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Rami Yacoub | |
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Birth name | Rami Yacoub |
Born | Sweden | 17 January 1975
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | |
Years active | 1988–present |
Labels |
Rami Yacoub (born 17 January 1975), 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.
Rami, born to Palestinian parents, began his music career at the age of 13 when he began playing bass in a band in Stockholm. [1] [2] [3]
His talent for songwriting was already in evidence as he wrote many of the group's songs. Yacoub had also a short singing career but then decided to give all his attention to writing and producing instead. [3] By 18 he had discovered production when, with the aid of a "sampler, a little mixing board, synthesizers", [4] he began doing remixes.
In 1998, he was approached by Max Martin, who was looking for a new production partner, and asked to join the legendary Cheiron Studios in Stockholm. Rami's first collaboration with Martin was producing the hit "...Baby One More Time" that launched the career of Britney Spears. [2]
Following ten years of service, Rami split amicably from Maratone in early 2008 because he felt that "he needed to go [his] own way." After taking several years off to take a breather and to assess what he wanted to do next, he began putting together his own production group based at his Kinglet Studios in Los Angeles and Stockholm, Sweden. [4]
Rami Yacoub has said that growing up he listened to The Beatles, Prince, and Tom Jones. Other acts including Mötley Crüe, AC/DC, Iron Maiden also had huge impacts. He considers Denniz Pop his music industry "Godfather" and personal mentor. [5]
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with production 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), Céline 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".
"Lucky" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on July 25, 2000, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. After meeting with producers Max Martin and Rami Yacoub in Sweden, the singer recorded numerous songs for the album, including "Lucky". The song's narrative follows the story of the eponymous famous actress, who, despite seemingly having it all – fame, wealth, beauty – is truly lonely and unhappy on the inside. It received critical acclaim, with critics praising its melody and rhythm, and Spears' vocals.
"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.
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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.
Nadir Khayat, also known as RedOne, is a Moroccan/Swedish record producer, record executive, singer and songwriter. Currently, he holds the FIFA's Creative Entertainment Executive position. RedOne is considered one of the most influential record producer artists in contemporary music. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many worldwide high-profile recording artists, most notably Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Mariah Carey, One Direction, and Usher, among many others. His production discography boasts many Billboard and international hits. RedOne has established his own record label named RedOne Records.
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Still Alive: The Remixes is a remix album comprising different versions of the song "Still Alive" by Swedish pop rock singer Lisa Miskovsky. It was released by Artwerk on 11 November 2008 to coincide with the North American release date of Mirror's Edge, an action-adventure video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) for which "Still Alive" had been chosen as the main theme.
Karl Johan Schuster, known professionally as Shellback, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Shellback was listed as the No. 1 producer of 2012 on Billboard magazine's year end chart, and he also topped the list of their "Top 10 Songwriters Airplay Chart" the same year; he has won four Grammy Awards.
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Murlyn Music Group AB or just Murlyn Music (MMG) is Stockholm-based international music production company founded in 1997 by Anders Bagge. The company includes a great number of successful songwriters, producers and musicians and has produced and written material for tens of international artists.
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.