lilly Allen | Songwriter of the Year | Won |
"The Fear" (Lily Allen) | Best Song | Won | |
Most Performed Work | Won |
References
- ^ "Grammys, Complete Winners List". Billboard. February 12, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Tingen, Paul (March 20, 2015). "Wigging Out". Audio Technology. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ a b "Adele's Producer Greg Kurstin Says it Wasn't Easy Keeping Mum on Adele". Billboard. AP. October 27, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Year End Charts 2009-2015". Billboard. January 1, 2009.
Adele, Sia, Katy Perry, Rita Ora, the Shins, Santigold, Lana Del Rey, Britney Spears, Tegan & Sarah, Dido, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Ellie Goulding
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ Weiss, David (March 28, 2016). "Writing and Recording a Huge #1". SonicScoop. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
- ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (February 3, 2015). "Ladies' man: Greg Kurstin on producing for Clarkson, Sia". Associated Press. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ a b "Greg Kurstin production credits". Allmusic. Allmusic.
- ^ Sara, Quinn (February 29, 2012). "Greg Kurstin - Behind the Scenes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (December 22, 2014). "All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!". Jewish World Review.
- ^ a b Wood, Mikael. "Greg Kurstin is an in-demand songwriter-producer – and not crazy". December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ Gallant, Michael (May 1, 2013). "GREG KURSTIN Blazing his own trail from jazz scholar to pop hit-maker". Music and Musicians. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ Harcourt, Nic. "Greg Kurstin: Turn It Up". July 2009. Los Angeles Times Magazine. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "New School Press Release, 2008". Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ Harrington, Jim (February 21, 1997). "Going Geggy Over Tah". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Sawdey, Evan (July 16, 2015). "The Lovey Dovey Return of the Bird and the Bee". Pop Matters. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ Roos, John (January 3, 1997). "Whoever They Are : Geggy Tah's Members Defy Conventional Labels, Yet One of Their Singles Is Climbing the Charts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Geggy Tah album credits". Allmusic. Allmusic. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Kreikbergs, John (September 6, 2001). "Action Figure Party". The Pitch. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ Henderickson, Ted (July 1, 2001). "Action Figure Party". CMJ. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew. "From Geggy Tah to the Grammys: The Wild Ride of "Pop Impersario" Greg Kurstin". February 8, 2013. Pop Dust. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "Greg Kurstin extends global publishing agreement with EMI Music Publishing". May 11, 2010. EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ Chinen, Nate. "At 70, a Legendary Jazz Label Asks, 'Now What?'". February 6, 2009. New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ Endelman, Michael. "the bird and the bee". January 19, 2007. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "bird and the bee at AllMusic". 2013. AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "Best Engineered Album Grammy, Non-Classical". cbs.com. CBS. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ^ Tingen, Paul (May 1, 2009). "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Greg Kurstin". Sound on Sound. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ "ARIA Chart Awards" (PDF). ARIA.
- ^ Hits staff, 18, 2016 (January 18, 2016). "Meet the Grammy Class: Kelly Clarkson". Hits. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
{{cite news}}
:|first1=
has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sisario, Ben (March 16, 2012). "The Second Act Of an Indie Success Story". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
- ^ Rigby, Sam. "Sia and Beck Join Stars on Annie Movie Soundtrack". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ Via RocNation. "ANNIE Soundtrack Press Release". Nuke The Fridge. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Reed, Ryan (June 15, 2015). "Beck Looks to Dance Floor With Funky New Song, 'Dreams'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "Radio on Adele's 'Hello': 'She Can Make You Feel What She Feels'". Billboard.
- ^ Searjeant, Jill (November 2, 2015). "Adele's 'Hello' breaks 1 million digital sales in record". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 23, 2015). "Adele Talks '25,' 'Hello' Origins and 'Darkness' in New Interviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (January 28, 2016). "Sia hides in plain sight (and big sound) on 'This Is Acting'". USA Today. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ^ Coscarelli, Joe (February 14, 2017). "Greg Kurstin, Adele's No. 2, on the Grammys, Beyoncé and Getting Cut Off". New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ "Sir Paul McCartney talks to 6 Music about collaborations, Chuck Berry, his new album and his own musical legacy., Rhys Thomas joins Shaun, Shaun Keaveny - BBC Radio 6 Music". BBC. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (April 14, 2017). "Our 3 instant reactions to Kendrick Lamar's startling new album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ "Liam Gallagher Debuts His First Solo Song Wall of Glass - Noise11.com". www.noise11.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ Trendall, Andrew (July 10, 2017). "Foo Fighters explain why they chose Adele's producer for their new album". NME. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ Newman, Melinda (September 19, 2017). "Adele, Foo Fighters Producer Greg Kurstin Launches Publishing Joint Venture With Sony/ATV: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2017.