Steve Lillywhite: ’Australian music is less formulaic’

Six-time Grammy winning producer Steve Lillywhite is impressed with the current music being released by Australian artists.

During an interview with TMN, Lillywhite said: “It’s like Australia hasn’t quite gone as far toward the formula and the safeness that America and the UK have gone.”

Lillywhite is in Sydney to take part in APRA AMCOS’ global song writing initiative, SongHubs. From today, the British-born, Jakarta-based producer will take part in a series of production sessions with Australian and New Zealand songwriters and artists including; Megan Washington, Reece Mastin, Thomston, JP Fung, Mitch Kenny, THIEF, Michael Paynter and Michael Delorenzis (M Squared).

Lillywhite, who had his first commercial success at age 22 with Siouxsie and the Banshees, has over 500 record credits to his name, including: U2, The Rolling Stones, 30 Seconds To Mars, Talking Heads, Matchbox Twenty, The Smiths, The Killers and even Crowded House (he told TMN Neil Finn wears his slippers in the studio).

Lillywhite just finished up with APRA AMCOS and Universal Music’s Bali Songwriting Camp, where he worked with Gold Coast hip hop artist/producer M-Phazes.

“I met some very good Australian artists [in Bali] who are a little bit out of the ordinary […] By doing that you get the possibility of something great coming out, like Gotye and Lorde, although I know Lorde isn’t Australian.

“I think as your sporting prowess sinks, your musical prowess rises,” he laughed. “You know I had to get a dig in.”

Lillywhite also said he refuses to produce a band which sounds similar to his pervious works: “So many narrow-minded record company people wanted me to produce their band because it sounded like U2, and I’ve never done that.

“I want to work with great artists, and if a band sounds like a band that’s successful, then by definition they’re not a great artist because they’re not the first ones to do it.”

Lillywhite will take part in APRA’s SongHubs initiative in Sydney alongside songwriter, producer and artist Cruickshank, who is signed to Scooter Braun, singer-songwriter, performer and great-great niece of Judy Garland Audra Mae and singer-songwriter and producer Nash Overstreet. Overstreet is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of US multi-Platinum-selling band Hot Chelle Rae.