Más detalles sobre la participación en el álbum de Madonna

Una entrevista realizada a Justin Timberlake en la revista Hollywood Daily People desvela nuevos detalles acerca de su participación en el próximo álbum de Madonna.

Hollywood Daily People: Has trabajado en el nuevo álbum de Madonna junto con Timbaland. ¿Hacia que dirección la habéis llevado?

Justin Timberlake: Básicamente, nuestro trabajo fue reinventar su sonido. Yo me limitaba a producir su voz — en realidad experimentar con el ritmo. Todo lo que ella hace con el ritmo es sencillo. Lo que yo hago es más staccato y R&B. Así que el reto para mi fue escribir canciones, después decir «¿Cómo puedo hacer que esto suene más como Madonna?» Soy un gran fan de su primer álbum. Así que mi misión fue escribir una «Holiday» de hoy en día. Escribí una tema house muy bueno para ella que se llama «Miles Away», ¡creo que es un exitazo! Madonna suena genial en ese tema.

Hollywood Daily People: Entonces, ¿es una Madonna más R&B?

Justin Timberlake: Es un disco R&B/pop/dance, pero sigue siendo Madonna. ¡Su voz todavía suena como si tuviera 18 años! Es asombroso que tenga 49. Ella siempre ha estado al pie del cañón. Sus últimos discos, ella se sentía como, «Rrrrrrr!».

Hollywood Daily People: ¿Cual fue su reacción a tus ideas?

Justin Timberlake: En varias ocasiones la dirigí en una dirección determinada, y tuvo que pasar un minuto antes de que nos entendieramos entre los dos. Su actitud era como, «Bueno, nunca había hecho eso». Y yo le decía, «Claro, por eso es que deberías hacerlo».

Hollywood Daily People: Entonces, ¿enseñaste a Madonna a hacer beatbox?

Justin Timberlake: [Risas] No, no. Eso lo dejamos para mi y Tim.

A continuación la transcripción original de la entrevista:

You worked on Madonna’s new album with Timbaland. In what direction did you take her?
Basically, our job was to reinvent her sound. My thing was producing her vocals – really experimenting with rhythm. Everything she does with rhythm is straightforward. What I do is more staccato end R&B. So the challenge for me was writing songs, then saying, «How can I make this sound more like Madonna?» I’m a big fan of her first album. So my mission was to write a modern-day «Holiday». I wrote a cool house record for her called «Miles Away» that I think is a smash! She sounds great on it.

So is it an R&B Madonna?
It’s an R&B/pop/dance record, but it’s still Madonna. Her voice still sounds like she’s 18 years old! It trips me out that she’s 49. She’s always been rough and tough. Her last couple of records, she’s like, «Rrrrrrar!»

How did she react to your ideas?
A couple times I pushed her in a direction where it took a minute before we saw eye to eye. Her approach was, «Well I just haven’t done that». And I was like, «Yeah, that’s why you should do it».

So did you teach Madonna how to beatbox?
[Laughs.] No, no. We left that to me and Tim.

You launched Tennman Records last May. What’s it like being a label head?
To be honest with you, I don’t know the next time I’m going to put out a record. But I have all these musical ideas. [With the label] I have all these ideas where I can throw my creativity into… You have to understand, I’m not Clive Davis. My label is independent in every sense. I’m basically Clive Calder Making Records 101. I’ve learned more from him than from anybody else. I’d be in Battery Studios recording, and he’d listen to my record and say [slips into a South African accent], «You need to listen to this Tribe Called Quest record, yeah? This record reminds me of that». How does this fiftysomething bald white dude from South Africa know about A Tribe Called Quest? Then you look at his resume, and this dude was responsible for hip-hop! Through an independent label. So my label is a perfect mixture. We’re involved in the forefront of technology, but it’s back to the old days of being hands-on with your artists.

How did you woo Esmee Denters when L.A. Reid and Jason Flom were also after her?
I assume she signed with me because I’m an artist too, and I understand that record companies don’t break artists anymore. They just bank on artists that can sell music on iTunes or Amazon. If you don’t blow up quick with your first single, they drop you because they don’t have a budget.

How will you build on her YouTube success?
YouTube will be a mainstay for Esmee. It’s a cool branding. We’ll even emphasize that in putting her out; we’re working with YouTube on something. We constantly use the Internet. That’s where music today lives. The elder statesmen of the music industry and the Grammy committee need to be involved technologically with how the music gets to our generation. Who am I to tell some 11-year-old he can’t download my record for free? I just want to reach people who love music. If that means I have to spend money on Esmee and her music comes out in a way that’s free, I’ll do that. My approach is, what is the most cutting-edge way to put this music out? It’s hilarious people think Radiohead didn’t make money off their record – they did. [Timberlake says he paid $10 for In Rainbows online.]

Aren’t you concerned about budgets?
Constantly. I don’t want to be, but I have to be. The main thing is, we’re not going to put ourselves in the hole. But if we do it right and put out quality, then everybody gets to make money. But I’m really not concerned with that. The label is to develop careers. People could read this interview and say, «What an idiot», but this is what inspires me. The reason I win is they never see me coming. They would love to think of me as «The Guy Who Messed Up the Super Bowl» or «The Guy Who Put Out Dick in a Box». They don’t get me at all.

What’s next for your artists?
I just spent four days working with Esmee in Miami. She’s like a little sponge with everything I say to her. Her record should be done this summer. [Alternative singer] Matt Morris – my friend [from the Mickey Mouse Club] since I was 10 – his album will shock! And I just got off the phone with my rapper Free from my rap-rock band, Free Sol, to set up some L.A. sessions in April. [Tennman also signed R&B singer Brenda Radney.] They’re all special to me. My involvement with them is in every facet: artist development, producing, songwriting. Honestly, I never, never wanted to be this busy. But I’m enjoying it.