A GRAMMY®-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Greg Wells has shaped hits on the Billboard chart for decades. Hear how he approached the challenge of honouring the Broadway classics while reimagining them for the big screen in Wicked.
WICKED is undisputably one of the biggest hits on the stage and screen, the remake starring Arian Grande and Cynthia Erivo. In Greg’s words, they’re both powerhouse vocalists, and his arrangement and mix was there to support them without taking over at any point. In the above video, Greg opens up the mix session after explaining he performed guitars, bass and drums on the soundtrack, accompanied by the real (80-90 piece) pit orchestra that features heavily throughout.
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Watch as Greg solos some of the more supportive tracks throughout like guitars and keys. Built on hundreds of tracks in the Avid Pro Tool’s software, “Defying Gravity” really is the sum of its parts. While powerful vocals soar above it all, down below is a clunky Fender Bass VI that’s struggling to hold tune, but the additional layers pull it all together into a cohesive and musical sound, the imperfections of it all adding weight, depth and width to the arrangement overall. Layers of keys ebb and flow, Greg adding delay and reverb for different section, implying emotion and taking it all away.
Greg’s work is a masterful example of how powerful Avid Pro Tools can be. Keep reading here.