MUSIKA A

JAMES MORGAN | Music producer

 

 

Eugenia MANEA

6/11/2018

 

With an eclectic history of music and over a decade of experience, English producer James Morgan brings his knowledge over to the Basque Country in the form of Magic Box Musika – a community studio located in Mungia. He works as a producer, engineer and tutor, but, as he stated it, ¨it’s actually quite a psychological job¨. Over the years he collaborated with young and exciting bands such as Belako, Wicked Wizzard and URGATZ. Besides encouraging young artists to pursue music, his career path has been marked by his desire to promote wellbeing through creative learning.

 

Question: How did you go from working as a producer in London to opening up a studio in Mungia?

Answer: At the time I was working for various studios in London. During some of that process, I lost a little bit of faith in the big record labels and the big studios. I understand that it’s a business and they have to find the right product, but sometimes some of the better bands that I was working with weren’t given a chance if they didn't have the perfect look. From there, I decided that I would go back into my own studio that I shared with a friend. We worked with some of the bands that weren’t signed by those labels and they actually became reasonably successful in London or in England. 

 

During that time I was also working as a music coordinator in an institution for adults with mental health problems called Core Arts. In that center is where I met my wife, Iraide, who’s from the Basque Country. She’s a singer and a classical guitar player and she was working in London as a musician, a session singer and an engineer. At that time we had the idea to work with young bands and community. So that’s what brought me over here eventually – love and music. We decided to set up Magic Box whose ideal is to help the community and local people do better music. I would also like to start working with disabled people, youth at risk or people with mental illness.

 

 

¨I thought if I could work with children when mental illness was starting to occur, it was better than coming when they were 18 and trying to reverse it¨

 

 

Q: What was the experience working at Core Arts like?

A: It was a quite large chapter of my life. The way that they worked with people wasn’t with a clinical approach. It was like an arts college for adults that were suffering from mental illness. It definitely gives as much as it takes. One day I could have been working with them, playing drums, and the next day they were no longer on the planet. When I went into that center I had 100 friends that all wanted to talk to me or needed something, so it was very much draining on the batteries. But when you’re walking home at nighttime and you know you’ve had a great day helping, then it charges them. However, after six years it was good to let someone else take over. Also, I was moving on to do other things. I actually then started working with youth at risk. I thought if I could work with children when mental illness was starting to occur, it was better than coming when they were 18 and trying to reverse it.

 

Q: Both projects left a mark on you as a producer.

A: Sure. And actually, some of the people I worked with at Core Arts could be considered geniuses. With mental illness, there’s a fine line between madness and genius. So it left a different way of approaching music and people in general.

 

 

¨Sometimes I’ll do days and days for free because I live with music¨

 

 

Q: What is distinctive about a Magic Box Musika production? Where does the magic come from?

A: Half of the magic comes from not being overbearing and not having too strong of an ego as a producer in order to let people express and develop their ideas. Some of the other magic comes from being really flexible with prices and time. Of course, we have to survive, pay the bills and keep updating the equipment, but if I see a band and I feel like they really need some magic, then we work it out. Sometimes I’ll do days and days for free because I like it – because I live with music.

 

Q: What are some of your earlier music memories – music and artists that you listened to that made you want to pursue a musical career?

A: I had a very varied musical background. I started playing electronic organ, then I went into piano, trumpet, drums. As a child, I was in normal orchestras and brass bands which are very typical from England. So all of that early music was playing things like Glenn Miller, jazz, swing, orchestras. As I got older I realized you can’t really take an organ with you very easily, so I started to play more keyboard. Then, when I was about 16, I actually had my first rock band and we used to do Hendrix, The Doors, Bowie. When I studied at university I went into working in electronic music. So I am a little bit of a strange mixture of history of music. 

 

Q: You mostly work with local and regional up and coming bands.

A: We mostly work with local bands. We’ve had a band from Zaragoza and a few bands from Madrid that did actually come as far. So we were quite happy and surprised to have that kind of footprint. I am also hoping to start an interchange with a quite famous band from outside, for example from London or Germany. We would have artists come to do development, visit the Basque Country, have a little bit of a relaxing, creative time and spend a while in the studio.

 

Q: Do you have a certain way of working or does it change depending on the artist?

A: I do have a loose way of working but I very much adapt it to the project and to the band. You can’t always have a set fixed model for a different artist or different bands. It’s dangerous to do that because you could cut down a quick idea. Also maybe that doesn’t push you as a producer. So sometimes I like to experiment. Like with Wicked Wizzard, for example, they want a sound that’s more Black Sabbath, something which is more open on the drums. Therefore we play with the room positions of the microphones and so on. 

 

 

¨It’s a fine line of balancing what the artist is in need of and what they’re offering¨

 

 

Q: Do you think that once an artist gives themselves over to the process of producing they should just enjoy the experience or should they speak up if they disagree with the producer?

A: I think they should definitely speak up and the producer should be very open to that. You need to see where they need help and where not. Also, you can even learn from something that they’re doing. It’s always a fine line of balancing what the artist is in need of and what they’re offering.

 

Q: How do you deal with tension points in the studio?

A: Sometimes it’s like therapy. I try to remain impartial if I can. However, bands can get very angry and then I have to intervene and balance people back down again. The vibe of the studio is really important and I’m always working hard to keep everyone feeling comfortable and happy. If artists get overstressed and analytical I believe you can hear that in the music. It sounds a little bit clinical, a bit sterile.

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Etiquetas:

James Morgan · producer · Core Arts · youth at risk · music studio · Magic Box Musika · creative learning

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