Speaker 1: What up you guys. Welcome back to Crash Guards Pod,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we break down the biggest names and
Speaker 1: moments in music today. We're talking about the producer, the songwriter,
Speaker 1: the band leader, and also three time Grammy winner from
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, and twenty twenty four. Basically,
Speaker 1: you can say he's a man whose musical DNA is
Speaker 1: woven into the biggest hits of the last decade. I'm
Speaker 1: talking about Jack Antonoff. Now, if you listened to the radio,
Speaker 1: streamed a major playlist, or simply watched the Grammys in
Speaker 1: the last five years, I'm sure you've heard his work.
Speaker 1: This guy isn't just the collaborator. He's the creative confidant
Speaker 1: for some of the greatest songwriters alive. We're gonna dive
Speaker 1: into his journey, his signature sound, and the truly surprising
Speaker 1: diaspora of his work, including his foray into rap. But
Speaker 1: first to understand the producer, we have to understand him
Speaker 1: as an artist. Antonov's career wasn't an overnight success story. No,
Speaker 1: it never is. To be honest, you guys, it was
Speaker 1: a climb through different musical eras. So the foundation, shall
Speaker 1: we say, we would say that his origins were in
Speaker 1: the indie rock world as the frontman for Still Train.
Speaker 1: This laid the groundwork for his love of raw energy
Speaker 1: and instrumentation, and then we have the breakthrough. The next
Speaker 1: big step was as a guitarist and drummer and the
Speaker 1: pop rock trio Fun. This is where the world learned
Speaker 1: his name thanks to the anthemic layered hit like We
Speaker 1: Are Young. I believe there was a feature on that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Janelle money was a feature on that song we Are Young.
Speaker 1: But aside from that, we have well by the way,
Speaker 1: that song gave him his first taste of massive Grammy
Speaker 1: winning mainstream success. And then we have his current primary
Speaker 1: creative outlet, and that's his solo project, Bleachers. This is
Speaker 1: where you hear the unfiltered Antonov sound, that signature blend
Speaker 1: of New jay Z heartache, raw emotional layers and massive
Speaker 1: nostalgic Eighties inspired since and saxophone. I love saxophone. In fact,
Speaker 1: I used to play alto saxophone in middle school. Anyways,
Speaker 1: Bleachers is the musical blueprint he then lent to others.
Speaker 1: So just so you know, now, let's turn to the
Speaker 1: production chair. Antonov, like I said, earlier, has won the
Speaker 1: Producer of the Year Non Classical Grammy for three consecutive years.
Speaker 1: And his true secret is the deep, almost clinical trust
Speaker 1: he builds with a handful of a list artists. So
Speaker 1: let's talk style as a producer, Shawi. The core idea
Speaker 1: is that Antonov uses vintage analog year to create sound
Speaker 1: that is both deeply nostalgic and intensely intimate. This is
Speaker 1: the foundation of the Antonov sound. What does that even mean?
Speaker 1: While that means that Antonop is committed to using physical
Speaker 1: analog synthencizers synthesizers, not computer plug ins to tap into
Speaker 1: the warmth and depth of the nineteen eighties. The Roland
Speaker 1: Juno six slash Juno sixty is, i guess, known to
Speaker 1: be his favorite and most use synth, known for its lush,
Speaker 1: shimmering and melanch melancholic chorus effect, literally the sound of
Speaker 1: the eighties. It creates those dreamy layer pads and the
Speaker 1: driving basslines that underpin tracks like Lords the Louvre. I
Speaker 1: always said that, right, the Louvet, the Lovour, I don't
Speaker 1: know guys or the bleachers. I want to get better.
Speaker 1: Then we have the Oberheim OB eight. This is a
Speaker 1: synth that delivered the grand stadium sized rock pop sound.
Speaker 1: It was a star of Taylor Swift's midnights, creating those
Speaker 1: massive soaring swells and main synth melodies that give his
Speaker 1: choruses their unmistakable emotional lift. Then we have the Moog,
Speaker 1: whether it's the Mini Moog, Model D or Voyager, This
Speaker 1: legendary synth is used to create a deep, pulsing low
Speaker 1: end that grounds the otherwise airy synths. He sometimes runs
Speaker 1: this fat analog sound through a guitar fuzz pedal to
Speaker 1: create distorted, buzzing quote unquote wrong sounds that adds an
Speaker 1: unsettling texture, which some people consider that to be controversial.
Speaker 1: I think it's creative af And then we have the
Speaker 1: drum machine Len drum and the driving rhythm. The Len
Speaker 1: drum is an iconic sound of the eighties. It provides
Speaker 1: the big gated reverb snares, that satisfying wax sound, and repetitive,
Speaker 1: slightly stiff patterns. Even when he uses a live drummer.
Speaker 1: He mixes the beat with this electronic sound to give
Speaker 1: the track a chugging rock like feeling, a consistent driving
Speaker 1: beat that acts like a relentless heartbeat. Pushing the track forward,
Speaker 1: such as in Taylor Swift's Out of the Woods. I
Speaker 1: believe that the true technique is how he uses these
Speaker 1: analog components to achieve a feeling of epic intimacy. He
Speaker 1: stacks multiple synths, often hardpanned left and right, to build
Speaker 1: a wall of sound, which is a nod to sixties
Speaker 1: producer Phil to make every chorus feel huge and cinematic.
Speaker 1: Then he runs tracks through vintage tape delay units to
Speaker 1: slightly degrade the sound. This slight imperfection and wobble makes
Speaker 1: the sound feel like it was recorded in a living room,
Speaker 1: not a sterile studio, adding crucial emotional texture. Now that
Speaker 1: we know his tools, let's see how he adapts or
Speaker 1: doesn't adapt them to his most successful partnerships. Taylor Swift
Speaker 1: is up first, and we actually did an episode on
Speaker 1: Taylor Swift, and this is what piqued my interest into
Speaker 1: Jack Antonoff. By the way, so if you haven't heard
Speaker 1: the Taylor Swift episode after this one, go take a listen. Anyways,
Speaker 1: he was a key collaborator on the Grammy Album of
Speaker 1: the Year winners like nineteen eighty seven and Folklore. He
Speaker 1: helped steer her into pop and then into cinematic, introspective folk,
Speaker 1: and their partnership is known to have been built on
Speaker 1: long term creative trust. Then we have Lona del Ray
Speaker 1: on albums like Norman f Rockwell, he provides the lush,
Speaker 1: cinematic instrumentation. These are some difficult words from my lips.
Speaker 1: I need to lick them. Just kidding. Anyways, he provided
Speaker 1: that lush cinematic instrumentation that perfectly compliments her melancholic, literary songwriting.
Speaker 1: Next up is Lord. He defined the sound of albums
Speaker 1: like Melodrama, helped her craft a tight, sense driven, emotionally
Speaker 1: complex coming of age masters. Now, if you think that
Speaker 1: Jack Antonov is just a pop producer, you're missing half
Speaker 1: of the plot. He's super adaptable, so that will include
Speaker 1: other artists the unexpected rap credits, such as in Kendrick
Speaker 1: Lamar's G and X and Dojacat's album V. He co
Speaker 1: wrote and produced credits on Dojacat's album VY, notably the
Speaker 1: disco pop lead single Jealous Type, which is one of
Speaker 1: my favorite songs. But his most significant departure and his
Speaker 1: work on Kendrick Lamar's surprise rap album G and X
Speaker 1: is where he has production credits on eleven out of
Speaker 1: twelve tracks. Working on a West Coast rap album like
Speaker 1: G and X is the old ultimate Mike drop for
Speaker 1: a producer. It completely demolishes the idea that he only
Speaker 1: has one sound, and it also showcases an ability to
Speaker 1: build a completely different, groove focused sonic architecture. But it
Speaker 1: doesn't stop there. Another partnership was with FKA Twigs, where
Speaker 1: Antonov stepped into the experimental R and B and art
Speaker 1: pop realm on the track Holy Terrain from the album Magdalene.
Speaker 1: He was one of many producers on this track, alongside
Speaker 1: Skrillicks and sound Wave, and I mean he's doing it.
Speaker 1: He's definitely proving that he can be a key ingredient
Speaker 1: in an abstract genre defying production team. He also has
Speaker 1: chart dominance working with Sabrina Carpenter Because Antonov pd massive
Speaker 1: hits like Please Please Please on the Short and Sweet album.
Speaker 1: This sound is polished, playful, and proves he's still shaping
Speaker 1: the sound of commercial pop. If we rewind it back
Speaker 1: a bit to our girl Pink on her album Beautiful Trauma,
Speaker 1: he co wrote and produced the powerful title track. Here,
Speaker 1: the eighties sound is married to Pink's raw pop rock voice.
Speaker 1: Showing he can still deliver an arena sized anthem and
Speaker 1: if we take it back again with Carly ray Jepson,
Speaker 1: he was an early believer, co writing the track Sweetie
Speaker 1: and later producing the bright anthemic want You in My
Speaker 1: Room on Dedicated. It's a perfect match for his shiny
Speaker 1: eighties pop esthetic. He's literally versatile guys, so versatile, That's
Speaker 1: why I wanted to do this episode. He's also worked
Speaker 1: with another artist, which we did in episode on Saint
Speaker 1: Vincent Annie Clark, and Antonov helped her craft her more
Speaker 1: explicitly pop album to date, Chunky Choppy Pop. The production
Speaker 1: is angular, sharp and slightly sterile, using drum machines that
Speaker 1: sound deliberately mechanical. The technique I think it was the
Speaker 1: Linn drum pushed to the forefront, paired with harsh, sometimes
Speaker 1: abras of synth tones, and he uses these synthetic layers
Speaker 1: to give her political and dark lyrics a sleek commercial show.
Speaker 1: So if I wasn't clear about the albums that Antonov
Speaker 1: collaborated with, it was with Saint Vincent Annie Clark on
Speaker 1: Mass Abduction and and Daddy's Home. Those were the two
Speaker 1: albums that he collaborated extensively with her on. In addition
Speaker 1: to the artists that I named, here's a list of
Speaker 1: a few other people that he's worked with. I talked
Speaker 1: about Kendrick Lamar and also I believe the track six
Speaker 1: sixteen in La Antonoff collaborated on, also the nineteen seventy
Speaker 1: five also Florence in the Machine. I think Kevin Abstract
Speaker 1: as well other artists in SIA, the Chicks, Choi, Sevon
Speaker 1: and Sarah Barreles like this list perfectly illustrates that he's
Speaker 1: most definitely versatile in his collaborations. What else can we
Speaker 1: say about this talented guy? And bagging up a bit
Speaker 1: to Pink, I don't know if I made it clear,
Speaker 1: but the production on the two tracks of Pink's twenty
Speaker 1: seventeen album Beautiful Trauma was the actual track called Beautiful Trauma,
Speaker 1: which I mentioned earlier, and the other one is called
Speaker 1: Better Life. So you guys, I believe that's the spill
Speaker 1: on Jack Antonov. Whether it's the heartache on a Bleachers track,
Speaker 1: the SyncE pop euphoria of Taylor Swift, or the dark
Speaker 1: atmospheric beats of a Kendrick Lamar song, Antonov's influence is undeniable.
Speaker 1: That wraps up our Crash Course pod episode on Jack
Speaker 1: Antonoff and join us next week as we discuss the
Speaker 1: next trending artist or music subject. I don't know yet anyways.
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