Mark Ronson feels like his job is "part life coach".
The British producer has teamed up with many hit musicians during his career so far, including Adele, Lily Allen and the late Amy Winehouse. He does everything from penning lyrics to mixing tracks, but one of the most important aspects of his work is making his collaborators feel comfortable.
“I make the process enjoyable because I’m excited about everybody’s ideas. You’re part life coach, because you want to make the person feel like they can accomplish anything. When they go in the booth they need to feel so built-up that they can deliver the greatest vocal performance they’ve ever done," he explained to the UK edition of Esquire.
"I think being from a big family and having to deal with different temperaments and egos definitely helped. All artists can be quite fragile and have egos and need to be told that they’re great.”
Music runs in the family for Mark; his dad is music manager Laurence Ronson and his mother Ann Dexter-Jones was married to Foreigner founder Mick Jones for 25 years. Mark's sister Samantha has also followed a creative path with a successful DJ career.
His moving to New York only enhanced his musical dreams, but when he turned 18 he was plagued by intense anxiety attacks, which held him back for a brief period.
“I’d turn on the radio and if you were listening to the weather forecast or the traffic, it sounded like - it’s hard to explain - but it would sound like [the presenter] was yelling at me. He could be talking in the most even-tempered tone but it would sound like it was getting more intense and angry and violent," Mark recalled. "And it wouldn’t go away until I could speak to somebody. I couldn’t call someone to make it go away. I would have to go and wake up my mum and be, like, ‘Hey.' The second she started speaking, it would go.”
Despite the problem never being fully solved, Mark never let them hold him back from making a name for himself in the industry and he's currently enjoying success with his latest record, UpTown Special.
