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Magnum Opus:
We’re a brand new company combining 25 years of award-winning popular music broadcasting and production and we’re passionate about creating high-value programming content and concepts.
Steve Levine:
Culture Club, Honeyz, America, Beach Boys, Deniece Williams and Gary Moore are just a few of the artists this Grammy and Brit award-winning record producer has worked with. A pioneer of digital recording techniques, Steve works closely with new talent and possesses 2 of the best ears in the business, both of them highly valued by Yamaha, Korg and Apple.
Richard Allinson:
25 years of daily music broadcasting have given Richard a fascination with the way records are both made and played. His tremendous experience both in front of and behind the mic has won him a brace of Gold Sony radio awards, an enviable reputation and an incredibly loyal audience.
LINKS:
Steve Levine Discography
BBC Radio2 : The Producers
DK Podcast
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'The Record Producers' is a critically acclaimed documentary series, produced by Magnum Opus Broadcasting, for BBC Radio 2. The network is the most popular national radio station in the UK, commanding an audience share of just under 16% of all radio listeners in the UK and an audience of 13.29 million (Rajar second quarter 2006). This series of six programmes has run as individual specials in the network's schedules throughout the year from Easter 2006, broadcast immediately after the drivetime slot on key UK bank holidays.
Each programme focuses on the talent of an individual producer whose body of work has influenced the shape and direction of popular music. Not only that, but the six subjects chosen for this first series have been selected to highlight the various roles a record producer can adopt, thus giving the listener an insight into the many facets of the craft. These include the producer as engineer, orchestral arranger, vocal stylist, gadget freak, mixer, musician and songwriter.
Richard Allinson is the main presenter, but he is joined in each programme by record producer Steve Levine who not only demonstrates the techniques used to create various sounds on hit songs, but also explains various terms and techniques in an accessible way that leaves the listener both entertained and informed about the studio process.
Five of the six programmes have been broadcast over the last nine months (see citations below). They have concentrated on the work of Trevor Horn, Arif Mardin, Tony Visconti, Bob Clearmountain and Nile Rodgers. Hugh Padgham will complete this first series when it is transmitted at Easter 2007.
Magnum Opus Broadcasting has been commissioned by Radio 2 for a second series. which will starts MAY 2007
'The Record Producers' deliberately shies away from a standard radio documentary format. Whilst it includes interviews and contributions from not only the subject but also the artists and fellow industry members with whom he has worked, it has never set out to be a chronological biography of the person in question.
It's aim (and judging by its reviews, it's success) has been to tell their story through the music they've made, the artists they've worked with and the techniques they've used to create iconic songs. The balance in the programme has come from mixing the anecdotal and the conversational with the hard, technical fact. As such, musicians have been more than willing to participate in the knowledge that they will not be expected to regurgitate standard interview or chat show answers. So Bruce Springsteen talked at length about the speed with which Bob Clearmountain mixes, Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys discussed how Trevor Horn's own musical background as a bass player gave him his pop sensibilities, and Chaka Khan enjoyed the freedom that Arif Mardin gave her to improvise during recording sessions.
Along with the musicians mentioned above, a number of other artists have been more than willing to contribute to the various programmes including Bryan Adams, Jon Anderson of Yes, Marc Volman (The Turtles), Neil Finn (Crowded House), producer Stephen Street (Smiths, Cranberries, Blur, Kaiser Chiefs), Raul Midon, Bare Naked Ladies, Sparks and Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music). There have also been several contributions from others who play a vital role in creating the finished product, such as the arranger (Richard Niles) the session player (Andy Richards) and the engineer (Gary Langan).
The reputation of the series has grown with each transmitted episode. Musicians have recognised both its potential and the respect given to each subject, to the extent that they have been happy to provide original demos and multi-track recordings for presenters Richard Allinson and Steve Levine to analyse. The proverbial 'icing on the cake' came when Nile Rodgers himself gave not only the multi-tracks, but also his blessing for Richard & Steve to pull apart the original recordings of 'Le Freak' and 'Good Times'.
The three key members of the production team (Richard Allinson, Steve Levine, Neil Myners) consider the production values put into this series as the benchmark for the output of Magnum Opus Broadcasting. Below are quotes and reviews for this series along with brief biographies of the production team.
Reaction from both the industry and the public has been more than positive to the programmes:-
"Absolutely a brilliant programme hosted by Richard Allinson today. Look forward to the next one aired hopefully shortly." (Bob Clearmountain programme aired 28/08/06)
(likeMarkRM - Radio 2 listener via website message boards)
"Another fabulous presentation ***** This is most definitely the best documentary series I have heard on Radio 2. Hats off to Richard Allinson, Steve Levine and Neil Myners - I would say" (Tony Visconti programme aired 29/05/06)
(SweetPeaPod - Radio 2 listener via website message boards)
"Hey man..... I've been getting tons of emails on myspace regarding the broadcast. people loved it. best, nile"
(e:mail from Nile Rodgers to Steve Levine regarding the edition featuring him)
"The "Record Producers" programme featuring Nile Rodgers, was also mindblowing in places. To actually hear the individual tracks on songs like "Le Freak" and "Good Times" was a real education. As a non-musician, I could still get goosebumps when I heard Bernard Edwards' bass separated from the rest of the mix, and then layers of other key elements gradually faded in. Fascinating stuff for any fan of not only Chic, but of music in general." (Nile Rodgers programme aired 01/01/07)
(Luke - Radio 2 listener via website message boards)
"I am a huge music lover and don't often take time to do this but I wanted to express how much i enjoyed the show. i found it most interesting the way in which the tracks were pulled apart adding to my passion for music. the show was presented clearly - a superb job from both steve and richard - this is what i pay my license fee for!" (Tony Visconti programme aired 29/05/06)
(nottinghambabe - Radio 2 listener via website message boards)
"Chaps, as I write this I'm listening to your utterly brilliant show. Your love of the subject shines through the whole enterprise. Great music, great narration, great interviews, great insights, great production, great entertainment ! Great Scott is that the time ? Love Gary O" (Arif Mardin programme aired 01/05/06)
(Gary Osborne, songwriter (Elton John's Little Jeannie, Blue Eyes, Part Time Love) and chairman of The Songwriters Executive and The Ivor Novello Awards Committee for the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters)
"Fascinating program. Ron's [Mael of Sparks] summing up at the end was great." (Tony Visconti programme aired 29/05/06)
(Steve Boyce - via message boards on official website for Sparks, who contributed to Visconti programme)
"I was so taken by the various testimonies and I just wrote to Russell Mael....... It was a great listen and very informative, Cheers, Tony"
(Message from Tony Visconti to the 'Record Producers' team following the edition featuring him)
"Both shows have been outstanding, and the first on Trevor Horn was exceptional. Richard Allinson has always been one of the best presenters on radio 2, he is one of the few that always seems to have a real and genuine appreciation and knowledge of the artist and subject matter he speaks of, and to combine that element with legendary producer Steve Levine and his track-record and expertise in his field - The Producers show was going to be an obvious hit! It is rare to listen to any documentary on radio 2 and leave with more then you knew anyway - The Producers had depth, entertainment values, and was educational. Congratulations to all concerned - and lets get more of these on air!" (comment following Arif Mardin programme aired 01/05/06)
(Phil Cooper - Radio 2 listener via website message boards)
"As well as being better informed about how some of the best records ever made by Sparks, T.Rex and Morrissey came together, you'll leave this documentary behind knowing that when rock stars talk about "direct injection" they mean sound played straight to the console, not their drug habit." (Tony Visconti programme aired 29/05/06)
(Radio Choice of the Day in Radio Times Magazine - The UK's most popular TV and Radio guide)
other UK national press included Radio choice of the day in both Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph for the Bob Clearmountain programme, Record Collector magazine for the Trevor Horn programme. At time of writing, two of the five transmitted editions of 'Record Producers' (Arif Mardin, Nile Rodgers) have been critically appraised as the best on UK radio on 'Pick Of The Week' - the review programme broadcast by the UK's national speech network BBC Radio 4, as well as Radio Choice Of The Week from Gillian Reynolds (Radio Critic - Daily Telegraph) in her regular spot on regular spot on the weekly Sunday morning jazz/speech show 'Parkinson' (Trevor Horn, Nile Rodgers)
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