First We Take Kylie, Then We Take Katy Perry and Beyonce!
Pint-sized Australian pop sensation Kylie Minogue has just released her compilation album to mark 25 years in the business. Minogue promotes the album with a brand new song, ‘Timebomb,’ which for her, might wrap up the past 25 years as the end of an era, but for the producer of the song, Matt Schwartz, it’s just the beginning. “Kylie is a real pro,” Matt says in an exclusive interview with Abbanibi.com. “We spent a bit of time together when she came down to my studio and I recorded her. She was amazing, beautiful and down to earth, and she did everything in one take!”
Matt Schwartz, born Matti, is an Israeli producer who wanted to become a real pro, so he went to study sound engineering and music technology in London. “After I graduated from university, I went back to Israel and started working at a friend’s studio, when my best friend from school called me and asked me to join him in a production company in London.” Schwartz describes his move from Haifa to London, “So I packed up and left not knowing what was going to happen.”
“When I got there, the hardest thing for me to get used to was the language, since my spoken English wasn’t very good at the time, it was even hard to get women,” he laughs, “but soon enough everything worked out just fine. Music was driving me and that was the most important thing, to be able to create where so many amazing records have been made.”
In the past 10 years, Matt has produced, written, programmed, and played many instruments, and has engineered and mixed many artists that have done very well on the British Charts, and in the rest of the world, including ‘Massive Attack,’ Mica Paris, Arthur Baker, Robbie Williams and ‘Deepest Blue.’” American audiences seem to be more loyal than the English,” he says, “I do follow what’s going on in America and hope for the opportunity to work with some great artists, it is very much in the cards and I wanted to wait until It’s the right time to do it – which seems to be this year.”
Schwartz is very modest about his Jewish identity, describing himself as ‘not as Jewish as he should’ve been.’ “I think that I’m a little hypocritical as I see myself as a Jew,” he says. “My wife converted to Judaism, but we don’t go to Synagogue as much as we should.”
After working with Kylie, Matt’s aiming for America’s biggest club divas. “I’d like to work with Beyonce, I think she’s amazing,” he says. “Also Rihanna and Katy Perry.”
But it looks like wherever he may go, he won’t forget where he came from. “I love Israel and always find myself defending it. The media is very anti-Israel over here and when people see a one sided view for long enough, they begin to believe it but I converted quite a few people into Israel lovers, and will never stop.”
Matt Schwartz (right) with Kylie Minogue and co-writer Paul Harris: “She’s a real pro”
