Wynter Gordon
Breaking out as a songwriter for artists like Mary J. Bilge and Jennifer Lopez, making way on many dance tracks from producers such as David Guetta and Freemasons and even appearing on Flo-Rida’s summer 2009 smash “Sugar,” which re-enacted the Eiffel 65 classic “Blue.”
Well, it’s time for Wynter to use the pen for herself and put the cartoon cameos on hold.
Gordon is gearing up for her anticipated release With Music I Die scheduled to be released on Atlantic Records in mid 2011. There seems to be an intense viral buzz from the salacious Jupiter-Ace produced “Dirty Talk” and a new EP The First Dance on iTunes alluding to the release of her new album. Wynter has called me up to talk about the story behind the song that brought her an unexpected Billboard Dance-Chart number one debut, Rihanna’s latest record Loud and the mystical world that is “Euro-Dance.”
Alex Kazemi: We finally get to speak…
Wynter Gordon: Hi Alex!
Kazemi: How are you?
Wynter: I’m good, darling!
Kazemi: I think it is super funny that everyone thinks David Guetta produced “Dirty Talk” but Jupiter Ace actually did it! The most striking thing about that is the secondary song-writing credit is Britney Spears writer Nicole Morier! That song is so dirty decorated with S&M filled lyrics… What the hell were you guys thinking of while writing that?
Wynter: [Laughs] Well…Nicole and I are just friends and we were hanging out in the studio, bored in the summer. This beat came on and I already had written the hook and then we started joking around; it wasn’t really a serious thing at all. It just came organically; you know what I’m saying? I got shocked when my label put it out and I didn’t expect it to even hit the Billboard dance charts. It all just happened.
Kazemi: Was this when you were in England?
Wynter: I was working over there with Nicole and we sent a couple of producers the track. It was a different beat; “Dirty Talk” was recorded over another track. Jupiter ended up being in Ireland and he got on the phone with me and we talked about what sounds I thought we should use, the structure of the song and bam! That’s how it came together!
Kazemi: There you go ladies and gents; David Guetta did not produce it!
Wynter: It’s so funny that I can put out any song and people will say “Oh, that’s produced by David Guetta!” I find that super humorous.
Kazemi: That is super funny! Well you guys actually worked together on his One Love record and that turned out to be an obvious success! “Toyfriend” seems to be one of the most striking tracks on the record. Even before you listen to it, you’ll be able to figure out what the song is like. The title is very intriguing; very boy-toy Madonna meets dance-y cartoony pop! When you hit play, that’s what you get! How did that one come about?
Wynter: It was I, David and The Jackie Boys. It was our first session together and you know David, he has some really hard beats. When it comes to writing a dance-track, it is super hard to come out with lyrics to perfect it. A dance track can be a song on its own; it doesn’t even need lyrics. It was a difficult process, we were all humming out melodies and little pieces of the song were all over the room. David took those little pieces and put them together and made one complete song. We were just sitting around, joking! People will shout out random ideas and we all rub off from each other, it’s really organic and fun.
Kazemi: Did any of David’s productions make a cameo on your record?
Wynter: I have some David tracks but at this point he’s not on the album.
Kazemi: Album two?
Wynter: Only time will tell! We will have to see…
Kazemi: Suspense. Last spring, every iPod in the world got a little blast from the past with the Eiffel 65 sample on Flo-Rida’s “Sugar.” You must have been about fourteen when that came out. While in the booth did you think about living up to the legend this song upholds?
Wynter: I listened to it so much and I was obsessed with it. I still am obsessed with it. It was I, once again was with The Jackie Boys who did a flip on it. Flo and I have the same A&R, so they just asked me to play the role of the hook-girl and I guess I sounded so animated on it, they just decided to use it! I wasn’t even trying to live up to any standards; it took about ten minutes to record! It was super fun and it sounded really good!
Kazemi: 90s and early 2000 pop is super good; it’s basically all I’m listening to at the moment.
Wynter: I really think so too! I feel like right now it’s just a formula that everyone is trying to do.
Kazemi: The Dr. Luke formula…
Wynter: Yeah… It’s getting old.
Kazemi: It’s getting really old.
Wynter: While recording this album I only listened to all 80s/90s pop! That’s what I’m all about!
Kazemi: It’s amazing, I feel kind of lost in this whole world of Euro-Dance because I find it so different from the American mainstream. I mean Kylie got airplay over here a couple of years ago and that is a perfect example of how Euro-Dance can transition to American Pop. I know some people who strictly live off of David Guetta, Tiesto, those Hed Kandi CDs. Do you feel more comfortable with your success falling into the world of Euro-pop?
Wynter: For right now I am blessed to be a part of that world! “Dirty Talk” is the only song I’ve released under my own name. You know how “Believer” was with Freemasons and “Toyfriend” is with David Guettta? I think the music is really going to grow because pop music is popular music, you know? I think my songs are catchy, fun and loveable. I don’t think it’s just for the Euro-Dance scene; it will be for the super pop scene in America as well. A real writer doesn’t write for American pop music, it pretty much comes from the heart. However you feel towards a track or beat comes pretty organically. When I’m writing for another artist, I do think of specific genres so they are in comfort but when it’s for me, it’s very liberating and organic and very natural! I’m writing what I feel but if I’m feeling something and it doesn’t come out the way I want it to, I just put it to the aside and maybe an artist will take it to use later.
Kazemi: Creating a pop song is a very artistic process.
Wynter: Yeah, I try to use different sounds and different melodies. I like to have a bright light on when I write, I always want to give my best and I put my all into it. It doesn’t make sense to write something just for the point of writing something down, everything has to have meaning. Work hard all the time and no play! I read a lot of fairy tale books; I love Twilight and Harry Potter. I read Sci-Fi and watch old 80s movies; those help to keep me young and have a healthy pop mindset.
Kazemi: “Dirty Talk” gets a good amount of airplay over here.
Wynter: It always comes on the radio in New York and L.A., Atlantic didn’t service it to radio until last week and it’s been good with the DJs who spin it. We didn’t even push it to radio; it did well on its own.
Kazemi: The Billboard charts and I both believe that song is unstoppable! You actually worked with Euro-Dance producers like Nervo, Tiesto, Freemasons, Empires of the Sun and Starsmith. Transitioning to American R&B/Pop sounds like The Clutch, Ryan Tedder, NeYo, The Dream and Stereotypes on your record With The Music I Die. Will those sounds balance each other out? Simply put, the “best of both worlds” treatment?
Wynter: I was working with The Dream, Ryan Tedder and The Clutch about four years ago. Time has passed and I have grown as a person and as a writer and I’ve worked with a lot of known people as writers. A lot of the records weren’t for the album, they just happened to “leak.” But this album’s theme is dance so I tried to make it as eclectic and not as formula like as possible! You know what I’m saying… [Laughs]
Kazemi: [Laughs] I know what you’re saying…
Wynter: I don’t want it to be like how dance music is recognized in the United States right now; I want to give it life. The most special track I’ve worked on so far is called “Still Getting Younger,” that I did with Nick from Empire of the Sun. It’s just different.
Kazemi: It was a freeing process?
Wynter: Yeah! It was very freeing. The stuff with The Nervo Girls are really fun, the tracks are really quirky and weird. It’s not like everyday radio music but it can still be played on the radio. It will be like…
Kazemi: Revolutionary Pop!
Wynter: Yeah! That’s why people gravitate towards Rihanna because she puts out different sounding music.
Kazemi: I was just listening to Loud.
Wynter: Alex, it’s not out ‘till tomorrow!
Kazemi: No, no! If you pre-ordered it on iTunes, you receive it early.
Wynter: Agh! I didn’t pre-order it.
Kazemi: She sampled Avril Lavigne, that track is kind of awkward…
Wynter: I heard that one; you can hear Avril on it clearly.
Kazemi: I know… It’s awkward! Okay, back to “Revolutionary Pop!” Tiesto, what’s going on with that?
Wynter: I don’t know if his tracks are going to be on the record, it’s a fight right now because I have like five hundred songs and it’s a huge battle on what songs are going to make the album or not.
Kazemi: So funny!
Wynter: I have like a million tracks but I know for sure I got Nervo, Gary Wonder, Oak…
Kazemi: He did “Your Love” by Nicki?
Wynter: Yes.
Kazemi: Can’t wait to hear that.
Wynter: I don’t want to say much, but it’s almost ready.
Kazemi: I get it! You will take it out of the oven at the right time, so the cupcakes taste good! I have a feeling next year will be a big breakout year for pop, maybe as big as 1999. With so many new artists, the Pop Revolution is upon us!
Wynter: I really hope so, we need new energy and some new people in the game, we can only pray for pop music for so long.
Kazemi: I’m going to die if I don’t hear a real genuine pop song in the next year.
Wynter: It’s pretty brutal and it hurts.
Kazemi: It does hurt! A lot of people don’t know this but you did some work with Rich Hil on his Limo’s Were Cool in the 90s mix tape. Do you feel you had to do that to show off your R&B side, TLC-esque kind of thing, pop break?
Wynter: No! Not at all, never a break from the pop! Rich is a friend of mine and I was working on my projects on the studio upstairs and he was downstairs and I was on my way out and he asked me to jump on that track and there was nothing written, I just free-styled and that was the hook, literally!
Kazemi: He is very talented! I love Rich.
Winter: He really is.
Kazemi: You were at one point, an unsigned artist as well. It seems the music industry has been on your eye since a young age. I know on “Stop Hating’” you say you interned at Universal?
Winter: I interned at Universal. At the time I was in high school and I didn’t know anyone in the industry and I really needed to get my foot in the door. I was looking for anyway that was necessary and that was my start! I was like “Yo, I’m going to go intern!”
Kazemi: Did that internship give you insight on the music industry you’re living in now?
Winter: It definitely gave me insight on what to expect from the people, the executives and the A&R dudes.
Kazemi: Mary J. Bilge started you out, right?
Winter: I had this track I wrote on my bed, bored at night just writing to survive and somebody I know gave it to her. She ended up using it as the title track to her album, which was a blessing! Then I worked with Jennifer Lopez and Dainty Kane. I like to do outside song writing. It’s very beautiful when your label disapproves a song that is very close to your heart and then puts it to use with someone who can understand and relate to it. That is what happened with Jolt, in the song “What is Love.”
Kazemi: Everything is so organic in your story.
Winter: My style, the things I say… It’s all an evolution that is happening with me and sometimes I wish that I had a whole camp of people helping me do it to move it faster. But it’s better this way, I’m pretty much going with the flow.