Production team The Alumni, consisting of Anthony Meyer and Christopher Aaron are currently in the studio writing and producing hit music that you will be hearing very soon! The two have co-wrote and produced with artists including Jill Scott, Kaya Jones (Pussycat Dolls), and Mitchel Musso…quite a variety of artists and this is only the beginning. Check out the interview with The Alumni below, or listen to the full interview here.

How did you two meet and how long after that did you create a partnership?
Anthony: That’s actually an interesting story. Want to tell it Chris?
Christopher: You’re good at it.
Anthony: It was actually kind of weird. I was driving home from a studio session that was canceled because the guitar player that was supposed to be there was late and when I was pulling into the garage, Chris was walking in the front of the building with his guitar strapped on his shoulder and I literally stopped my truck and ran up to him and said, “Hey, yo, can you play that thing?” He turned and looked at me like “No, I just carry it cause it looks cool.” (laughs) So anyway, long story short…a couple of hours later we were in the studio working on our first track together. We totally clicked and have been working together since then.

When did you start songwriting individually, become interested in producing, and how many instruments do you guys play?
Christopher: I play a couple of instruments, guitar, piano, a little bit of sax. I started in the business around 12. I kind of got under a few different production camps as far as grooming me into being a writer and singer and things of that sort. As I got older, I started to learn things from being in a new environment so producing was a natural progression.
Anthony: I pretty much started playing at church. My mom was a music director at the church that we went to and I started playing keyboards and stuff like that for the church which progressed into buying musical equipment and that kind of evolved into getting recording equipment…and next thing you know, you have a recording studio in your mom’s basement. I started working with other acts and local artists up in Sacramento where I am from. Eventually it launched into moving out of there and getting an actual commercial spot and producing albums for people. I play piano, drums, and I’m working really hard on taking up the bagpipe.
Christopher: That’s a joke. There will be no bagpipes on any Alumni tracks anytime soon. That’s funny.

So what sparked interest in the bagpipe?
Anthony: Oh I’m totally kidding about the bagpipe. You know what, I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw the bagpipe come up in something that I do.
Christopher: I hear ya.

What are your projects for the new year?
Christopher: Right now we are working on the George Hodos project. He is a new artist we are working with from Russia. His first single featuring Snoop Dogg will be released this year. We are really campaigning for that project as well as a few other things that we are working on.
Anthony: We are also nearing the end of the project for Kaya Jones from The Pussycat Dolls. Her solo record is just about 91% done so you should be looking out for that soon.

How did you hook up with Kaya Jones and what is the sound of the album?
Anthony: Kaya’s album sound? Hmm. That’s an interesting one. Well, we hooked up with her awhile ago, right when she decided she would leave the Dolls and do a solo project. They were shopping to different producers and taking her around and her manager brought her to us after seeing the other producers and decided we were a little more versatile than the other producers, to create a sound for her. To describe her sound is kind of tricky. She’s kind of a mix between…I hate to use artists’ names as examples but if you were to roll up Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, and Lady Gaga into a big ball and throw in a little bit of soul or jazz as far as the vocals are concerned, I’d say that would be a good description of the project. Real high energy, strong pop record.

You mentioned working with George Hodos, a Russian singer. Can we expect you to be teaming up with more internationally based artists?
Christopher: We are definitely open to the idea. He is a Russian singer but he is releasing an English album in the states. Internationally, we are definitely open to the idea so you can expect some stuff from us with international artists.

What were your experiences like working with Jill Scott and Mitchel Musso?
Anthony: Mitchell is a great little kid. The first time he ever recorded a song actually was with us. It kind of grew into what it is now. It’s kind of funny, the actual first song that we did with us he was rapping believe it or not. He’s a great little rapper actually. That’s where his head was initially so when we first got into the studio, the first couple of tracks were of him rapping. It’s obviously progressed. He’s got a brother that is decent, actually not decent but an amazing singer in Metro Station. Nobody really knew Mitchell had the chops that he does and everybody started pushing him to sing, so he got up and started singing and the rest is history. He;s got a whole band behind him and everything.

You’ve helped create remixes for many popular songs including Timbaland’s “Give it to Me” featuring Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. How do you decide which songs you will take on and remix?
Christopher:That was an easy one to decide on. You can’t turn down a Timbaland and Justin Timberlake opportunity. If it’s a hot record and worthy of a remix…it’s a lesson as well as almost an honor to do something like that. You are learning in the process. Creatively it kind of opens you up to other ideas.

Going from Mitchell Musso to Timbaland, that’s an interesting genre gap. Do you find certain genres of music to be more inspiring than others or more creatively fun to work on?
Anthony: Hmm…I think good music is just good music. We come from a pretty diverse background and we both adore just about every style and genre of music. So we’re able to actually embrace each style and genre full on. Instead of dabbling and trying it, we’ve actually been able to capture that sound of that genre and making it authentic. So it keeps us working and we are not stuck in a box..it’s fun.

For more on The Alumni, visit their official website.