Steve Levine
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| "Steve Levine was certainly ahead in terms of embracing the latest technology". Boy George |
A record producer and recording engineer for over 25 years, Grammy Award-winner Steve Levine has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. He has worked with artists including Culture Club, The Beach Boys, Ziggy Marley and more recently with contemporary artists such as Louise and The Honeyz. He is also the composer of several film scores and television themes such as Mr Frost starring Jeff Goldblum, the Culture Club tracks used on the official album for The Wedding Singer, as well as contributing a track to the television series sound track album More Cold Feet.
His knowledge of the creative use of advanced professional audio equipment is second-to-none and his reputation has attracted manufacturers like Apple and Yamaha, to use him to debut their new products and present masterclasses.
The Hit Kit, published in October 2003 is Steve's first publication with DK and is designed to encourage people with ideas of pop stardom, to turn those dreams into a reality:
"This clear, easy-to-follow book will show you the basics and allow you to get very satisfactory results quickly, regardless of the level of recording equipment you own. The most important thing to remember is have fun and be creative - happy recording and hopefully see you in the charts!" Steve Levine
STAR GOSSIP!
You can find about more about Steve from the people who really know him: the stars he has worked with!
Read these exclusive comments below from two of Steve's famous colleagues - covering everything from what it's like to work with the man himself, to their invaluable insider tips on making music...
Bruce Johnston - Grammy Award winning songwriter, member of The Beach Boys, and producer.
"When I first had a chance to work with Steve Levine in the summer of 1977, he was very young, barely past his home studio days. A CBS London Studios tea boy/assitant engineer who knew more about the studio than the guys who ran it! I made him the First Engineer five minutes after we met and we worked on the Sailor album together. Steve went on to produce the first of many Culture Club albums (multi-platinum around the world) and I even persuaded him to produce a Beach Boys album back in 1985. The best part of all this is that we continue to still be great friends."
Bruce's recording tips
1. Keep the monitor volume at a reasonable level because you run the risk of fooling your ears into thinking that everything you record is number one!
2. Don't make excuses for your home recording equipment because you feel insecure about your demos. Todays 'home' studio often sonically surpasses 'professional' studio equipment from earlier years that helped create successful careers for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Who, Pink Floyd, etc!!!
3. One last suggestion: Turn your cell phone off when you record your vocals
because you might miss that 'perfect' take!
Boy George - British Icon, member of Culture Club and sucessful DJ.
"Steve Levine was certainly ahead in terms of embracing the latest technology. Sometimes you couldn't move in the studio for equipment. I think my favourite memory is Steve coming to pick me up in his flash Porsche, which he had just fitted with a CD player and playing me Carly Simon's track 'Why', which he had just got hold of. Steve loves music and I think he has a kind of childlike feeling towards it, which is very similar to myself.
Obviously, in the early days of Culture Club, Steve was very instrumental in getting our sound to glue together. He did our first demos when he was working as an inhouse producer for EMI Records (who did not give us a deal) but we stole Steve from them, so we got our revenge. I think he did very well holding on to his sanity when Culture Club got into one of our legendary rows. I was always leaving the band and storming out of the studio but we always got things together because Steve stayed calm.
Like Steve, I make most of my music at home. I rarely go into a big expensive studio unless it's to mix. Modern technology is so brilliantly crafted and you can do so much with minimal equipment. That old record company trick of putting bands in studios they owned was such a con. It meant that they triple recouped and it's so nice not to have that clock ticking on the wall. I can sing when I'm in the mood and work on tracks without pressure for as long as I like. I can safely say that I do not make music for the money. If I relied on it to pay my bills, I'd be in serious trouble. I just love that creative process and writing songs.
I think the most amusing memory of working with Steve, was recording our first hit, 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me'. The two inch tape machine went wobbly and Steve was worried we might have to record it again. I knew I couldn't improve on the opening performance - I refused and went shopping! Steve found way of fixing the recording and there was a huge sigh of relief. I stormed into our label and told them they couldn't put it out as a single because it was too slow and personal. Luckily they ignored me. I think my writing has edged more and more towards being personal, so it was a good lesson. Hearing the song on the radio for the first time was so exciting; as was getting to Number One. We certainly did not have the expectations that artists have now. World domination was not on the cards and I will never know what I did to deserve the love of old ladies. I sometimes sit back and think, how? It's so surreal but I've never been cynical about it. I just thank my lucky stars that I didn't waste all that make-up."
A tip from Boy George:
"Don't make music because you want to be rich. Wanting to famous is ok
because the underlying desire for fame is a desire to be loved. So many
artists now have no real agenda, except to enjoy the glamorous trappings of
success. One should approach writing from a desire to express how you feel
about life, how you feel inside. I would tell every aspiring musician to buy
everything by Joni Mitchell, Bowie, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and keep an eye on
Missy Elliot. In fact, never dismiss any style of music, other than that
which is not made organically. Never appear on a reality 'pop idols' type
show, never trust a record company, and more importantly; if you follow you're
instincts you will always know better than any A&R man, if you do things
on your own terms. Writing is not a profession, it's a vocation of unhappiness."
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