And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan - Ep. 190: Mikkel Eriksen & Chris Anokute (LAAMP)

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

We’re excited to announce a special bonus interview with Mikkel Eriksen, co-founder of LAAMP and one-half of the production duo Stargate, and Chris Anokute, the Executive Director of LAAMP, an A&R executive, and Founder of the entertainment company, Young Forever Inc. Ross recently sat down with Mikkel and Chris to discuss the record production world and everything they do over at LAAMP. Read below to find out more about LAAMP and listen to this conversation on any platform you find your podcasts! Are you ready to turn your passion for music into a profession? Look no further than Los Angeles Academy for Artists and Music Production (LAAMP). At LAAMP, we offer a state-of-the-art campus accommodating up to 50 students, vibrant common areas, and a dynamic live stage. Nestled just 5 blocks from the stunning Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, CA, and with over 15 recording studio pods, you'll have everything you need to bring your musical visions to life.Founded by super producers Stargate, the masterminds behind chart-toppers like Katy Perry's "Firework," Rihanna's "What's My Name" and "Diamonds," and Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," LAAMP boasts a world-class, nine-month intensive songwriting bootcamp, where you'll be mentored by industry titans like Benny Blanco, Cirkut, Neyo, Diplo, and the legendary Stargate themselves. Our weekly music business workshops feature presidents of publishing companies, major A&R executives, superstar managers like Jay Brown (Rihanna), top-rated mixing engineers, vocal producers, lawyers, business managers, and more. Unlike other music academies, our students dive into songwriting and producing every single day, honing their craft like never before. And with three showcases held at top-rated LA venues throughout the year, you'll have the chance to shine in front of industry insiders and music lovers alike.Ready to make your mark on the music industry? Join LAAMP today and let your talent take center stage. Visit LAAMPMUSIC.COM. Apply now and start your journey to musical greatness! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to And The Writer Is with Ross Golan. There are millions of singers, thousands of artists, and only 40 songs per genre at a time. These are the stories of the hottest creatives, the most venerable legends, artists, songwriters, executives, and more. Follow our socials and share your music with the and the Writer is community. We'll see you all there and now. Here's this week's episode. Hey guys, we are here with LAMP. I'm really excited to have you guys in person so we can actually talk about what LAMP is.

I am here with Chris Anacutei and Mikkel Erickson. I've known both of these guys full disclosure for a decade or more now, at least more than a decade for Chris for sure. 18 years. And yeah, because we actually, I just realized our first number one song, as a country song, I'm looking at McKell right now, you can't hear where I'm looking. But our first number one song was one decade ago, exactly

10 years ago. So, wow. This is pretty cool that we're back here with all this going on. So I just want to hear from you guys. Mikel, where did Lamp come from here? You've got you're a super producer.

Why are you doing Lamp? Explain what it is. It was actually a tour started to mentor at a music academy in Norway called LIMPI, which has some of the same principles. It's all based on mentorship and collaboration. And we both just realized that this model is so much better than anything that's out there from the traditional models of a four-year college or just like a master class, online kind of thing. There's nothing where you actually learn how to make music by doing it and collaborating

and learning from people who are having success and hits. today. It's nothing like it. So we were like this model in Los Angeles or in the US, we would totally crush it because the level of talent is so high. So you could cherry pick the best writers, artists and producers and create this powerful community of creatives that work together. So it was basically just an inspiration and also a really good way to give back to the community and share some of the experience that we've done. had for the last 20, 30 years working in the industry. Chris, you know, you're a legendary ANR person in this business.

Why did you start working with LAMP? It's crazy because, you know, you always have to kind of, you know, strive to evolve in life, spiritually, emotionally. And, you know, I left a major label system in 2018, you know, started my company, had hits, took money long to the Grammy's Best New Artist nomination, sign a few joint venture label deals and probably had my best earning years. And a lot of that was driven by ego.

And in the midst of that, you know, over the last two and a half years, I was going to LAMP as a mentor speaking in these workshops. And I just got so fulfilled from it. And in the midst of, you know, working on, you know, an artist's album and some of, you know, signing major label deals. That was the only thing that was fulfilling to me. Mie Kell and Tor have been telling me over the last two and a half years, you should come in and probably run the program for us and be our executive director.

I'm like, no, I've got to build my independent label and sell it and all this ego-driven stuff. But I kept on feeling lamp and everything I was doing over the last three years. So I had to do some soul searching, like what's my next mountain? and I just felt like being a servant is the only thing that really makes me happy. And I never felt more inspired by any kind of music business project than LAMP. And all the years I've been doing this is the most important, like, gift to the music industry I've seen in the last 20 years. And I just felt I had to be a part of it. I mean, it's amazing to see that's really what makes the team at LAMP special.

And having been a writer who would send you songs and going to meet you in offices, and then being able to write with you, Mikkel, and learning from both of you guys was always inspiring in a professional way that I'm, you know, the fact that you can be a student and learn from the same people that I learned from. Crazy. That's an amazing opportunity, and I'm pretty envious of them. And I'm going to look for a slot in the school because I want to join it. And I was crazy serendipitous because,

I met you in my first A&R job in 2006 when we signed your band. Before that, when I was an intern at Devst Jam, my first project was doing Street Team, and I would have to hand out CDs of the Neo-sampler, this new R&B single, Neo, and I'm like, who wrote these songs so sick? And it was Stargate. And then fast forward 10 years,

I had the biggest hit of my career as a record man with Stargate, Firework, and now I work for them, work with them, and I'm helping them build this incredible academy. So everything comes full circle. What other companies in the industry do you guys admire? Do you guys work with other companies to make lamp what it is? Actually, our main sponsor is Stand Together, this organization.

They're in a lot of fields, but we found out that they really align, their vision aligned with what we're doing. So they've been instrumental also in helping us and support us so that we can also. develop the program further and also help some of the students who are there financially as well. Yeah, we have a few strategic partners that we're partnering in scholarships. Like obviously we have a deal with Ban Lab where we're giving away two scholarships for our online program. We also have another female-driven nonprofit organization that's given away scholarships to female producers and non-binary producers.

And then obviously I'm going to really focus a lot of efforts on bringing in more brand partnerships this year. Overall, major labels, publishers, companies like YouTube, Spotify, to really hold hands with us on a big way to make LAMP even a bigger deal. There are going to be a lot of people who are listening to this who will apply to be part of the school. And some people who feel like they can't afford it or aren't sure what to do, what's advice you give to an independent artist, writer somewhere in the world who's listening to this

who wants to do this for a living? I mean, I think the key is collaboration in music. I think find whoever around you share your vision and share your taste in music, find someone to collaborate with and take whatever you have accessible around you at any given point, try to make the most out of that. And of course, you have to put in the work,

you have to put in the hours, and the mindset I think is really important nowadays that you're healthy both physically and mentally to be able to perform. It's like you're an athlete, right? You have to take care of yourself before you can actually create and do something great. So I think that's key and also today we can collaborate with people across continents and countries so finding people online to collaborate with and that's why we're launching this six-week online program as well, where people can come together and have online sessions

and get mentored and get feedback on your songs. Because a lot of these other programs, you're just following a video, which has limited value, I think. But here, you're actually you're collaborating with real people. You're getting feedback on your songs from high-level people, and you're part of this community, which, again, to answer your question, community, I think is the key to succeeding in the music business. Yeah, there's something about writing also the Scandinavian

that really helps. The best melody. You'll get the best melodies in the world. Not only do you get the best melodies, but I will say I learned and I have a really good work ethic, but I learned to focus work ethic

that's slightly different working with Scandinavians where the, you know, treating your songwriting like you're a professional athlete. You want to play in the pros, then you act like a professional. And I think a lot of people feel like the industry will, that they'll happen to the music industry versus the music industry happening to them. And some of this is how can you, how can you physically withstand the ups and downs, not just mentally, and those things sort of

work each other. But when you show up to work the same time every day and you leave the same time every day, give or take, you start to produce things that are a little more predictable and you keep that batting average up. So, you know, that work ethic from, that, you know, is the basis of, of LAM, I think is really valuable to everybody. Oh, yeah. I mean, listen, the door is open at 9 a.m. They close at 10 p.m. every night. There's 16 recording studios. The kids have access to every single pod, sometimes till midnight. And to me, it's all about discipline. When I was young, you know, I went to college for two semesters dropped out. I wanted to be a songwriter.

I just didn't have the stomach to pursue it at the highest level. Then I tried to produce records. And I was like, you know what? I don't want to learn how to work this role in 2480 machines. So I said, I want to be a part of making records, but I don't want to make them. But if I had a program like LAMP in New York or New Jersey that gave me access to become a better songwriter or producer, or maybe even just through the workshops and mentoring sessions, I met somebody like myself or.

manager. We had Jay Brown, Rihanna's manager at one of our workshops. Maybe that would have inspired me differently. So I just think, like, listen, the tuition, what we offer is state of the art. Sometimes you just have to invest in yourself. You have to invest in your dreams. You have to go after it. You have to commit to something where you could say, I accomplished something. I did this for nine months. I was there every day from 10 to 6. I wrote 40 songs, and I met toward Mikal. I was able to meet the head of A&R at Atlantic Public. I was able to learn about business management and finances. I was able to learn about social media as an artist.

I was able to stay in Santa Monica and meet some of my best friends and my best collaborators. There's a few love interests that came out of lamp. It's just an incredible experience for any dreamer who wants to be an artist, a songwriter, a producer. And listen, if my son ever wants to pursue showbiz, I'm putting him a lamp. Of course, it's a huge investment, but also the value you're getting is unparalleled. Nowhere else would you get that. Actually, my oldest daughter, she's a producer and writer and artist. She's that man.

She went to NYU for a couple of years, which I think is great for many people or for many potential avenues. But I think it's nowhere close to the value of LAMP. And it's the fact that I pulled my daughter from NYU and put her in LAMP. And I see the difference because I remember when she first started developing as an artist. She's found her identity at LAMP. She's found her sound, her rhythm. She's become an incredible producer.

I think some of her best friends are with her at LAMP. It's just an incredible experience. Again, listen, I wouldn't be the executive director at LAMP if I didn't believe in it, as much as I believe in, like, God. And I don't align with things. that aren't evolutionary, Lamb is the greatest thing I've seen since I've been in the music industry,

honestly, in the last 20 years, for artist development. And also, we only recruit based on one thing, and that's talent. Talent. It's that we don't care if your grades or we don't give out any degrees or we don't require any degrees, right?

So it's all based on your talent and your music and your passion. And that's why also we have people from so many different parts parts of the world and parts of the world that we curate together to create this incredible community speaking of evolving you know the uh lamp has now been around for this is the fourth year or fifth year fourth year and uh you know we've been talking about it now for four years so this is really exciting to see that it's not only still going but it's actually gaining momentum where do you see

the program going in the next five 10 years where are there aspirations that it's bigger or that it's, again, you know, is it to keep it this focus? I mean, where do you see it? I think definitely we want to grow it, but not necessarily open 10 more lamps around the world. Because it's, I mean, it's so hard to curate the level of talent and mentorship, right? It would be virtually impossible to do that around the world because we're getting the best producers and writers and artists in the world to show up. So I think it'll be where we can really scale it and grow will be on the online site.

I think that's where we can, because of the amazing content that we're shooting every single day at LAMP, the onsite program. So I think online has huge potential to scale. But yeah, we just want to make it even more known and keep raising our game and getting even. Even better talent. And what I see, I mean, just as a dreamer, what I would hope for LAMP, regardless of how long I work with LAMP as an executive director. But I see it being the luxury brand music academy that every kid wants to go to from around the world. Because you think of Juilliard, you grow up knowing where Juilliard is. You grow up knowing Berkeley's and Boston and people go to Boston, people go to New York.

L.A.'s never had that. LA's never had a state-of-the-art artist development program for producers, songwriters. We're five blocks away from Universal Music Group to global headquarters. I mean, you're in the middle of the record business, and you're mentored by Grammy Award-winning number one chart position producers, and you're meeting business managers that represent the stars and lawyers and A&R people. There's nothing like that in L.A. So I hope that LAMP becomes the staple development academy for songwriters, producers, and artists

that just happens to be in L.A. Like, you grew up, I grew up knowing if you were an incredible composer, jazz singer, you want to go to Juilliard. And yeah, that's for education. You get a degree. I never had a degree. And I became successful in the music business. So the good thing about Lamp is like you're not getting a diploma.

You're not getting a degree. You don't need a degree. You just need talent. And there's so many people, especially with chat GPD and technology and AI, a lot of kids don't want to go to college and spend four years reading out of a book. They want to be hands-on. They want to meet people. They want to collaborate. They want to be in the studio 70% of the time.

That's what LAMP offers. And we're already also getting feedback that the artist is coming out and producers coming out of LAMP are getting into amazing sessions. and it's a kind of a stamp of approval, right? Because we have a thousand applicants and we choose 45. Obviously, the level's going to be really, really high. Absolutely. I went to USC, and a lot of it was because the connections that you make when you're there were really essential in me growing in the business.

But the idea of being able to truncate that where, you know, obviously, I don't tell people my GPA, I just tell them I graduated. Yeah. It was like the relationships were really the thing. And, you know, it wasn't, there wasn't the songwriting producing thing at the time. And I just can't imagine having the ability to go to something like this. So I applaud you guys for creating it, for keeping it going. You know, I'm happy that a lot of our listeners have applied and have been students.

I've run into people all the time that, you know, tell me that they found out about you guys through the podcast. We've had a few applicants just to see. knew about it. So thank you for being so supportive of us and we're proud to be supportive of you guys and looking forward to next steps. Looking forward to this same conversation in next year, the year after when we find out

that one of your students is the biggest artist and biggest producer, biggest writer in the world. That will happen. And there'll be a guest on this podcast. We already have alumni who has 50 million streams and touring. touring and warming up for a seal and doing really big things. Getting cuts left, right and center.

So we're super proud of them. Nice. Well, thank you guys so much. No, we appreciate you guys. We love what you guys doing to be continued. There you got. Thank you, Ross. Appreciate it.

This episode is produced by Joe London, Mega House Management, and myself. See you all next week. I'm Ross Golan signing off.