Finding inspiration wherever he can, Sean Momberger is a crate-digger at heart, pulling and reworking samples into something entirely new.
The lines between producer, musician, engineer and songwriter all blur with the advent of music making at home becoming ever more accessible. A self-defined producer at the top of his game, Sean Momberger has carved a sonic identity and sat himself comfortably into his own lane, producing beats and music for artists like Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow to name a few.
Ahead of the Grammys this Sunday, of which he’s nominated for three, we spoke with Sean about his workflow, career and outlook on making music.
Producing and recording and mixing are roles that have all begun to blend together – how do you define what you do?
I would say I’m a music producer or beat maker. I used to call myself a record producer because I thought it sounded more distinguished, haha.
I know how to engineer a bit. It’s helpful when it’s just me and the artist in the room. Tracking vocals is a great talent to acquire for producers. As for being a songwriter, I know producers are songwriters of the melody, but I don’t consider myself as a traditional songwriter. Being a producer is more than enough for me.
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How does a song generally start out for you?
Lately I like start with a melody or sample without drums and then have the artist or songwriter vibe to it and build a song around it. After the song comes together, I’ll add the drums. A lot of artists are particular with drums so it’s important to get their input on the drums. I’m mostly all in the box these days. I use a lot of MIDI and VSTs. My go to VST is Omnipshere/Keyscape and Trillian by Spectrasonics. I like producing the initial idea in pro tools and then doing the drums in Ableton.
What’s a normal day look like for a Grammy-nominated producer?
When I was younger I’d be working all night into the late hours but lately I usually work during the day time. I’ve always been most comfortable working from my house. I have a set up at my house with my Macbook and Pro Tools . I have Yamaha speakers with a KRK sub speaker all running through an Apollo Twin X , and of course an AKAI MIDI controller. Guitar Center has made it so easy for producers to build a home studio. All you really need is a laptop nowadays.
When I was younger, I would wait for inspiration to come to me to work but as I’ve got older, I have made music such a habit that I usually just wake up and start making ideas regardless of if I feel inspired or not. I like to keep my daily schedule filled with music and then save my nights for relaxing or socializing.
We understand you’re a crate digger at heart – what is it about finding older, maybe unknown, songs that inspires you?
I love genre blending. I think hip-hop is the best genre when it comes to blending genre. when I was a kid and listening to old Kanye and Jay-Z songs, I would always look up the songs they sample and it would lead me to find amazing songs I never heard that I still listen to this day. It gives the old song a rebirth a new life. To me it’s similar to an artist covering a song. It’s a new take a new variation of an old song that inspires you. There’s a little bit of magic and nostalgia that inspires me to sample.
What do you look for in a sample?
It’s all about a catchy loop. I love finding a piece of old music that maybe was only a eight bar loop and use it to build a whole new song. When I’m chopping samples as opposed to looping a sample, I’m looking for tonality and something dynamic that’s going to cut through the speaker.
What do Grammy nominations mean for you? Are you pinching yourself or does it feel like deserved validation after years of hard work?
A little bit of both. I been watching the Grammys for 25 years and to get my first nomination feels surreal. To have my name next to Mustard and Kendrick Lamar is a little bit of a “pinch me” moment. But in the big picture this is something I’ve been working towards and a goal I always expected to reach one day.
As a closer, we’d love some advice to young up-and-comers. What do you do to prepare for a session with an artist?
I think it’s very normal for producers to get nervous before going to sessions. But the truth is, all the artists in the music community are so respectful about the creative process and it’s always a sense of comradery when working in the studio. I’ve never had any horror stories and every time I’m nervous about not being prepared it always seems to run smoothly.
I think out of respect for the artist it’s always good to listen to their discography and kind get a sense of what they bring to the table. Maybe start a few rough ideas based on what type of music you think will fit them. It’s good to pick out a few tracks you want to play them at the start of a session. the most important thing as a producer is read the room and go with the flow. Don’t over think. Just feed of the artist energy and let their energy lead you during the session.
Sean is a current Grammy nominee for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance). You can keep up with him here.
