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Hitmaker Mark Ronson unveils his 'Record Collection'

Updated: 2010-09-27 09:42
(Agencies)

Hitmaker Mark Ronson unveils his 'Record Collection'

NEW YORK - At the age of 35, Mark Ronson already knows what his epitaph will read. It's not that he's a morbid guy; he's just wryly aware of his musical legacy.

"At the end of the day, it will say 'producer' before it says 'artist,'" says Ronson, who has released two solo albums but is best known for his turntable and production skills. "I was once known as a DJ, and that will stick forever. I will always play in the dance tent at a festival -- it doesn't matter if I start making polka or classical music."

Ronson's flashiest achievements -- his production work with singers Lily Allen and Adele, his 2009 "Britain's best dressed man" trophy courtesy of GQ and the throwback vibe of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," which helped him earn the 2008 Grammy Award for producer of the year -- have pigeonholed him as a stylish DJ who makes stylish, U.K.-friendly beats. The Brooklyn-based artist doesn't care if that perception never changes, but third album "Record Collection," hitting the United States Tuesday (September 28) on RCA Records, is a conscious decision by Ronson to leave his comfort zone.

Gone are the jazzy horn sections and all-Brit collaborators, replaced by futuristic synths, Ghostface Killah verses and Ronson's first foray into singing. The disc is being billed as a work by Mark Ronson and the Business Intl., which refers to a revolving cast of five to seven musicians on the record and tour.

The shifts could ultimately lead to a bigger presence in the United States, where Ronson has yet to make an impact as a solo artist. It wouldn't be the first time he engineers a surprising takeover of the U.S. pop charts.

"I was shocked when (Winehouse's single) 'Rehab' became a hit here," Ronson says, "because I had basically resigned myself to believe that I was never going to make anything that was going to be more than a niche record here. And if something on this record changes that again, great. And if it doesn't, I'll still be thrilled to sell out (New York's) Webster Hall and the El Rey (a small club in Los Angeles)."

VERSION 2.0

Ronson's 2003 debut, "Here Comes the Fuzz," peaked at No. 84 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and has sold 18,000 U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Elektra Records dropped him two weeks after the album was released -- a move so sudden that Ronson says he had to pay for his own appearance on "The Craig Kilborn Show" during the album's promotional run.

After signing to Columbia U.K. in 2006, Ronson completed "Version," a 2007 album of cover songs that features chic riffs on cuts by the Smiths, Coldplay and the Kaiser Chiefs. Ronson says he got lucky with the timing of the album, which was released just when his production work with Winehouse and Allen was drawing attention on both sides of the Atlantic. "Version" peaked at No. 2 on the Official Charts Co. albums tally in the U.K., and Ronson toured behind the record for a year and a half, stopping to pick up a 2008 BRIT Award for best male solo artist and three Grammys for his "Back to Black" work.

Needing time to figure out his next move, Ronson opted to produce discs by Wale, the Rumble Strips and the Like before starting on album No. 3. "I put off going back into the studio for at least a year," he says. "I didn't really know what I was going to do, and I knew that I had to switch up the sound somewhat, because the soul arrangements were becoming played out."

No matter what type of music he released, Columbia U.K. (which will handle the U.K. release of "Record Collection") believed that Ronson could become a singular solo artist. "It was always important to establish him as more than just a producer or DJ," Columbia U.K. managing director Mike Smith says. "We felt strongly that this had to be an entirely original album. The key step was trying to find a new, authentic voice for Mark."

Ronson recruited a handful of his favorite musicians, including Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald and the Dap-Kings' Tommy Brenneck, and headed to Brooklyn's Dunham Studios to "just play and write and leave the tape running" for nearly a month last summer. His production work on the next Duran Duran album, which he began in the spring of 2009, inspired Ronson to bring in some vintage keyboards he had purchased on eBay.

"Mark is the first to say that, when he saw all my analog synthesizers, he virtually went out and replicated my rig," Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes says. "Working with us influenced the direction Mark went in, but at (the same time) he knew what he was doing."

NEW CREATIVE PARTNERS

The Brooklyn writing sessions led to Ronson reaching out to an eclectic mix of veteran and fresh-faced collaborators. Boy George lends vocals to the disco-baiting "Somebody to Love Me," while New York electro-pop group MNDR signed on for lead single "Bang Bang Bang" after meeting Ronson at one of his East Village Radio shows. Reclusive R&B singer D'Angelo, who shared the same manager as Ronson, delivers a powerhouse performance on the synth-heavy "Glass Mountain Trust."

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