July 2017, Montreux Jazz Festival – I had the immense honor and luck to meet Q. I hardly solely heard about him through my father’s consistent preach of the Funk and Motown culture during my childhood. He bathed me with Rock, Soul and Rhythm & Blues sounds of Brown, Clark, Queen, Gay, Cocker and others funky jams.
Needless to say that knowing he was around – sitting on a couch in a small backstage green room talking for a little while with Mathieu Jaton, the festival’s Director – had me really pumped-up. All I could think of was to go over and ask him to sign my poster, hoping at best for a quick chat. I rarely get starstruck with celebs but that night I went to bed realizing how fucking insane meeting this music mogul was.
I went over to him as he was finally alone, snacking on the fine finger food and exceptional Balik salmon (his true addiction) the Montreux Jazz had organized for the artists, industry insiders and all music epicurean special guests. While I was introducing myself and getting comfortable, he started asking about who I am, persuaded that I’m an artist, repeatedly asking if I sing, play, dance or write: “[…] but what do you really do? you must be doing something, even on the side […]” (I think my European skinny look in black jeans and mid-long hair played their part). Later on, I found funny how he didn’t mind the almost interviewing turn our conversation was taking. He made me feel so comfortable and warm; listening and responding with a kindly ear like a sibling would do. In fact he called me brother or son, just proving how his solar personality and fine sense of people is. Probably he also felt that I have that art fiber in me, lacking confidence to grow it as much as I would I like to.
I couldn’t help but ask somehow about the Michael Jackson years and how things ramped up. At that time he was more powerful in the industry than young Jackson was, and already had achieved milestones the future superstar was also about to reach for himself with his new mentor. So he started explaining how he didn’t want to sign M.J. in the first place, but after shooting the movie Wizzard of Oz and moving on to producing Thriller, Epic Records were saying he was “too Jazz” for Michael’s next move.
Ultimately Columbia Records convinced me to produce Michael and we made history.
About the Thriller album’s keys of success, he grabbed my arm, looking straight into my eyes and said:
We wrote eight hundred songs, and we selected 9! It’s not talent, it’s work Antoine!We did it because we loved what we were doing, and we sold over 120 million copies.
I also went on about the current pop music landscape since I was very curious to hear what he had to say about artists I appreciate and grew up listening to, given his experience and insight. And he mentioned all famous female vocalist not being able to sing – cracked me up:
Mariah…used to sing; Ariana, can’t sing; Adèle, she has something!; Swift, can’t sing; Beyoncé, can’t sing… well sometimes can. But with Jay-Z… I don’t really like. You know her father tried 3 times to get me to sign his daughter but I never wanted to. [“Why?”]: Too commercial. You know, at the time, we made the most sold album of all times just because we loved what we do! We didn’t do it for the money and how it would be successful, but with guts passion.
He kept on blaming the new generation’s appetite and drive for the most world-wide success and how art and other aspects of life became more and more monetised over the last decades.
Obviously his words of encouragement to keep writing without focusing on the final destination of it, kept pushing me. He really insisted not to clutter my thoughts and let my writing impulsions be, keep it pure. Today it fuels my drive and need of self-expression.
Resources:
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