Exclusive: Mixer & Engineer Andrew Dawson Talks Working With Kanye & Lil Wayne; Discusses Upcoming Projects

HHNM: Was that challenging as well? Because that album is quite experimental in parts and has lot of layers. So many artists contributing, who are not even credited on the main track list.

Andrew Dawson: Definitely. There was so much stuff going on and so many layers used. It was a challenging album to put together from the mixing and engineering standout because there were a lot of elements involved and to make it all fit together definitely wasn’t easy. But it came together very well. You know it’s hard to pick my favorite album but this one was certainly one of his best.

HHNM: You produced Chamillionaire’s ‘When Ya On’ which is actually one of my favourite beats of 2011. How did that beat come about? Do you have more work with Chamillionaire coming up?

Andrew Dawson: Oh great, thanks! Yeah, I would love to work with Chamillionaire some more but we don’t have anything planed together right now. That beat was really fun, it came together really quick. It was one of those beats which come out quick and good. He had heard that beat on a CD that I had sent to one of his friends. It will be great to work with him again. I think he did a great job on that beat.

HHNM: You’re also credited on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III and Tha Carter IV. How was the experience of working with Wayne?

Andrew Dawson: Oh yeah, those are big albums. Actually, on Tha Carter IV, my involvement was a lil bit less because I only did some sample replaying. But Tha Carter III, I mixed the entire album and the experience was great. That was a huge album. It did a million in the first week and it was very rare at that time for an album to do so. Tha Carter IV did close to million too. It’s fun working with him. Hopefully, I will be a part of Tha Carter V too (laughs).

HHNM: Okay. Have you heard Tha Carter IV?

Andrew Dawson: Oh yeah.

HHNM: What are your thoughts on that album which is commercially very successful but panned by most critics.

Andrew Dawson: know there are a lot of songs that are spartan, production wise. I mean, if I had to pick between III and IV, I would probably pick III. But I think there are a lot of good songs on Tha Carter IV and I don’t understand why people would dislike it. I actually kinda dig that record.

HHNM: You worked on Fun.’s ‘We Are Young’ too. It’s multi platinum already and was the number 1 song in the country till last week . How did that collaboration happen?

Andrew Dawson: Yeah, that was a surprise. I was just talking to Nate, Jack and Andrew, the 3 guys of Fun. after it kinda blew up. They really had no idea or never thought the song would go so big. That makes it even cooler. We recorded that album at my studio in Hollywood and Producer Jeff Bhasker’s studio in Santa Monica. So we split it and did the album over a course of 3 months. We were recording the album during this time last year and I knew some of the songs there had big potential and I’m really happy with the success they’ve had with the album. Their next single is big too. They will probably end up with 5 singles off that album.

HHNM: What’s next for Andrew Dawson? Will you be producing more in the future?

Andrew Dawson: I’m currently finishing up work on Pet Shop Boys’ 11th studio album. Putting final touches on that. Another guy called P.O.S., I’m working on his album which is coming out this Fall. There’s another group that just put out a new mixtape. Their name is The Morning Benders but they’ve recently changed their name to POP ETC. I did some work on their mixtape and also working on their album.

HHNM: You have a diverse clientele. Is there any artist out there that you really want to work with but haven’t got the chance yet?

Andrew Dawson: I’d really love to work with Katy Perry. I think she would be great to work with. Producing, writing and recording with her. I’ve also never worked with Eminem. I’ve always been a great fan of his and would be great to work with him as well.

HHNM: This is something we ask everybody we interview here at Hip Hop N More: Prince Or Michael Jackson and why?

Andrew Dawson: That’s a tough one for me because I grew up in Minnesota about 10 minutes away from Prince’s studio Paisley Park out there. I think I have to say MJ. You know what, the intellectual side of me, the technical & trailed musician side of me wants to say Prince but my heart & soul tells me I wanna listen to those MJ songs. So I gotta go with Michael Jackson.