Maratone is a music production company, and started by two music producers and songwriters, Max Martin and Tom Talomaa. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, it was started in January 2001 after the closing of Cheiron Studios. [1] Maratone moved in at Cosmos Studios after the production team Kai Erixon and Kent (Gillström) Isaacs decided to split up after working together for 10 years on numerous productions. Isaacs bought the old Abbey Road/EMI Studios that is now Cosmos Studios. Cosmos Studios is closely affiliated with Cosmos Music Group.
The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks for Britney Spears' third album, Britney . The Maratone production crew now consists of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami Yacoub and Arnthor Birgisson. Alexandra Talomaa left, and is now running her own studio/production company named "Maridox Songs".[ citation needed ]
With Kelly Clarkson's hits "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes", which were produced at Maratone, Max Martin had reinvented himself together with Dr Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) by using a completely different sound than the "Cheiron sound" he was famous for. He has continued to use the new rock sounds on hits for Taylor Swift, Pink, Katy Perry, a-ha and many more.
Martin eventually evolved from Maratone Studios to found and operate his own globally successful production companies, such as MXM and Wolf Cousins [2] [3] and has gathered numerous working affiliates, making themselves a songwriting and production collective under the label. These people are Rami Yacoub, Shellback, Rickard Goransson, Johan Carlsson, Peter Carlsson, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Ali Payami, Oscar Holter and OzGo. This also did include Dr. Luke for a short while until 2014. Songs recorded at MXM Studios include "Stone Cold" by Demi Lovato, "Birthday" and "Roar" by Katy Perry, "Scream" by Usher, and "Let There Be Love" by Christina Aguilera. In 2013, the production entity Wolf Cousins was created in Stockholm, with songs such as "Cool for the Summer" and "Confident" by Demi Lovato, "First Love" by Jennifer Lopez, and "Problem" by Ariana Grande being produced in the Wolf Cousins Studios. [4] [5] [6]
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Dag Krister Volle, better known as Denniz Pop, was a Swedish DJ, music producer, and songwriter. He co-founded the recording studio Cheiron Studios in Stockholm in 1992.
"(You Drive Me) Crazy" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time (1999). Written and produced by Max Martin, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger with additional writing by Jörgen Elofsson and remix by Martin and Rami Yacoub, it was released as the album's third single on August 24, 1999, by Jive Records. It was featured on the soundtrack of the 1999 teen romantic comedy film Drive Me Crazy. The song garnered positive reviews from music critics, some of whom praised its simple formula and noted similarities to Spears's debut single, "...Baby One More Time".
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her third studio album, Britney (2001). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami, with additional writing from Dido. The song was released as the second US and third international single from Britney on January 7, 2002, by Jive Records. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a song that speaks about the angst and heartache of adolescence. Spears considered the song inspirational and one of her favorite songs to perform.
"Overprotected" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her third studio album, Britney (2001). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami. The song was released on December 10, 2001, by Jive Records as the second international single from Britney. "Overprotected" is a dance-pop song about a girl who is tired of being overprotected and just wants to be herself. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Its remixed R&B form, produced by Darkchild, was released as the third US single from Britney on April 2, 2002.
Nana Hedin Pranschke, known as Nana Hedin, is a Swedish singer.
Location Songs was a music publisher in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a follow-on to Cheiron Studios, which despite its success, was closed down in 2000. Following this, Max Martin and Tom Talomaa started a new production company together named Maratone in January 2001. David Kreuger and Per Magnusson started A Side Productions and Kristian Lundin started a third studio, The Location, together with Jake Schulze at the same location as Cheiron Studios.
Rami Yacoub, also known by the mononym Rami, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter and former member of the songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone. Yacoub collaborated extensively with Max Martin in the early part of his career. He has worked with acts such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Charli XCX, Bon Jovi, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Arashi, Westlife, The Saturdays, P!nk, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Tiësto, Avicii, NSYNC, 5 Seconds of Summer, Lindsay Lohan, Weezer, Måneskin, Foster the People, Taio Cruz and Loreen.
"Faith" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion, for her eight English-language studio album, One Heart (2003). It was released on 27 October 2003 as the third promotional only single in Canada from the album and was the fifth single overall. "Faith" was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. The remixed version by the Original 3 was released as a radio single. "Faith" reached number 4 on the Quebec Airplay Chart and number 37 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart.
Cheiron Studios was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such as Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Robyn, NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Westlife produced many of their greatest hits. In addition, Cheiron Studios was also a record label in affiliation with BMG for a while, and a music publishing service, although those ventures were abandoned in favour of music production.
Carl Anthony Falk-Gramer, is a Swedish songwriter, record producer and musician and has worked with artists such as Demi Lovato, One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Nicki Minaj, Ellie Goulding, Madonna, Avicii, Ariana Grande, Charlie Puth, Jason Derulo, Westlife, Hilary Duff, Iggy Azalea, Liam Payne.
Arnthor Birgisson is an Icelandic naturalized Swedish songwriter and producer. He moved to Sweden in 1978 and has lived in Stockholm since.
Demi is the fourth studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on May 10, 2013, by Hollywood Records. Looking to transition from her self-described "generic" third album Unbroken (2011), Lovato wanted her fourth album to "have songs that excited her". Demi is primarily a pop record with elements of synthpop, and bubblegum pop.
"Walking on Air" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her fourth studio album, Prism (2013), included as its fourth track. It was released to digital retailers on September 30, 2013, by Capitol Records, as the record's second promotional single, following the release of "Dark Horse". The song was part of a poll promoted by Pepsi, along with "Dark Horse", where fans could vote for which song they wanted to become the first promotional single from Prism. Inspired by CeCe Peniston and Crystal Waters, "Walking on Air" is a deep house and disco song influenced by 1990s Eurodance.
"Cool for the Summer" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released as the lead single from her fifth studio album Confident (2015) on July 1, 2015, by Hollywood Records and Island Records, and premiered on radio on the same date via Republic Records. Lovato co-wrote "Cool for the Summer" with Alexander Erik Kronlund, Savan Kotecha, and its producers Max Martin and Ali Payami. It is a pop and pop rock song with an electronic instrumental arrangement, a synthesized beat and an electric-guitar riff during the chorus.
"Confident" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on September 18, 2015, by Hollywood and Island Records as the second single from her fifth studio album of the same name (2015). Lovato co-wrote the song with Savan Kotecha and its producers Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. Commercially, it reached number one in Israel and the top 30 in Canada, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States. The song has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Confident is the fifth studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on October 16, 2015, by Hollywood, Island and Safehouse Records. While Lovato co-wrote most of the songs on the album, she worked with writers and producers such as Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Steve Mac, Rami and Stargate, among others. Musically, Confident is primarily a pop, dance, electropop, and power pop record with influences of R&B, soul, EDM and urban. The album features guest appearances from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea and American rapper Sirah.
"Hey Hey Hey" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her fifth studio album Witness (2017). It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio stations on January 12, 2018 by Universal Music Group as the album's fifth single. The song was written by Perry, Sia, Sarah Hudson, Max Martin and Ali Payami, while production was handled by Martin and Payami. "Hey Hey Hey" is a rock- and electronica-influenced, dark electropop track about female empowerment. Reviewers speculated that the song was also about the 2016 United States presidential election nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
"Who's in Your Head" is a song by American group Jonas Brothers. It was released through Republic Records as a single on September 17, 2021. The song was produced by Max Martin and Ilya.
MXM and Wolf Cousins are a pair of Swedish song writing and production organisations, founded and established by renowned songwriter and record producer Max Martin. MXM Studios and its affiliated producers are currently based in New York City and Wolf Cousins Music are in Los Angeles, California. However, both MXM and Wolf Cousins are headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, where them and their works originate, as it was descended from the works of Maratone Studios and Cheiron Studios.