Andrew Watt: the renowned producer nominated for working with Rolling Stones

One September night, Eddie Vedder stood onstage at a concert in California, looking out at a sea of ​​expectant faces.

Vedder and his band, the Earthlings, had paused so paramedics could treat a member of the public in trouble. Once the situation seemed resolved, he consulted with the band; They would start over from the beginning.

“Um, this one,” Vedder began — and the Earthlings ripped into the song again, taking their leader by surprise and stomping on their reintroduction.

Vedder began to sing. He stopped, smiled, and swore in the direction of his lead guitarist, a 33-year-old man with a bleached blonde haircut who happens to be the producer of Vedder's most recent solo album and the next one by Pearl Jam, the other band. by Vedder.

The music stopped with a crash. Vedder, smiling but stern, pointed at the guitarist and chided him for jumping the gun. “This is Andrew Watt,” Vedder told the crowd. “He produces the records. But up here, buddy? I send it. I have the control. I'm the boss”.

In the studio, it's another story. When he's not performing with Vedder, or as part of some other all-star group, Watt is one of rock and pop's most sought-after producers.

His first hits were songs for counterparts like Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa. But he has also become a go-to producer for new music from veteran rock stars, working with artists so legendary they are known around the world. Elton. Mick and Keith. Even Paul.

Sometimes a big part of the job is not being afraid to tell icons what to do.

“If they come to do it with you, they want feedback,” Watt said. If stars live long enough, they usually start to question themselves. They fall prey to shyness or complacency. Sooner or later, they need someone to guide them back on track.

In interviews, collaborators praised his promptness, his ability to communicate from musician to musician, and, in particular, his tireless energy.

“He's not one of those guys who dazzles people,” Paul McCartney said. “He just does his thing.”

But the most important asset Watt offers his clients may be the encyclopedic enthusiasm of a fan who knows what you'd like to hear and has the self-confidence to tell you.

Creative bonds have become friendships. She talks to Elton John every day.

And Watt has spent so much time with Mick Jagger — in late 2022 and early 2023, while producing the Rolling Stones' latest album, “Hackney Diamonds” — that sometimes, when the photos app on his iPhone shows him a slideshow Of his “memories”, these are of Mick Jagger. Jagger praised Watt's energy and credited him with helping the Stones overcome the inertia that had prevented the band from completing an album of new material since 2005. (The Stones and Watt are nominated for best rock song at Grammys in February for the single “Angry” from that album).

“There are people in the industry who say to me, 'Why do you work with people so much older than you?'” he said. “Working with the guys who wrote the book — it allows you to learn a lot. “They still have a lot to offer the world.”

By: ALEX PAPPADEMAS
The New York Times