Kenny Beats

Kenny Beats, an acclaimed music producer and songwriter, shares his journey in the industry, touching on his unique sound and collaborations. He delves into the emotional ties behind his album 'Louie', exploring themes of nostalgia and fatherhood. Kenny discusses the spontaneous moments that fuel his creativity and the balance between artistic integrity and commercial success. He also reflects on the transformative role of community in fostering young producers and the challenges of navigating the music scene in the age of social media.

There’s a reason Kenny Beats is one of the great young producers in Hip Hop. Because he has a vast understanding of the regional sounds and histories of cities to pull from when making beats for an artist. This allows him to find a common musical language with rappers. Which is super important in an art form as hyper-local as rap. We’re kicking off a two part series of interviews with Kenny Beats, in the one you’re about to hear which was taped a while back, Kenny maps out the evolution of regional sounds in hip-hop ... drawing parallels between disparate cities. And how Hip Hop has evolved from creating beats out of old drum samples—known as breakbeats—to sampling and referencing itself.Subscribe to Broken Record’s YouTube channel to hear old and new interviews, often with bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/brokenrecordpodcast and follow us on Twitter @BrokenRecordYou can also check out past episodes here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com/You can find the playlist for this episode HERE — enjoy! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode John catches up with Benny Sings and producer Kenny Beats to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Young Hearts’.Linking in from their studios in Amsterdam and LA, Benny and Kenny look back on their time spent writing and how each environment had an impact on the music. From experiencing the ‘Kenny Beats Thing’ in LA along with his wealth of collaborators, to spending a solitary week writing in Amsterdam locked in the studio with Covid.As well as sharing the voice notes that initially inspired Kenny to become involved in the project, the duo dig deep into the lessons they’ve picked up over the years. We’re treated to some tips and tricks behind effortless lyric writing, stock plugin gold, along with a deep dive into mixing and balancing drums and bass.Listen to find out how to create definition between yourself and a character within a song, how to efficiently keep track of all your sessions, and what the definitive definition of ‘slap’ is.Tracks discussed: Young Hearts, Pyjamas, DistanceLINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  linktr.ee/tapenotes Listen to ‘Young Hearts’ here.Stones Throw RecordsIntro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective   GEAR MENTIONSFab Filter Pro Q3Oek Sound SootheValhalla ChorusGoodhertz MidsideGoodhertz Vulf CompressorEventide Instant Phaser PluginEventide Instant Phaser OutboardOliver Samples PacksBeyerdynamic M500 MicAltec Outboard MixerRoland TR-55 Rhythm King Drum MachineYamaha CP-70Hofner Club 50StylophoneWhurlitzerAbletonAbleton Drum Buss - Stock PluginSpliceOUR GEARhttps://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgearHELP SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :) DonateOr you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns.KEEP UP TO DATEFor behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on: Instagram: @tapenotes Twitter: @tapenotes Facebook: @tapenotespodcast  YouTube: Tape Notes PodcastDiscord: Tape NotesPatreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear! Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.ukHELP SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :) DonateTAPE NOTES TEAMWill Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & EditorTim Adam-Smith - Executive ProducerWill Lyons - EditorGuy Nicholls - Production Assistant

IDLES' Bowen, producer Kenny Beats, and engineer Mikko Gordon discuss the making of the album 'TANGK'. They share insights on love and gratitude themes, team breakouts, dubious covers, and unexpected inspirations beyond their usual domains. The trio talks about utilizing different expertise and experience between LA and London studios while sharing witty stories and moments from the creative process.

Since his first conversation with Rick, Kenny Beats’ star has continued to rise. In the past couple of years he has produced songs with Ed Sheeran, Da Baby and Vince Staples. He’s also taken several trips to the UK, and produced over 30 songs with British artists like FKA Twigs and Slowthai. Today, Kenny explains how for the first time in the history of hip-hop, an American sub-genre made its way across the pond to the UK, only to come back to the States in an updated form that is now influencing American rappers. Kenny and Rick also talk about why they don’t care about understanding English rappers' slang, and how a group of German classical musicians are co-producing some of the biggest hip-hop records today.Subscribe to Broken Record’s YouTube channel to hear old and new interviews, often with bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/brokenrecordpodcast and follow us on Twitter @BrokenRecordYou can also check out past episodes here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com/You can find the playlist for this episode HERE — enjoy!Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.