Lead singer and main writer of the indie electro phenomenon "Electrocute" knows pop music from all angles.
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 of today : Wynter Gordon, Pixie Lott and even the bratty/poppy internet star 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" has been 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 was doing 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 : 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 : 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 effects 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 : 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.
Source : AlexKazemi.Com
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