Dan Nigro had his own rock group before working with the singer; diagnosis aside, he believes in the return of music made collectively
Before becoming famous as a producer and/or composer of works of Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and Kylie Minoguebetween others, Dan Nigro was a member of a band called As Tall as Lions. Active between 2001 and 2010, the group fused elements of emo and indie rock.
The popularity achieved with this project was not even close to the current one — and, at this moment, his work is practically all behind the scenes. It’s a reflection of a point he argued in a recent interview.
THE Rolling Stone USANigro highlighted that the current moment is much more favorable to solo artists than to bands. There is, according to him, a reason linked to our own reality as members of a society that never stops evolving technologically.
“As we have computers available now, it is more difficult for bands to form. When I was 16 or 17, the only way to make music was to get together with a drummer and a bass player. Now kids today can say, ‘Oh, I want to make a song and I want it to sound good, I don’t need other people to do it’.”
So, in your assessment, people are “less inclined in general to get together to make music”. It’s not necessary. Therefore, fewer groups come into existence.
It doesn’t mean that bands will disappear from the map. Dan Nigro still believes that there will be a comeback of the format in terms of mainstream.
“I think there is a world where bands will have chart success. I can’t name a specific band at the moment, but I feel like the way things are going, there will come a time when the world will be ready for it.”
Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro and the power of bands
Still in Dan Nigro’s view, a song composed by a band tends to have a different energy. Interestingly, his work with Olivia Rodrigo showed him this.
“In the songs ‘All American Bitch’ and ‘Ballad of a Homeschool Girl’ [do álbum Guts, 2023]she [Olivia] loved the feel of her live band and the way the songs sounded when she went on tour—how raw they felt. She was really great about showing me that, because we have these imaginary rules of ‘this isn’t how music is made these days’. She said: ‘I want this song to feel really raw, played live, with the tempos fluctuating’. And I said, ‘OK, I know exactly how to do this’.”
On the other hand, it is also possible — although more complex — to emulate the sound of a band with music made mostly on the computer. Nigro exemplifies with the hit “Good 4 U”from the previous album, Sour (2021). In addition to Olivia Rodrigo’s vocals, only the drum hi-hat was recorded in the “real world”.
The 90s singer that Olivia Rodrigo defines as a “true artist”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
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