Voici une interview de Chad Hugo, du duo de producteurs Neptunes (Missy Elliott, P.Diddy, Justin Timberlake, Lupe Fiasco…), et également membre du groupe N.E.R.D avec Pharrell Williams et Shae.
Contrairement à Skateboard P. qui est toujours sous le feu des projecteurs, Chad semble plus discret et accorde très peu d’interviews. Une bonne occasion d’en apprendre un peu plus sur ce génie de la production !
Let’s get one thing straight: The nerd in N.E.R.D. and the Neptunes isn’t Pharrell Williams, despite that falsetto of his.
“I always looked at the hot chicks and didn’t know what to say in high school,” admits Chad Hugo—Williams’ production partner and occasional bandmate—as he speaks to Theme from an L.A. hotel room. “Pharrell isn’t so much of a nerd. He once got kicked out of a drumline for playing a part wrong!”
Cliquer ci-dessous pour la suite de l’interview…
Related PostsHugo is in the City of Angels to master Kenna’s next album for his label, Star Trak, and to work with Ashlee Simpson. All in a day’s work for this busy musician (in the band N.E.R.D.), producer (with Williams as the Neptunes), label owner, and father of two. As half of the Neptunes, Hugo changed the sound of hip-hop, creating a distorted, electronic sound, in contrast to the sampled funk drum breaks of the day. We managed to keep him on the phone long enough to talk about band camp, remixing the Rolling Stones, and, err, “Star Trek.”
You and Pharrell produced a lot of tracks separately last year. Are you planning on working together more in the near future?
Yeah, we’re looking forward to it too. We’ve talked about another N.E.R.D. record because it’s so much fun to do.How does it compare with your Neptunes work? Do you feel like you have to have a certain sound with your productions, while N.E.R.D. is looser?
Not so much. [N.E.R.D.] is about making your body move and feeling the beat. I don’t think of it aesthetically. I guess I could. It’s about bridging gaps more than anything, since the climate is more eclectic nowadays.That’s the thing. You guys started out in this scene with a completely different sound. Is there any kind of internal pressure to maintain that level of innovation and quality?
It has a lot to do with our backgrounds. We’re like Iron Chefs, always rolling out the dough, so to speak. I’m talking about the dough you bake with.Is producing less rewarding, now that people get over songs so quickly?
No. You just have to get back to the essence of listening and experiencing things. There’s always that satisfaction when you hear your song on the radio or see a DJ play it. This thing has its moments for sure. I’ve been a family man with two kids for a while, so there’s always a constant struggle to find that balance [between work and music].Right on. There was a point a few years back, where every hit single seemed to be produced by you or Timbaland. Does it make you think, “Why aren’t people trying harder?”
I’m honored that it was like that. Music needs to inspire people, so that they want to do something that’s similar or better. With MySpace and YouTube now, we’re going to see more of that.It’s also easier for a kid in a bedroom to produce a decent song with a computer program now.
Yeah, it’s kinda scary. [Laughs.] It’s crazy how a click of a mouse can bring out four bars of a banging loop. It’s okay for people who actually play instruments and took lessons at some point, though.You usually record instruments live and then tweak the sounds later right?
Yeah.Now, if you drop a song into a program like Ableton Live and mess with a couple plug-ins, it could turn into a hot-sounding remix.
I’m not against that. It is what it is, as long as you’re training your ear along the way. I’m just waiting for the day when we abolish woodwind instruments. What are we going to do without band camp?Which is where you and Pharrell met, right? At a summer jazz program? [Williams played the drums while Hugo played the tenor saxophone, piano, and guitar.]
Yeah. I wouldn’t necessarily call it band camp. It was more like an improv program, where they taught us scales and fundamentals. It was fun pouring our hearts and souls into it, vibing off one another and even missing a note here or there.[Jazz] was always the basis of our sound: the freedom of improvising and being in a live group, feeding off one another’s ideas.
I started piano when I was four. My parents would teach me things, and I’d play pop songs off the radio. I picked up the sax in fifth grade [and it became my main instrument in high school].
Do you find time to play at all anymore?
[Laughs.] The most recent time was when I went to the Philippines, and my mom asked me to play my sax. This last trip was actually my first time there. It was kinda crazy. I felt like a foreigner. When I got there, there was a guy waving a gun behind us. My cousin was like, ‘Hey, there’s a guy behind us with a gun,’ like it was nothing. Later on, it was in the news that he may have been part of a kidnapping.So back to music. When did you and Pharrell start working together outside of class?
I remember him banging on the cafeteria table one time, and I started banging right along to it. After that, we shared our interests in hip-hop. He actually had an abstract Rakim style back then, with a low voice and everything. It was real quick chemistry. When we connected, we were fucking with concepts from the beginning, and the world opened up from there. We were like our own band in a box—the box being a bedroom. Well, a garage.Has it been strange to watch producers become stars over the past decade?
The whole thing is strange, this whole journey up until now. It’s great to see everyone within the camp achieve what they want. I look at this all as a blessing. I never thought I’d be in the limelight as much as I have been.Do you like the style of older producers like DJ Premier?
You can’t think about the future unless you know about the past. It’s a constant learning experience [to relate] the two.What are some records that have inspired you lately?
Sometimes I crank up David Axelrod on the iPod. It’s just so cinematic, jazzy, and poetic. The pure compositions are masterpieces.Will the Neptunes try to create a cinematic sound in the future? You’re known for a more minimal approach rather than a lot of layering.
There’s a time and place for everything. On songs like “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” I wouldn’t say it’s the most emotional song, but when you hear it, you see it too—booties dropping and everything. The sound paints pictures, the way an album can read like a storybook. There’s nothing like dropping a needle on a joint, and it hits you in the head right away. That’s necessary too. It’s hard to pull people in immediately nowadays.What about a remixing the Rolling Stones? How was that?
That was an honor. It’s an honor working with everyone, though, because I never would have thought we’d be doing this.Were you nervous toying with such an icon?
Yeah. To put up those reels and hear those original parts played—the solos, the piano in the background, and everything—was an experience for sure. How nerdy is that too? Getting so excited about a two-inch reel?Do you plan on doing a solo album in the future like Pharrell did [on the 2006 LP In My Mind]? Or maybe branching out into fashion?
I’ve thought about it, but I can’t do everything. I’ve always been a fan of design and architecture. If I weren’t doing music, I’d probably be doing something with that. Maybe one day I’ll learn carpentry.Right on. Well, before you go, this issue’s theme is nerds. So I have to ask you, were you one in high school?
I thought I was cool, but I am a nerd.You were also the conductor of the marching band in high school right?
Yeah, that’s pretty nerdy.All right, man. The last thing I’ve got to ask: “Star Trek” or Star Wars?
“Star Trek.” Those characters were cool: “Beam me up Scotty.” I remember even wanting a pet Tribble. Remember they went to that one planet, too, where everyone was high? That was kinda awesome.
1 Responses to “Chad Hugo from N.E.R.D Interview by Theme Magazine.”
Leave a Reply