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You worked on Madonna's
new album with Timbaland. In what direction did you take her?
Basically, our job was to reinvent her sound. My thing was
producing her vocals - really experimenting with rhythm.
Everything she does with rhythm is straightforward. What I do
is more staccato end R&B. So the challenge for me was writing
songs, then saying, "How can I make this sound more like
Madonna?" I'm a big fan of her first album. So my mission was
to write a modern-day "Holiday." I wrote a cool house record
for her called "Miles Away" that I think is a smash! She
sounds great on it.
So is it an R&B Madonna?
It's an R&B/pop/dance record, but it's still Madonna. Her
voice still sounds like she's 18 years old! It trips me out
that she's 49. She's always been rough and tough. Her last
couple of records, she's like, "Rrrrrrar!"
How did she react to your ideas?
A couple times I pushed her in a direction where it took a
minute before we saw eye to eye. Her approach was, "Well I
just haven't done that." And I was like, "Yeah, that's why you
should do it."
So did you teach Madonna how to beatbox?
[Laughs.] No, no. We left that to me and Tim.
You launched Tennman Records last May. What's it like being a
label head?
To be honest with you, I don't know the next time I'm going to
put out a record. But I have all these musical ideas. [With
the label] I have all these ideas where I can throw my
creativity into... You have to understand, I'm not Clive
Davis. My label is independent in every sense. I'm basically
Clive Calder Making Records 101. I've learned more from him
than from anybody else. I'd be in Battery Studios recording,
and he'd listen to my record and say [slips into a South
African accent], "You need to listen to this Tribe Called
Quest record, yeah? This record reminds me of that." How does
this fiftysomething bald white dude from South Africa know
about A Tribe Called Quest? Then you look at his resume, and
this dude was responsible for hip-hop! Through an independent
label. So my label is a perfect mixture. We're involved in the
forefront of technology, but it's back to the old days of
being hands-on with your artists.
How did you woo Esmee Denters when L.A. Reid and Jason Flom
were also after her?
I assume she signed with me because I'm an artist too, and I
understand that record companies don't break artists anymore.
They just bank on artists that can sell music on iTunes or
Amazon. If you don't blow up quick with your first single,
they drop you because they don't have a budget.
How will you build on her YouTube success?
YouTube will be a mainstay for Esmee. It's a cool branding.
We'll even emphasize that in putting her out; we're working
with YouTube on something. We constantly use the Internet.
That's where music today lives. The elder statesmen of the
music industry and the Grammy committee need to be involved
technologically with how the music gets to our generation. Who
am I to tell some 11-year-old he can't download my record for
free? I just want to reach people who love music. If that
means I have to spend money on Esmee and her music comes out
in a way that's free, I'll do that. My approach is, what is
the most cutting-edge way to put this music out? It's
hilarious people think Radiohead didn't make money off their
record - they did. [Timberlake says he paid $10 for In
Rainbows online.]
Aren't you concerned about budgets?
Constantly. I don't want to be, but I have to be. The main
thing is, we're not going to put ourselves in the hole. But if
we do it right and put out quality, then everybody gets to
make money. But I'm really not concerned with that. The label
is to develop careers. People could read this interview and
say, "What an idiot," but this is what inspires me. The reason
I win is they never see me coming. They would love to think of
me as "The Guy Who Messed Up the Super Bowl" or "The Guy Who
Put Out **** in a Box." They don't get me at all.
What's next for your artists?
I just spent four days working with Esmee in Miami. She's like
a little sponge with everything I say to her. Her record
should be done this summer. [Alternative singer] Matt Morris -
my friend [from the Mickey Mouse Club] since I was 10 - his
album will shock! And I just got off the phone with myrapper
Free from my rap-rock band, Free Sol, to set up some L.A.
sessions in April. [Tennman also signed R&B singer Brenda
Radney.] They're all special to me. My involvement with them
is in every facet: artist development, producing, songwriting.
Honestly, I never, never wanted to be this busy. But I'm
enjoying it.
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