Musical production A key profession on the road to the Olympus of music

By definition, a music producer paves the way for artists to produce their recorded music. Generally speaking, the producer finances the production of the single or album and receives payment from its sale. Find out more about some of Luxembourg's music producers and learn about their profession, their success stories and the passion that drives them. 

Magestick Records

In 2013, David Veiga and André Neves posted their instrumental video on YouTube. It was produced for rappers to practice their vocal skills and to rehearse their lyrics. Today, the duo are the proud owners of a gold disc in the United States with more than 50 million views and almost 250,000 subscribers on YouTube! They sell instrumental tracks to rappers across the world. In 2020, the production company Sony/ATV Music Publishing in Berlin discovered the Luxembourg duo and signed them up to the label. 

 

What was the first album you produced?

The first album we produced was by the artist MC Bilal in Germany. The album was released in 2018 and rose to number three in the official charts in Germany and number one in the Hip Hop charts.

What is your biggest success to date?

The golden disc (more than 500,000 albums sold) which we received this year for our participation in the album by NLE Choppa in the United States.

If anything was possible, for which star would you like to produce an album?

We would love to work with Drake.

We can't wait to hear what you're working on next...

At the moment, we're focused on setting up our own recording studio where we could invite local and international artists. We're currently working on projects with German artists such as Samra, Azet, Capital Bra, etc. We're also working on a project with the singer Ondreaz; we produced his first single "No Baila" which generated more than a million views on digital platforms.

© Magestick Records

Where can our readers listen to your productions or follow your latest projects?

They can listen to our productions on YouTube or on our official website and they can follow us on Instagram.

Chris Vitorino

© Chris Vitorino

Chris (Christophe) Vitorino de Almeida is a young musical artist, who is recognised on the international scene but is relatively unknown in his native country. He is under contract as a composer at Universal Music Group, as an the artist "Chris Meid" at Warner Music Group, two global leaders in the music industry. His impressive journey began when Chris was 18 years old and decided to quit school to study music production in Lisbon at the ETIC, a school for creative industries. Later, he took an internship in New York and continued his studies in London at the Point Blank Music School, the music production school, where he met Felix Jaehn. Chris works alone, as a micro-business, and would like to get more involved in educating young people in order to show them what is possible with a lot of commitment and passion.

What was the first album you produced?

Today, albums are no longer a priority for an artist or record label. Nevertheless, I often end up by producing individual songs, such as "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" by Felix Jaehn or "Stimme" by EFF, which later appeared on an album. Therefore, on the album "I" by Felix Jaehn you'll find nine songs - five of which were international hits - that I produced or co-wrote.

What is your biggest success to date?

To be honest, my biggest success is to be able to live my dream! But, if you're referring to sales figures, I can have had a few major successes. In 2015, I co-produced "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" by Felix Jaehn; it was a number one hit and my first global success. Thanks to that song, I received my first "Diamond Award"; it sold more than 1,000,000 copies in Germany. I also received my first "Gold Award" in America for the sale of 200,000 copies. The same year, I produced the song "Stimme" by EFF which became a number one hit in Germany. I was awarded a platinum disc for sales of over 400,000 copies. In 2018, I worked on two other tracks by Felix Jaehn, "Like A Riddle" and "Jennie", which topped the music charts in Germany. "Jennie" sold more than 200,000 copies, for which I received my second "Gold Award".

If everything was possible, for which star would you like to produce an album?

There are so many to choose from! But if anything was possible, I would definitely choose to share a studio with Michael Jackson, by far the most talented and most inspirational artist to have lived on this planet. Besides him, I would probably pick Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre or Rick Rubin, the famous American producer.

We can't wait to hear what you're working on next...

I can't really talk about it, it's very confidential. What I can say is that at the end of the year an album will be released for which I produced and co-wrote a large part of the music.

Where can our readers listen to your productions or follow your latest news?

I'm currently working on my website but it's still too early to share any more information! 

Napoleon Gold

Antoine Honorez, the French producer who grew up in Luxembourg and who currently lives and works between Brussels and the Grand Duchy, is known for his electronic music which he produces with bewitching arrangements and by sampling low-pitched and warm voices coupled with catchy percussion. He has worked on remixes and collaborated with Sun Glitters and Monsoon Siren, was the support act for London Grammar, Glass Animals, Son Lux, SOHN, and has played at various festivals across Europe, such as the Liverpool Soundcity Festival, Nordik Impakt, Galapagai Festival, Rock A Field and many more. 

What was the first album you produced?

I produced the first EP by Bartleby Delicate, "Deadly Sadly Whatever", which was released in May 2021. In 2019, I released my first solo album "Sunset Motel" for the Cinematic Music Group label in New York. Since joining the Cinematic Music Group, I have worked with artists such as Haiva Ru, Anna Majidson, Madge, Jesus Honcho, PH Trigano, the Spanish artists Raquel & Kimberley Tell, as well as one of the most exciting rappers on the music scene at the moment, Jalen Santony, as well as the jazz pianist Jerome Klein and the singer DAVESTATEOFMIND.

What is your biggest success to date?

A great professional achievement and a huge personal experience was my collaboration with Grammy Award winner T-Pain. I wrote a song for my first EP, "Heaven and Back", and he sang the vocals on the track.

If everything was possible, for which star would you like to produce an album?

That could change, but at the moment I love the music made by Steve Reich! I listen to it a lot; it's also a form of therapy.

We can't wait to hear what you're working on next...

As a musician, I've arranged a songwriting session with one of the two members of Faux Real at the beginning of July 2021. He's an old childhood friend, of American descent; he lives in the USA and England and we're working on my next album. With Bartleby Delicate, we're cooperating on the production of the next album. We're currently in the research phase and we just started writing the songs. As such, the album will be released in about a year.

© Guillaume Kayacan

Where can our readers listen to your productions or follow your latest news?

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

G-Minor Records

© Mike Zenari

Founded in 2013, G-Minor Records offers a comprehensive service, including the development of artists, as well as production, publishing, distribution and promotion. The production company discovers, develops, markets and promotes a large number of artists, mainly in the field of pop music. Joël Heyard (drummer, songwriter and producer) and Aaron Baustert (sound engineer, songwriter and producer) are fully committed to helping musicians succeed in the Luxembourg and international music industry. They aim to achieve their goal through their passion, know-how and experience. 

What was the first album you produced?

The first album I produced (Joël Heyard, editor's note) was the album by the group First-H. "Hey Momo" came out in 1997. We enjoyed a lot of success with the group and, at the time, were even the support act for Bon Jovi in Bettembourg. Our average age was 17 years old!

What is your biggest success to date?

One of our biggest successes was the song "Firwat" by the group The Gentles in 2003. It was released as part of an advertising campaign on Road Safety and we were the first Luxembourgish hip hop group to be played on the radio! You can still hear this music today on the radio waves in the Grand Duchy. Another major honour was to receive the commission to compose and produce the official musical composition for the royal wedding of the heir to the Luxembourg throne, entitled "I'm in Love" with Deborah Lehnen and Christophe Strotz.

If everything was possible, for which star would you like to produce an album?

Michael Jackson

We can't wait to hear what you're working on next...

Currently, I (Joël Heyard, editor's note) am working on a new album which will probably be released at some point this year. My first solo album "Introspection" came out in 2018. Also, I regularly release singles with Jeff Herr as part of our project: The Gazmen.

Where can our readers listen to your productions or follow your latest news?

On the website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Axwai a.s.b.l. 

Founded in 2013, the Axwai association offers personal and collective workshops (from 12 years old) in beat-making and modern music production for young people in Luxembourg and the Greater Region. In this music studio, adolescents can learn about and exercise their love for the production of modern music, rap, singing and create rhythms with the support and guidance of a skilled instructor. The objective is to offer the members the necessary support in the field of musical creation at Axwai Studio.