Fernando revealed that his first EP with Kylie documents the various stages of a break-up, while their latest offering celebrates the joy of moving on. He also spoke about the inspiration he takes from one-hit wonders, his creative relationship with Lady Gaga and writing Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind.” Find out more about the artist/producer below.



Yes, originally. She was signed to Roc Nation when I met her. I’ve always been a fan, I always wanted to work with her. I started in the late ’90s, super underage, and began with remixes and making house music. If you were working in that area, you wanted to write for Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Whitney Houston, divas of that magnitude.

Those were your dream cuts, right? Again, one of the things, going back to the Swedish mentality that’s influenced me, that I admire is that fairy-like quality of singers — that whimsical, magical, kind of mythical aura they have when they sing, when they emote. Kylie encompasses that. For me, she’s a real-life Tinkerbell.


“What would you do if we asked you to work with Kylie?” I was like, “Well, I would try to cater to her core fans, and look forward.” What’s great about working with established artists is the different perspective you get to choose. Instead of thinking, “How are we going to introduce this artist?” It’s more like, “How do you show them in a new light?”

You don’t re-brand Coke. It already exists. You want to show that brand in a new light, to the next generation. In the same way, not comparing artists to brands, but philosophically speaking, that was my approach. “She has her core fans. Give them a new evolution of where she left off, and also introduce a new perspective for the next generation.” That was my approach, but it wasn’t aligned with what the team had in mind for her.


We were like, “It’s heartbreaking. These are cool.” It wasn’t until six months to a year later when she called me. She was like, “Fernando, I’m playing these songs in my car right now. Why aren’t these songs out?”

I’m like, “Yeah, you’re right. I have no answer to that. Let’s brainstorm. Let’s do something. We can do it ourselves.” She came by, and she’s like, “Fernando, I don’t want to sell these songs. I want to finish them, and I want to give them to the fans.” I was like, “I agree. Let’s really finish them, but let me put my stamp on it, as well. Let me show you what I always wanted to do with someone like you.” She was like, “Great. Okay, let’s do it.”


Mind you, Kylie was on the phone with us, she was an active participant throughout the whole thing, and wrote a lot on all the songs. We did this together, so it was a collaboration.

What I thought was, “Okay, here’s Paris Hilton,” and she’s become a good friend of mine. At the time, she was at the height of her fame, and there was a lot of resentment. There’s fall out, because sometimes that lifestyle can come across the wrong way to the underprivileged and the disenfranchised. It’s understandable. I knew she was a really kind person. There’s a reality that people don’t see. I’m like, “I have to make her likable to everybody.”


I’ve got to show that a song can change perspectives. A great song heals all. I also wanted to prove that she could sing. No auto tune was used in the making of that record. I had her sing the song every day for two months. Even if it was 10 minutes, 30 minutes she’d come in and do a line, or come in and do a verse. I had her doing different passes. Because she wasn’t an experienced singer, I had to create the dynamics of that story. Not artificially, but by selection. It’s like painting a canvas. It’s her voice, and her talent, but I’m just kind of orchestrating.




Here’s what happened. I thought they were good songs. The thing is, I don’t think they were aligned with the brand or the direction of the album, but they were good. I mean, they felt they wanted it to be a part of it, but they didn’t fit the circus theme of the album. I think that’s what happened.




It’s so hard. With Born This Way, I had the mindset that we were writing a musical, or telling a story about a disenfranchised person or disenfranchised community. We were fighting for equality, for gay rights, for immigration, the rights of immigrants. It was always about telling the struggle, and showing that we can triumph over the struggle. If I were to pick a favorite, believe it or not, it would probably be “Americano.”

There was this big situation, I think it was happening at the Southern border, and it had to do with people getting hurt — protesters and immigrants. She loves the Mexican community, or the Latin community, I should say, in general. She was inspired by what they were going through, and I was deeply moved by what was happening, as well, and I think it was more like a middle finger to the people that were hurting these protesters. That’s what was translated. It was all heart, and all real.


With her, it’s a lot more about navigating alongside with her. It’s about taking my ego out of the equation and substituting that with who she is. That was a real discipline. Some artists could use a bit more of your ego, and your style, but that was more about, “How can I make this better? How can I be an asset to this environment?” I’m a songwriter, she’s a songwriter. So, a lot of the nuggets and the songs are from her heart. You know, I’m an passenger on that journey.

With “Edge Of Glory” we were both going through something sad at the same time. My grandpa died. I took a leave. I was touring with her for about three years on and off, working on music and just writing with her. My grandfather passed away, who was a big, big influence in my life. He passed away a month prior to writing this song.

I left tour to go bury my grandfather in Mexico, and when I came back, unfortunately the same thing happened to her. She had a conversation with her grandfather who passed away and I don’t want to paraphrase her, but it ended up being incorporated into the lyrics — standing on the edge of glory, being at the edge of your life and being triumphant. “I did it my way.” You know what I mean? For my part, it was an ode to my grandfather, and for her it was an ode to her grandfather.

So gay

squint

So Fernando was behind the songwriting of TEOG? Why did Gaga insist she wrote the song by herself in 15 minute then? (Referenced from that Oprah interview)

The fact that the entire EP and everything else she has released that could've been on Kiss Me Once are FAR better than the final tracks

Fernando makes it seem like he wrote the bulk of it since his grandfather passed away before Gaga's - he was already in the process of writing the song. He also says that the "nuggets" of certain songs he wrote with her are Gaga's, so she probably didn't write most of the songs he's referring to.

Does anybody enjoy "Quicksand?" It hurts to think Britney, Fernando and Gaga were all on one song and that's all they came up with

He should work with Gaga again; they work well together

Messy.

I don't get how Gaga lied?

Would critic an artiste if you were not an artiste?

TL'DR

You're gonna get warned for infringement.


DELETE IT FAT!!!!

I liked both Quicksand & Amnesia very much. I don't think Britney necessarily worked on them with them in a studio so her input would've probably made for better songs (hence why they weren't part of the main tracklist) but I still think they're pretty good.

And nnnnn at the title change.

sure jan