In the studio with producer Teddy Riley
06/06/2013
Focusrite and Novation catch up with producer Teddy Riley in his studio to talk about his gear and New Jack Swing. Heres more from Focusrite.
Press Release: Teddy Riley has always had the cutting edge on production. Highlights of his career include forming R&B super groups Guy and Blackstreet, and co-producing and co-engineering Michael Jacksons Dangerous album - it has sold over 32 million copies and saw him win a Grammy for Best Engineering (non-classical). He has produced countless landmark records, such as the LP Make it Last by Keith Sweat, Bobby Browns My Perogative, Johnny Kemp Just Got Paid, Blackstreet No Diggity, The Hip Hop Classic The Show, Rugrats The Movie, and hit after hit for the late Heavy D and a long list of others.
Riley is also credited for creating a genre: New Jack Swing, which has been a noticeable influence in popular music since the late '80s. Now, more than 25 years after he first started making waves in music, Teddy is still going strong with grand stage performances globally and sellout concerts with his new members of Blackstreet and some featuring Dave Hollister on US tours.
It all started for Teddy in Harlem, New York, where as a teenager he was shown the studio world by his mentor Royal Bayyan. Between the ages of 13 and 17, he attended studio sessions with the likes of Kool & The Gang, Freddie Jackson along with Cheryl Lynn, and unsurprisingly because of his gift in music, became a natural in that environment. Shortly thereafter, he was an in-demand composer/producer working with some of the biggest names in Pop/R&B music carving his own worldwide musical niche that would become known as New Jack Swing.
I didnt make up the name new jack swing, says Teddy. It was given to me Barry Michael Cooper. Cooper co-wrote the screenplay for the film New Jack City and was a prominent music journalist in New York in the early '90s. He did an interview with me and asked me how I would describe my music. I said sophisticated bubblegum R&B. He said thats too long, you should call it new jack swing, because youre the new kid on the block thats swinging it. So I give credit to him for giving me that name. I ran with it and everybody joined the movement. Bobby Brown, Kool Moe Dee, Guy, Blackstreet, Boyz II Men, Bel Biv Devoe, New Kids On The Block, N Sync, Backstreet Boys - they made my genre big. And that feels great, for so many musicians and artists to be a part of such a strong movement. We all are still doing New Jack Swing.
Teddy has a purpose-built studio space Future Recording Studios 2 in his house about an hour north of Atlanta, Georgia. Its all about being intimate with an artist, and to be able to get a lot of work done without anybody knowing.
His gear choices are diverse but refined: a mixture of classic sound modules from the '80s and '90s, numerous high-quality outboard processors and some modern synths, all connected to a DAW system running Studio One software. I like to do a lot of testing with gear. So the things that you see in here are here to stay, because I love the sound of them. Im still old-school with my outboard instruments and analogue stuff, I even still have my two-inch tape machine, I call it the washing machine. But I have my DAW system, which I love. I try to keep it as close to the sound I used to have, sonically, and its very close. Some people are saying it sounds stronger, some people say its very authentic to the Guy and Michael Jackson stuff.
Key to Teddys studio rig is the Focusrite Control 2802 analogue console and DAW control surface. Among his favorite things about it are the moving-fader automation features and the built-in stereo compressor: I do all my automation rides on the 2802. Then, once I get my mix where I need it, I pop the two-bus compression in and tweak the controls. The more I push it, the more punch I get, and it sounds amazing. Its similar to the compression on a Neve or on an SSL, theres really nothing else I can compare it to. I used to have a Euphonix board, and the Focusrite two-bus compression beats it by a long shot. Im really loving it.
Teddy also uses lots of VST instruments inside his DAW, which he controls with a Novation 61 SL MkII. I can control all my instruments from the SL, and I never have to touch the keyboard. The transport control is right here, and I can alter any of the sounds from right in front of me. I can pretty much do anything with it! I also like the configuration of the pitch and mod wheels, because you can be more expressive, and it feels great! This is the ultimate for me: this stays in the stable.
The MiniNova is the latest addition to Teddys collection of gear, which he refers to as his stable and the family. I was searching for vocoder and synthesizer sounds and ran across the MiniNova. My tech brought it in from Guitar Center and I plugged it up and I immediately thought wow, this is amazing. This little instrument has such a big sound and I use the vocoder a lot. It sounds so different from the other vocoders I use, and thats what makes it so unique. The Vocal Tune feature is in one of my new songs. I actually use some of the dubstep sounds and the arpeggiators too, and I sync it to my DAW so it plays back at the same tempo.
We spent a day with Teddy, where he showed us around Future Recording Studios 2 and played us a brand new version of Guys 1988 hit Teddys Jam on the MiniNova. Check it out!
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
15/05/2024
The CW Gets Rights to 11 PAC-12 Football Games
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network has announced it will be the broadcast home for 11 Pac-12 football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State during the u...
15/05/2024
Nielsen: Disney Is Top Media Distributor with 11.5% of TV Usage
NEW YORK Disney has landed on top of Nielsens newly launched Media Distributor Gauge, which offers its first cross-platform view of total TV consumption across ...
15/05/2024
Max Sets a May 21 Streaming Debut for 'Dune: Part Two
Warner Bros. Discoverys Max streaming services has finally set a launch date for Dune: Part Two with the announcement that the film will begin streaming on Thur...
15/05/2024
FCC Establishes Spectrum Steering Team
WASHINGTON, D.C. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead the FCC's efforts to develo...
15/05/2024
Gary Heelas joins TSL as principal engineer
TSL said the appointment marks a strategic enhancement in the companys commitment to focusing on UK and US-designed and manufactured solutions By Jenny Priestl...
15/05/2024
Is Sony about to pull out of its bid for Paramount?
Sony and Apollo may decide to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley P...
15/05/2024
Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration
The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 14th) By Jenny Priestley Published: May 15, 2024 The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 1...
15/05/2024
Matrox Video Demos at InfoComm 2024 Will Showcase New AVo...
Technology innovator Matrox Video today announced that the company will highlight its leading AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies including the brand-new, next-g...
15/05/2024
RMi Amplifies Connectivity and Clarity at Major 2024 Musi...
Riedel Communications today announced its pivotal role in bringing unparalleled audio clarity and connectivity to one of the U.S.'s biggest 2024 music and a...
15/05/2024
Chyron Unveils Significant Updates to Chyron LIVE Cloud P...
Chyron today released a series of significant updates to its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production platform that were demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in La...
15/05/2024
VisualOn to Showcase Revolutionary Optimizer Content-Awar...
VisualOn, a leader in video software technology, is set to unveil its groundbreaking Optimizer suite at Broadcast Asia 2024. The unveiling will take place in th...
15/05/2024
StreamVue announce exclusive parnership with DigiBox
StreamVue, one of the global leaders in IPTV and digital signage solutions is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with DigiBox, one of the...
15/05/2024
Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo
Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that...
15/05/2024
Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark
Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Popular Rendering Benchmark Brings Back CPU/GPU Stats in a Minute; New Benchmark...
15/05/2024
Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated Sports Production & Streaming Solution
Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated...
15/05/2024
That Station Artist Notes Series Returns This Summer
Artist Notes is back! Join That Station this summer for the conversation and concert series where you get to hear an artist on stage to not only play music, but...
15/05/2024
Assembling Disney's Upfront: It Takes More Than Magic (Video)
A lot goes into making The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation....
15/05/2024
Madhive Names Premion Founder Jim Wilson President
Madhive, which provides technology for local connected TV advertising, said that it named Jim Wilson as president....
15/05/2024
Amazon Prime Video Swings With Nicholas Cage Spider-Man Series
At its first upfront presentation to advertisers, Amazon Prime Video announced new series and renewed some of its hits....
15/05/2024
Nielsen Crowns Disney in New Ranking of Media Distributors
Nielsen released a new ranking of companies in the media distribution business, including broadcast, cable and streaming, and The Walt Disney Co. was at the top...
15/05/2024
Latin Culture Is Key at TelevisaUnivision Upfront
TelevisaUnivision told advertisers at its upfront presentation Tuesday about more ways they can connect with Latin culture, including through music and live eve...
14/05/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Stephen Maing, the Co-Director of Union
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
14/05/2024
The Making of The Fall Guy
The feature film The Fall Guy marks the latest collaboration between director David Leitch and cinematographer Jonathan Sela, ASC. Sela describes the movie as ...
14/05/2024
Aerojet Rocketdyne to be Propulsion Provider for the Next Generation Interceptor
Notional render of Lockheed Martins Next Generation Interceptor. Credit: Lockheed Martin...
14/05/2024
5 Misconceptions About Satellite Imagery, Part 2
Access to commercial satellite imagery has become increasingly democratized. Students, startups, researchers and casual enthusiasts are leveraging satellite dat...
14/05/2024
Grass Valley Equips Fujairah TV with Advanced Live Production Technology
Montreal, Canada - May 14, 2024 - Grass Valley, a leader in live production solutions, proudly announces its collaboration with Fujairah TV, a prominent broadca...
14/05/2024
OpenVault Harnesses Generative AI to Improve Broadband Networks
JERSEY CITY, N.J. & COLOGNE, Germany OpenVault has released new details about how it is leveraging the power of Generative AI to significantly and securely expa...
14/05/2024
Comcast Plans Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ Streaming Bundle
Comcast is planning to begin offering a new streaming bundle of Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ sometime later this month at a vastly reduced price, Comcast ch...
14/05/2024
Chyron Releases Enhancements For LIVE Cloud Production Platform
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released a series of updates for its LIVE cloud-native production platform....
14/05/2024
CueScript announces passing of founder Brian Larter
Larter co-founded CueScript with Michael Accardi in 2014 By Jenny Priestley Published: May 14, 2024 Updated: May 15, 2024 Larter co-founded CueScript wi...
14/05/2024
EMG Gravity Media Showcases its Combined Live Broadcast E...
EMG / Gravity Media, will be sharing the Group's knowledge and expertise at The Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), held on 15th and 16th May in Lond...
14/05/2024
Glensound highlights the latest in networked audio at Bro...
Glensound, industry leader in high quality audio systems, is showcasing the latest additions to its extensive portfolio of networked audio products at Broadcast...
14/05/2024
Spotlight on UK Media Tech Vendors at BroadcastAsia
The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland pavilion at BroadcastAsia 2024 (stand 6I1-5, Singapore Expo, 29 31 May) puts a group of innovative and dynamic media te...
14/05/2024
LOGIC and video processing specialist Comprimato announce...
LOGIC media solutions and video processing specialist Comprimato have entered a partnership aimed at simplifying workflows in the IP- and cloud-based production...
14/05/2024
Relo Metrics Makes a Major Debut at Cannes Lions Internat...
Relo Metrics (formerly GumGum Sports), the leading AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform for real-time data decisions, has today announced its participation...
14/05/2024
Lightware at Infocomm 2024 - Its Time to Double Down on U...
Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market, announced it will showcase a rang...
14/05/2024
Calrec Craft Interview - Aston Fearon Sound Supervisor
Tell us about your path to professional audio. How did you get started and what drew you to the field and technical nature of being an audio professional? As ...
14/05/2024
Fox Details 2024-2025 Schedule Before Upfront Presentation
Fox will share its 2024-2025 schedule at its upfront presentation May 13 in New York, with new shows such as Denis Leary single-cam comedy Going Dutch and the J...
14/05/2024
NBCUniversal Upfront Features Jimmy Fallon, Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Kelly Clarkson
The NBCUniversal upfront presentation kicked off at New York's Radio City Mu...
14/05/2024
NBCUniversal Stakes Claim To the Future of Advertising (Upfronts)
At a time when many are questioning the value of television advertising, NBCUniversal declared that it has more to offer than newcomers like Amazon, Netflix and...
14/05/2024
Fox Upfront Presentation Offers a Little Jon Hamm, a Little More Tom Brady, a Little More Gordon Ramsay
Fox's upfront presentation, at The Manhattan Center Monday, May 13, kicked o...
14/05/2024
Broadcast Nets Show Gains in Ad Impressions Despite Strikes, iSpot Study Finds
Despite strikes that wiped out original programming last season and a narrative about viewers streaming more and watching less linear TV, the big broadcast netw...
14/05/2024
Opinion: Why it's important to give broadcast engineers support in the move to IP
Ed Calverley, manager at large, SMPTE UK, discusses how organisations can help t...
14/05/2024
Sphere completes HOLOPLOT acquisition
HOLOPLOTs proprietary technology enables precise and digital control of sound propagation and localisation to deliver targeted, consistent and immersive audio, ...
14/05/2024
TVBEurope appoints Jenny Priestley as content director
Matthew Corrigan has also recently joined the TVBEurope editorial team as content writer By TVBEurope Staff Published: May 14, 2024 Matthew Corrigan has a...
14/05/2024
Gary Heelas Joins TSL as Principal Engineer
LOS ANGELES Gary Heelas has joined TSL as principal engineer in the company's U.S. office, the company announced....
14/05/2024
Gray Television Inks AAPB Deal for Summer Baseball
ATLANTA Gray Television Inc. has announced an agreement to bring select American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) games to free, over-the-air local t...
14/05/2024
Adsmovil Expands Nuestra.TV Distribution
MIAMI, Fla. Adsmovil has expanded access to its free, ad-supported, streaming TV service, Nuestra.TV to include Apple TV, Android TV, Smart TVs, Android media p...