Music production is a solitary art. You spend thousands of hours alone in your studio, honing your craft and presenting it to the world, ideally playing your dance tracks to crowds and at gigs.
But as much of a solo craft as it is, producers can find endless benefits from teaming up and collaborating with other producers. Not only can it up your creative output, but you can also learn new things, advance your career, and so much more.
Joris Delacroix and Joachim Pastor are two producers who know this very well, and to celebrate the release of their latest collaboration, out now on Armada; we wanted to sit down and chat with these two about what they love most about collaborating.
Stream Their Latest Single Below
‘Swaying’ is a masterwork in melodic and club-friendly composition. Taking the best assets that each producer involved can bring to the table, each moment is packed with nuance and detail.
The central hook is formed around a soft-attacking synth pluck that slowly morphs and evolves as the track progresses. This forms the foundation of the record, where cinematic elements and cascading arps can develop in the background behind it.
These two producers and the record they produced are a testament to collaborations being greater than the sum of their parts, which makes me excited to dive into the advice they have to say on the topic.
So give their latest single a listen-through before diving into the reasons why producers should be collaborating…
Why is it important for music producers to collaborate?
Joris Delacroix: As producing is a solitary practice, at some point, you can be stuck with my only own vision of it and tempted to apply the same processes every time.
Collaborating is an excellent way to get a different point of view about producing music, learn new tricks, and refresh my process. It helps you step outside your comfort zone when growing and helps spread your wings. You always come away from a collaboration session having learned something new. If anything, it’s just a nice change of pace from producing alone in your studio for so long.
Joachim Pastor: I believe collaborating is essential because it opens each artist to a new world of ideas and a way to do new and fresh things; it is always a good source of excitement and inspiration.
There is something special about doing creative work alongside somebody else. it lights a fire that is almost impossible to do when you’re working on tracks alone in your room. You might create some idea that you think is rubbish but sparks an idea in the other person that you end up chasing and turning into a fantastic track.
Share a specific example of how collaborating has furthered your music career
Joris Delacroix: You always learn a lot when producing something with someone, whether it’s from the philosophical point of view, the hardware used, etc…
In my case, I started using many hardware synths after collaborating with artists that hooked me on it. I would have never done that if I hadn’t worked on another track with that specific producer buddy who loves hardware. It inspired me to start using analog gear, and now I feel like my hardware synths are a signature part of my setup.
Joachim Pastor: In my career, I changed many times the software I produce with. Every time I did it, it started by collaborating with someone using a different DAW. There is no better way of learning it than making a track with someone who already knows this software.
I love this because so many awesome new plugins are coming out lately, but I rarely want to invest time learning a new one from scratch. But working with another producer already familiar with a new plugin expedites the learning process and gets me up to speed with new production tools.
What should you expect going into a collaboration with another producer?
Joris Delacroix: Expect to be surprised. As Joachim mentioned earlier, a form of energy is created when two producers are working on a track together. When you both get into a flow state together, the real magic happens that you would never have expected.
So be prepared for that, and be ready to embrace it when some wild and out-of-the-ordinary idea starts taking shape during your collab sessions.
Joachim Pastor: I expect to work with someone who can provide something I can’t do alone but is open-minded to get my skills into it. For me, it’s all about having accurate and sincere exchanges.
This goes for me too, and I always remind myself before stepping into the studio to collaborate to be as open and honest with my collaborator as possible.
When should artists prioritize collaborations vs. solo releases throughout their careers?
Joris Delacroix: From the artistic side, it’s always nice to get good inspiration, a fresh vibe, and also to mix different musical universes; and for the business side, it’s always cool to reach a larger crowd, especially if both artists don’t share the same public, it’s a good way for people to discover new artists.
Joachim Pastor: I can’t answer that for every artist because every profile is different and has its edge. But for me, this is when I want to put something new and unexpected in my music, something I can’t do alone.
And also, when I’m open-minded enough to « accept » someone else in my production process, which is not always easy for me.
What are the three essential qualities every collaborator needs?
Joris Delacroix: Patience, because it’s not always easy to work in a new environment; humble, because the ego can ruin a collaboration, it’s all about sharing and making something together, and at last, you have to be nice because nobody wants to work with a prick.
Joachim Pastor: I would say being open-minded, of course, but also being frank because it’s important not to be afraid of saying things when there is something you don’t like to keep things efficient. And finally, for me, in collaboration, this is very, very important to make every session cool and productive by being a nice person to be around in a studio because making music is all about having fun.
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