Nicole Morier

Not too long ago, Nicole Morier, a self made producer/songwriter from Los Angeles, teamed up alongside Bloodshy & Avant and Greg Kurstin for Britney Spears’ anticipated release “Circus.” Morrier employed some of the most tolerable Britney tracks from the last decade and today is working with some of the most-likely-to-succeed musicians: Wynter Gordon, Pixie Lott and even pop new comer  Sky Ferreira. Now back from a European tour with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nicole and I chatted about the unreleased Britney sessions, the 90′s and Missy Elliot.

Alex Kazemi:  Britney Spears’ “Circus” record could be considered as your “love letter” to the music industry. When did you guys first meet and how did you start working on that album?

Nicole Morier: Britney had cut a song of mine, “Heaven on Earth,” for her previous album so when it came time for her to start working on the next one, she asked if I’d come in and try writing some songs together with her. Don’t know about a love letter to the music industry though; I didn’t really think of it that way. If I write a love letter to the music “industry” it might have a few 4 letter words in it. Ha ha!

Kazemi: Haha! ”Circus” was a huge success on the pop music charts. During Britney’s sessions were there any songs that you wish were out right now? What was your eye of inspiration for those particular tracks you worked on?

Nicole: There’s a couple songs we started that were great ideas but just incomplete. Maybe we’ll hear them with fresh ears someday and put them out, but I usually just like to start anew.  For the tracks, we did release the inspiration, something different than she had done before. The result was a “60′s surf go-go ode to a sexy lover and a bombastic electro-rock song about flying head-over-heels in to the mystical abyss of love.”

Kazemi: I have to ask. Every pop music blog is speculating that you have been working with her again on the seventh album.  Can you give us any insight on some of the tracks you did for her? Reading this might give some people heart-attacks; everything about that album is so secret and locked up!

Nicole: I don’t want to give anyone a heart attack; maybe just high blood pressure! I’m writing songs at this moment and I heard one that she recorded that someone else wrote that sounded amazing. I’m excited to see what she will come up with this time. She always impresses me by how innovative and current she sounds. I can’t promise you’ll see my name on the credits yet, I have to write something worthy first!

Kazemi: When did you first meet Bloodshy & Avant and Greg Kurstin? Did you have any idea you guys would be songwriting partners?

Nicole: Greg Kurstin got me into pop songwriting actually or at least gave me the idea that I could do it. He had played some keyboards on first album with my band Electrocute 6 years ago and we became friends. He’s a genius, and I don’t say that about everyone. When we came back to LA to do a song for the Spongebob Squarepants movie soundtrack, he had just started doing songwriting. I knew he was going to be super famous. Bloodshy and Avant were another huge influence on me wanting to stretch out beyond my band into writing mainstream music. I heard Toxic and was just blown away by its pop perfection. To me it’s one of the best dance pop records of all time. I had no idea I’d eventually get to work with them, it was a dream come true.

Kazemi: “Toxic” is my favorite Bloodshy and Avant production to date. What was it like working them along side Greg Kurstin?

Nicole: When you work with people who are so exceptionally talented and also so down to earth and fun, there’s nothing better. We just laugh a lot and play each other songs we like; mostly we just have fun a see what happens. But when it comes down to focusing and working hard, we do that too. I like that all 3 of those guys really care about making great music and not just having a momentary hit. They’re all just insanely good at what they do.

Kazemi: I think “insanely good” is an understatement! They’re pop production gods! Simply, what is your song writing process like? Does it differ from each person you’re working with?

Nicole: Yes, it varies. I try not to analyze it too much. It’s just about unlocking things inside of me and letting them out without being too embarrassed, or reveling in the embarrassment of it.

Kazemi: Who have you been working with lately?

Nicole: I worked with MSTRKRFT last month. They don’t do too much pop songwriting, but I’m convinced it’d be so great to get their sound to someone like Britney, it’s so heavy.  Then I was out on tour playing guitar and singing background for Charlotte Gainsbourg this summer. I don’t usually do that kind of gig but it was a great experience and I’m such a big fan of her and her father’s music that I couldn’t turn down the opportunity, plus the band were all good friends of mine. We had a blast and it was Charlotte’s first ever tour, you can see clips on YouTube of the shows or check out David Letterman performance.

Kazemi: A MSTRKRFT vs. Britney track would be in insane. Do you have a favorite song you’ve done so far?

Nicole: I really love “Heaven On Earth,” because it’s a very special song for me. Not only was it my first cut and transformed my whole life, but I wrote it from a rather dark place and it was the first time I really wrote something so unmasked and honest.  Britney sounds so amazing and Freescha did such a cool production as well.

Kazemi: You’ve worked with Britney Spears, Wynter Gordon, Miranda Cosgrove,  and Sky Ferreira.  In the studio creatively, who did you click with the most?

Nicole: Sky probably has the most similar musical taste to mine so I think we had a great connection. Plus we worked together over a longer amount of time so I got to know her well.

Kazemi: Do you feel more pressure not to fuck up a song when it’s for Britney, rather than people like Sky who are brand new to the industry and just using your songs as a starting point?

Nicole: Both are really fun. With an established artist the challenge is to come up with a new angle for them without changing who they are. With a new artist you have to help them distinguish themselves from others and find out what feels the most sincere and help set the stage.   I actually started working with Sky long before she had a record deal and I have to admit it was nice when we didn’t have people worrying about record sales and we could just create. Things do become a little different when working with someone who’s got 200 paparazzi chasing them and you’re in an expensive studio and there’s a lot of pressure for everyone. You don’t want to waste their time or yours, but I work well under pressure. I enjoy it and I never really think of fucking up a song really, it’s not possible. Sometimes they just don’t work and you either have to go back to the drawing board or start fresh and sometimes the most fucked up songs are the best.

Kazemi: “Heaven On Earth” was a damn good fuck-up then! Growing up what kind of music did you listen too? Does that reflect on the inspiration you get while writing songs today?

Nicole: I grew up in the 90′s and I liked some of the rock stuff like Nirvana and Jane’s Addiction but mostly I’d listen to the oldies station or classic rock. We were in the mountains in New Mexico so it was hard for me to discover anything new and cool. I really like the 80′s stuff like Cyndi Lauper and Blondie and the Bangles. I’m sure it all had a big effect on me. Everything affects you as a writer.  Probably the biggest influence on me was my dad. He was a musician and songwriter as well (Johnny Morier,) and had penned a few minor hits for bands like the Cowsills and Spanky and our Gang. He was part of the 60′s folk scene and had been friends and sung with people like Karen Dalton and Joan Baez. He had a very eclectic music taste; we’d listen to everything from Pucinni to Merle Haggard to The Beastie Boys and enjoy it all. That really opened my world to a variety of styles and taste.

Kazemi: It runs in the family! Makes sense… Did you DJ before you became a singer/songwriter? Was there a transition from being a DJ to a songwriter/singer?

Nicole: I DJ once in awhile but it’s more like putting on records that I love. I collect vinyl and am kind of all over the place with my music taste, I mostly just do that for fun in small clubs or friends parties.  I got started with songwriting mostly by playing in bands since I was 18. I formed Electrocute a kind of girl pop punk electro band in Berlin in 2003 and we toured the world and did some records and I met a lot of great people that way. I’ve always written songs for my band but it wasn’t until later that I decided I wanted to move to LA and write songs for other people as well.  Moving to Berlin really changed everything for me though. There was an amazing electronic music scene at the time and all these people were coming there from different parts of the globe making crazy shit. I was also turned on to French pop and German new wave and Turkish music and all kinds of stuff I’d never heard before.

Kazemi: Being your own producer in the studio and your own songwriter, how do you figure out the balance of what a song is suppose to sound like and what the lyrics are supposed to mean to the listener?

Nicole: I come at music from all angles. A lot of producers these days are the songwriter too. Sometimes I only write the melody and lyric, other days I’ll program a beat and maybe another producer will come up with a song title or help me with melodies. It’s pretty easy to fit the song to a sound or the chords but I really like when you can kind of twist it. A song like “Boys Don’t Cry” from the Cure where there’s danceable beat but melancholic lyrics.  I love how Britney can twist a dark lyric like “Womanizer” into an upbeat club anthem.

Kazemi: When writing song lyrics, what is there about a song that makes you think, “should this beat be electronic or have an ass dropping dance vibe?”

Nicole: Well, with dance music I usually start by writing to a beat that’s already there and that will inspire a lyric. If I want to write a more “classic” pop song, I usually start with a guitar or piano and write the song from scratch and then leave the production for later. Dance music’s all about the rhythm, so we start with the beat.

Kazemi: You never really hear about this, so I decided to ask: Are there any music producers that influence your work?

Nicole: Missy Elliot! Her first couple albums with Timbaland were so fresh and the stuff she did for other people like Tweet and Ciara are so incredible.

Kazemi: Who would be considered your dream artist to write and produce with?

Nicole: Maybe Dolly Parton. She’s a great songwriter, singer and guitarist and an icon. I’d love to work with Iggy Pop too; he’s a lyrical genius and such an amazing performer.

Kazemi: Where do you see the future of pop music?

Nicole: “There’s No Future”- Sex Pistols