| NERD Friends since high school, Virginia Beach b-boys Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, A.K.A. The Neptunes, are the latest red-hot producers in the hip-hop world. In the last two years alone they�ve manned the controls for three of hip-hop�s biggest crossover chart smashes, Jay-Z�s �I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me),� Mystikal�s �Shake Ya Ass,� and O.D.B�s hit cut �Got Your Money.� Now with their own project, N*E*R*D*, they�re finally grabbing some of the limelight for themselves. It was a dream-come-true for Hugo and Williams when they were plucked from a school talent contest by none other than R&B production guru and Blackstreet mastermind Teddy Riley. Now almost a decade later The Neptunes are as in-demand for their golden-touch production style as their one-time patron and mentor. Though most 27-year-olds would be happy with making it to first-call producer/hit-maker status for mainstream hip-hop acts like Jay-Z and Mystikal, The Neptunes seem to have their sights on broader goals. Branching out into alternative genres with remixes for artists such as Moby, Sade, and Kid Rock is just one way of forging ahead; working with the queen and king of pop, Janet and Michael Jackson is another. Then there�s producing left-field up-and-comers like psychedelic soul singer Kelis, whose acclaimed 2000 debut album Kaleidoscope was entirely produced, co-written and arranged by the duo; and, of course, there�s N*E*R*D* � Hugo and Williams plus another old Virginia Beach buddy, Shay. Short for No-one Ever Really Dies, N.E.R.D.�s Virgin Records debut In Search Of� is hotly tipped to be the next Outkast-like breakthrough. The group�s first single �Lapdance,� a raunchy pontification on government corruption which blends rap with hip-hop, old-school funk and classic rock, is already tearing it up on MTV with its infectious grooves and eye-popping video. Speaking on a cell phone from his home-based studio, Chad Hugo prefers to downplay the hype. �We�re just doing it for fun,� he says coolly, fielding other calls and dealing with frequent interruptions throughout the interview. As the self-professed tech-head of the team, Hugo is keen to rap lyrical on his favorite piece of studio gear. �We demo all our stuff on the VS-1880 Digital Studio Workstation. In most cases we record the songs in there and dump them straight to 2-inch tape.� Although the high-end commercial studios they�re used to working in are commonly equipped with computer-based hard-disk recording setups, the -1880 is still it, according to Hugo. �It�s quicker for a start. I like the way you can copy measures by just hitting a couple of buttons. There�s no having to highlight an area and drag a mouse all the way across a screen; it�s really easy because you can see all the measures right there in front of you. Just punch in the numbers and copy however many times you want it to be and it�s done. �The idea is to make music, and for making music you need really easy tools so you can get your idea down as soon as possible,� he continues. �I can take my studio anywhere using just the -1880 and a pair of speakers. In many cases I actually pack it away with me and use it on the road.� On up-and-coming singer Kenna�s as-yet-untitled Flawless Records debut which The Neptunes have just finished producing, he did exactly that. �We were traveling a lot during that project, and the only way to get it done was in hotel rooms. I tracked all the vocals on that record using just the -1880 and a mic pre.� Much of The Neptunes� success can be attributed to their old-school production values, yet they instinctively know when to call on technology when it�s needed. Having worked his way up through the VS-Series of digital studio workstations, Hugo now has his sights set on the new VS-2480 24-track Digital Studio Workstation and certainly doesn�t anticipate switching recording formats any time soon. �A lot of people think you have to have the most expensive gear or you have to have the oldest gear, but man, if it sounds good, then use it. The people back in the day didn�t worry about if a particular track had too much hiss, or whatever. They worried about the music, the songs, the content. To me the VS works just fine�it�s quick, it gets the job done, and it sounds fantastic.� Who could ask for a better endorsement? � http://www.rolandus.com/USERS/RUG/rugsummer2001/rn_nerd.html |