We’re starting a new series called “From the Vault” where we bring back parts of our past issues, one blog article at a time. You can expect interviews, reviews, thought pieces, and many more. Our first one is this 2018 interview with Joost van den Broek. We thought this was a strong pick as we’re diving into our #64 issue with which we wanted to get a sneak peek behind the musical curtain and find out more about how music actually happens, how it gets created, produced, recorded, played. Enjoy!
T.A.O: Throughout your career you have worn many hats: from keyboard player to mixer, producer, composer, and many more. How did you start each of them?
Joost: Yes, I love doing all this and I really like to multitask, but also to have this variety of tasks. It keep me very sharp, fresh and inspired. I started out as a keyboard player and studying Music Production on the conservatory. Since then it has always been this mixture. Besides that I always had a huge passion for orchestras and choirs, so after I also did a master in classical arrangement, I’ve added this to my list. Most of the productions I’m doing have one or more of these elements in them.
T.A.O: How do you divide your time among all those activities? How do you structure your workdays?
Joost: I plan ahead quite far and try to make realistic plannings. Of course sometimes things can really come together all at once, so it’s a struggle to get them done. But I love working hard and making long days, giving everything a lot of focus. It’s a lifestyle for me, since it’s both a big passion and such a huge part of my life. I live very close to the studio I work in (www.sandlane.nl) and spent A LOT of hours there…but I love what I do and love creating great things with nice people.
T.A.O: Can one be a good music producer without having been an active artist?
Joost: I do believe that’s possible, although I think that when you’re a musician yourself and master at 1 instrument really well, it gives you a lot of skills and insight in music, a great communication tool, plus a more independent and higher productive level. On the other hand, combining a very active live band with a full time career as a producer is very hard. That’s also why I play live on very rare and special occasions, not being in a full time band at the moment. Productions are such big projects and take a lot of good planning and focus, that one a very high level I don’t believe (at least) I could combine it well enough.
T.A.O: Let’s talk about what it means to record music. What is the technical process of getting a song from idea to being put on an album?
Joost: I could write many books about that (maybe an idea for later ;)), but to write it down quickly: writing music and lyrics, demoing the initial song ideas, working on details, creating the productional vision and arrangements in pre-production, rehearing with the band, preparing and planning the recordings, getting all necessary instruments and musicians or scores prepared, doing the actual studio recording and coaching the musicians in there performance and keeping track of all the file management and overall process status, editing and comping the recordings, doing additional recordings and programming, mixing with all revisions and feedback, mastering…and it’s done With some productions I do this process can lead up to 1 year of work on and off.
T.A.O: When you’re producing an album for a band, how hard do you push them? How do you figure out how much to challenge them?
Joost: Pushing might not be the right word, but encouraging, inspiring, coaching, etc would be better. I try to get the best out of everyone in a production, but first of all everyone needs to be happy and feel like they do what they wanna do. Of course I try to create a strong productional vision in the process and in preparations, so I do have a clear idea in my mind of what I want and what the level should be…but it always starts on a personal/musicianship level, working with people and creating something special together. Challenging and pushing could belong to this process, but never making people uncomfortable with it. I believe a great is born out of a very positive vibe.
T.A.O: Are the vocals your main concern on a song? How do you construct the vocal melody?
Joost: They are obviously super important and the first thing people tend to listen to when they hear a song. Sometimes I’m very much involved in the melody writing process, sometimes more during pre-production or recording. It depends on the artist and style…but of course I always put a lot of focus on the vocal, the sound, lyrics and pronunciation, performance, timbres and dynamic, etc etc…it should always grab me and move me.
T.A.O: How much is songwriting a team sport? Do you believe artists should rely on themselves and a few close connections, or should they go where the best melodies and lyrics come from?
Joost: I do believe most artists will find the best songs when they deep dig in themselves and work hard on creating and developing their taste and skills. With most bands you see 1 or 2 people being most involved in songwriting because this comes more natural to them. I strongly believe in this natural urge and passion to create, which simply not all people have and which is fine. Not just every random song works for every band or artist, so I don’t believe when making very strong and focussed authentic album, you can just gather a group of random songwriters and start writing. Anyhow, different things work for different people.
T.A.O: In symphonic metal, bands are known for their big and epic sound. Can they keep with making album after album more bombastic? When does it become too much?
Joost: Too much or the term over-the-to-top is a very relative saying. In this genre most bands are looking for a huge and exciting experience when listening to their music, very dynamic and colourful, emotional and intense. Every band does it in its own way and is searching for their own flavours and combinations. It just has to keep making sense altogether, not overshadowing important elements, have a strong vision and message and arranged and performed/recorded really well…it’s a big puzzle and when you’re able to figure it out, the sky’s the limit. This at the same time is very much a matter of taste as well.
T.A.O: How do you make sure not to repeat yourself, whether across albums of the same band or different bands?
Joost: I always keep developing as a musician, technician, producer, arranger, both most of all as a person. I also believe in a strong ‘momentum’ which for each time and or place in your life or a bands career is different. This eliminates ‘repeating yourself’ very much…you are always looking for the next best thing and always getting inspired by new things whatever they are. On top of that I really like challenging myself and are always aiming for the best result I can deliver on that moment, which makes that you will also look forward and will never be satisfied with a mediocre and repetitive result.
T.A.O: Can you “turn off” your producer brain when listening to a song, or do you end up noticing different elements in it?
Joost: Yes, I can actually…maybe in my subconsciousness it still goes on, but I can truly just enjoy and listen to music without being ‘at work’.
T.A.O: How do you see the move in creating songs from lyrics and music towards tracks and hooks? Obviously, not so much in the metal world.
Joost: Honestly I don’t have a lot to do with this. I believe in creating freedom and when that’s a strong hook it can create a great song for certain purposes, but also a really inspired story and a strong vibe can create a great and special song for a band. I do believe this works differently for everyone. Whatever artists and bands feel good with and they find something of themselves in. Of course you can create out of a certain commercial vision, but then this should be so extremely strong and well-done (which is possible) that it still stands out in a unique way.
T.A.O: Have you ever looked for inspiration or lessons towards other well-known producers, from different genres or eras (Sir George Martin, Max Martin, Quincy Jones, etc)?
Joost: Sure! I love learning about all these fenomenal producers and arrangers. I do watch and read about them when and what I can…very inspiring and energising!
T.A.O: What about people trying to emulate you? Do you ever find other artists/producers mimicking your style?
Joost: I don’t know…I never really felt or heard anything like this, but when it would happen I would actually feel more honoured than angry about it. It’s logical that people inspire and influence each other. I also do believe that everyone has such different ears and taste, that there always will be a different endresult even with the exact same technical or theoretical process.
T.A.O: What makes a great song for you? Is there ever a formula for a good song or a hit, even if it only last for a brief period of time?
Joost: I don’t actually believe this. Maybe you can over analyse all world hits, but even then it’s hard to find 1 solid formula. It’s matter of so many elements for a song to become a hit. You need a whole team of people for this and all the stars should be aligned. I never would write a song with only this purpose, since I don’t find it very inspiring. If you catch the right song for the right artist, create the right production around, their label and management know business and you get a great momentum, a song will get a chance to be a hit. But the cool thing is to see that this can happen in any style, with every production, so always stay thinking out of the box.