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My philosophy for producing a record is for everyone involved, including myself, to get out of the way of the song, and at the same time, listen to it as closely as you can, and listen to where the song wants to go.

M. Ward

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M. Ward
Age: 51
Born: 1973
Born: October 4
Guitarist
Musician
Record Producer
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Ventura County
California
Matthew Stephen Ward
Matt Ward
Involved
Records
Wants
Philosophy
Closely
Everyone
Producing
Song
Including
Way
Record
Time
Listen

More quotes by M. Ward

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I remember when I was 5 or 6 years old, gospel music felt familiar, like I had heard it in the womb or something. A lot of those old gospel songs still give me that feeling, that it's older than time and there's actually music that can tap into a universal subconscious, or whatever word you want to put on it.
M. Ward
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In order to make a normal-sized record, a singer songwriter should have a couple dozen finished songs. Once they go through the process of production, the ones that scream out at you that they're finished are the ones that make the record.
M. Ward
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I love the idea that I planned my career. I did not. It started out by getting invitations from artists that I really love and respect, to share a stage... I've been very lucky in that I haven't had to create a five-year plan. It's evolved.
M. Ward
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I'm somebody who gets a lot of inspiration from dreams.
M. Ward
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It's a hard thing to explain, but the more I arrange for strings, the more I realize the possibilities.
M. Ward
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I get most of my inspiration from older records. Most of the records that I listen to were probably made before I was born, and I was born in the mid-'70s. I don't know why, exactly, I'm drawn to those sounds.
M. Ward
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When I first started making music, it was learning other peoples songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I started writing, I used the singing side of the production as a vehicle for melody and lyrical ideas.
M. Ward
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I learned a long time ago that fame and money is not a ticket to happiness.
M. Ward
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I don't really watch TV series because I don't want to get hooked on them and have them suck up all my time.
M. Ward
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Certain things you have to stumble on to. They can't be preprogrammed.
M. Ward
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The South of France is one of my favorite places in the world.
M. Ward
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From a very early age, I started to get really interested in how songs were put to tape. Not just listening to the songs, but the way the songs were recorded.
M. Ward
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When I was about 15, I picked up the guitar and learned how to play by going through Beatles chords books. I got this Christmas gift with the entire Beatles catalog.
M. Ward
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I get annoyed with movies or books, songs or records that deliberately try to make you feel a certain way.
M. Ward
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I do watch 'American Idol' sometimes. It's not really that pleasurable... I take that back. It is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. Sometimes there's some good singers on that show.
M. Ward
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I had the naive, simplistic idea that producers and writers and artists of the time helped in a minuscule way to change the mind-set of America.
M. Ward
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I treat the act of making a record very much like working in a laboratory, experimenting with sounds and ideas. Whoever chooses to latch onto it, great whoever doesn't, that's fine, too. The reaction always pales in comparison to the weight of the act of production.
M. Ward
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I don't like the way recording to digital sounds.
M. Ward
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My favorite recordings are the ones that feel like there were no middlemen in the creation. That's the biggest problem with most films and records being made today - too many people involved. I think it dilutes the artist's intent and inspiration.
M. Ward
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It might be a meaningless moment, but those sparks that ignite the song.... It's mystical maybe, those magic moments. And to make music for a living, to perform these songs over and over, you have to safeguard those sparks. If you can do that, they'll last a lot longer.
M. Ward