Taking home the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year back in February, Daniel Nigro is one of contemporary music's most in-demand hitmakers.
In the first episode of Universal Audio's Apollo Creators series, Nigro opens the doors to his LA-based studio, reflects on working with Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan and shares some invaluable insights into his creative process.
Though he's best known for his work on Rodrigo's albums Sour and Guts, along with Roan's breakout hit Good Luck, Babe!, Nigro has written and produced for an extensive list of artists that also includes Caroline Polachek, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kylie Minogue.
Nigro wasn't always behind the boards, though: he began his music career in earnest at the turn of the millennium as the frontman for indie rock band As Tall As Lions. When the band broke up in 2010, Nigro shipped out to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a commercial songwriter.
Nigro reveals that he endured several challenging years before gaining a foothold in the industry. "I started to go into sessions with other producers, and I was really unhappy about the way it was working," he says.
"I would write these songs with producers and a few weeks later get bounces back, and I almost always hated what the outcome of the song was. I was like, 'I don't even like this song, how is anybody else going to sing this?' That's when I realized I wanted to be more in control of the production of the songs."
"I was very lost. It was something that was kind of like a dream in my head that was gonna happen. But it was like, 'wait, you don't even know how to use Pro Tools!" Nigro says. "But I was like: 'I'll figure it out' And I did."
Later in the video, Nigro reflects on the importance of patience in the production process, sharing a view that truly timeless songs shouldn't be rushed.
"It's crazy to me that people pride themselves on how fast they can make a song," he says. "You could write a good song in an hour, for sure. Writing songs is so expressive, that sometimes the shorter the time it takes to write it actually does mean it's better.
"But in terms of making a great song, that's something that - at least for me - takes a long time to figure out. When you look back at all the best records that we all loved growing up, you're talking about 10 or 12 songs that were made over two or three years.
"If I can make four songs in a year; four really good songs in a year, that's all you need. I know that sounds crazy, but that's what it really takes to make music that's gonna last forever. You want your songs to be played 20, 30 years from now: that takes time."
Nigro's Amusement Studio is located in East Los Angeles. Originally a home studio, the space was later expanded to fill the entire house after he and his family relocated.
In the control room, a stack of keyboards - a Roland Juno-60 and Juno-106, Korg MS-20, Minimoog and Mellotron - sit against one wall, and an upright piano against the other; the very same 1973 Yamaha U3 heard on Olivia Rodrigo's record-breaking, chart-topping single Drivers License.
Nigro's audio interface of choice is the Universal Audio Apollo, of which he has several, including both the x16 and x8p models. "In 2012 or 2013 I bought an Apollo Twin, and I had this little Twin for a couple years. It wasn't until 2016 that I bought my first rackmount, and now I have several of them. I keep on adding to it; there are only so many 1176s I can put on before it tells me I'm out of UAD power!"
Watch the first episode of the Apollo Creator series on Universal Audio's website.
