Ariel Rechtshaid

Ariel Rechtshaid
Rechtshaid in 2013
Background information
BornLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • audio engineer
  • mixer
Instrument(s)
Formerly of

Ariel Rechtshaid (/ˈrɛkʃaɪd/ REK-shyde;) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. His accolades include three Grammy Awards for music production.

Rechtshaid was the lead singer and guitarist of the ska/pop-punk band The Hippos, and the bassist and producer of indie folk-rock group Foreign Born. In 2006, he produced the Billboard Hot 100 number one-charting single "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's. He co-wrote and produced Usher's 2012 single "Climax", which won the 2013 Grammy award for Best R&B Performance. Rechtshaid was nominated for the 2014 Grammy award for Producer of the Year. He has won Grammys for production on Vampire Weekend album Modern Vampires of the City (2013, Best Alternative Music Album), Adele album 25 (2015, Album of the Year), and for another Vampire Weekend album Father of the Bride (2019, again Best Alternative Music Album).

His production, songwriting, and mixing credits include Haim, Vampire Weekend, Madonna, Usher, Adele, Brandon Flowers, Charli XCX, Kelela, Cass McCombs, Solange Knowles, Tobias Jesso Jr., Murs, Sky Ferreira, We Are Scientists, Kylie Minogue, U2, Glasser, Alex Clare, and Major Lazer.

Early life

Ariel Rechtshaid was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, a first-generation American born to Israeli immigrants. He is of Jewish background. He attended Hamilton High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he would form his first band, The Hippos. One of his high school classmates was rapper Murs with whom he would later record and produce.

Career

The Hippos

Rechtshaid would help form the band in 1995, while he and other members were still in high school. He fronted the band as the singer and guitarist with friends James Bairian on bass, Louis Castle on trumpet, Brandon Bairian on percussion, Roman Fleysher on saxophone, Danny Rukasin on trombone, and Kyle Briggs on drums. They began to play shows around southern California, and recorded and self-released cassette demos titled Spreading the Cheese and Attack of the Killer Cheese. Shortly after this they were joined by Rich Zahniser on trombone. Despite their proximity to the Orange County ska scene, they found themselves shut out since they were from Los Angeles. Still, through perseverance and talent, they established themselves among a ska scene including bands such as Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, Dance Hall Crashers, and The Aquabats. The band would go on to release two full-length albums on Fueled By Ramen/Vagrant Records and Interscope, as well as a self-released third full-length consisting of demos produced by Rechtshaid from their later years.

"By the time [Rechtshaid] was 18/19, [he] knew [he] wasn't happy – and [he] quit. Part of the problem was benchmarking his efforts against his heroes". He later wrote the music in different genres for commercials.

Foreign Born

Rechtshaid joined the band as a bassist and producer in Los Angeles in late 2003. They self-released their first 12" single ("We Had Pleasure" b/w "Escape"), followed by their debut EP "In the Remote Woods" via StarTime International Records. While touring the US and UK with St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Rogue Wave, Jason Collett, Cold War Kids, Giant Drag, and We Are Scientists, they recorded their first full-length album, On the Wing Now, in the fall/winter of 2005, and officially released the album with Dim Mak on August 21, 2007. They released their second album, Person to Person, on Secretly Canadian on June 23, 2009.

Production, writing, and mixing

After Plain White T's' 2006 single "Hey There Delilah", which Rechtshaid recorded and produced, eventually reached no. 1 / 2 on the US / UK charts respectively he started getting approached by labels and managers.

Rechtshaid's production, songwriting, and mixing is found on a wide range of albums and genres. He has written with and produced for acts such as Haim, Vampire Weekend, Adele, Beyoncé, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Usher, Blood Orange, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Kelela, Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, Plain White T's, Cass McCombs, Theophilus London, Glasser, We Are Scientists, Major Lazer, Foreign Born, Valencia, and Murs. He is also a partner in music publishing and production company Heavy Duty.

He is also a three-time Grammy award winner.

Personal life

During the production of Haim's second studio album Something to Tell You (2017), Rechtshaid was diagnosed with stage I testicular cancer. He was in a relationship with Haim frontwoman Danielle Haim from 2013 to early 2022.

Discography

Producer and Writer Discography

Best effort list of songs produced (co-produced) and/or written (co-written) by Ariel Rechtshaid. His credits may also include instrumentation, vocals, arrangement, engineering, mixing, and others.

Year Artist Album / song Label
2023 Caroline Polachek Desire, I Want to Turn Into You – "I Believe" Sony Music, The Orchard, Perpetual Novice
2022 Wallows Tell Me That It's Over Atlantic
Charli XCX Crash – "Lightning"
2021 Kacy Hill Simple, Sweet, and Smiling "Seasons Bloom"
2020 Haim Women in Music Pt. III Columbia, Polydor
Carly Rae Jepsen Dedicated Side B – "Heartbeat" Interscope
2019 Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride Spring Snow, Columbia
Dove Cameron "So Good" Disruptor, Columbia
2018 Troye Sivan Bloom – "The Good Side", "Animal" EMI Australia, Capitol
2017 U2 Songs of Experience "Lights of Home" Interscope, Island, Universal Canada
Kelela Take Me Apart "Waitin", "Take Me Apart", "Enough", "Better", "Blue Light", "Altadena" Warp
Haim Something to Tell You Columbia
2015 Adele 25 – "When We Were Young" XL, Columbia
Haim "Cause I'm a Man" (remix) non-album
Little Boots Working Girl – "Better in the Morning" On Repeat, Dim Mak
Brandon Flowers The Desired Effect Island
Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion – "All That", "When I Needed You" Interscope
Tobias Jesso Jr. Goon – "Without You" True Panther Sounds
Rae Morris Unguarded – "Skin", "Closer", "For You", "Don't Go", "Do You Even Know?", "This Time", "Not Knowing" Atlantic
Madonna Rebel Heart "Living for Love", "Unapologetic Bitch", "Bitch I'm Madonna" (feat. Nicki Minaj), "Veni Vidi Vici" (featuring Nas) Interscope
2014 Charli XCX Sucker – "Doing It" (feat. Rita Ora) Atlantic
Beyoncé Beyoncé: Platinum Edition (also More Only (EP)) – "Ring Off" Columbia
Charli XCX The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – "Kingdom" (feat. Simon Le Bon) Republic
Calvin Harris Motion – "Pray to God" (feat. Haim) Columbia, Fly Eye
Kylie Minogue Kiss Me Once – "If Only", "Golden Boy" Parlophone
2013 Sky Ferreira Night Time, My Time Capitol
Jagga "Brutal Beauty"
Haim Days Are Gone "Falling", "Forever", "The Wire", "Honey & I", "Days Are Gone", "My Song 5", "Go Slow", "Let Me Go", "Running If You Call My Name" Polydor
Mikky Ekko "Kids" RCA
Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City XL
Charli XCX True Romance "Nuclear Seasons", "Take My Hand", "Stay Away", "Set Me Free", "Black Roses", "You're the One", "How Can I", "Lock You Up" Atlantic
YADi "The Blow" Warner
Snoop Lion Reincarnated RCA
Major Lazer Free the Universe – "You're No Good", "Reach for the Stars" Secretly Canadian
Little Boots Nocturnes – "Satellite" On Repeat
Solange Knowles True (EP) Terrible
2012 No Doubt Push and Shove – "Push and Shove" (feat. Busy Signal and Major Lazer) Interscope
Sky Ferreira Ghost (EP) – "Lost in My Bedroom", "Everything is Embarrassing" EMI
Charli XCX You're The One (EP) – "Nuclear Seasons", "Stay Away" Iamsound, Atlantic
Usher Looking 4 Myself – "Climax" RCA
Justin Bieber Believe – "Thought of You" Island
2011 Theophilus London Timez Are Weird These Days – "Why Even Try" (feat. Sara Quin), "Stop It" Warner, Reprise
Cass McCombs Wit's End Domino
Blood Orange Coastal Grooves Domino
Alex Clare The Lateness of the Hour Island
Active Child You Are All I See Vagrant
Cass McCombs Humor Risk Domino
2010 We Are Scientists Barbara PIAS Recordings
Rolo Tomassi Cosmology Hassle
Glasser Ring True Panther Sounds
2009 Cass McCombs Catacombs Domino
Foreign Born Person to Person Secretly Canadian
2008 Valencia We All Need a Reason to Believe Columbia
We Are Scientists Brain Thrust Mastery Virgin EMI
2007 Foreign Born On the Wing Now Dim Mak
2006 We Are Scientists Crap Attack Virgin EMI
The Blood Arm Lie Lover Lie City Rockers
Plain White T's Hey There Delilah Hollywood
Plain White T's Every Second Counts Hollywood
2005 We Are Scientists With Love and Squalor Virgin EMI
Plain White T's All That We Needed Fearless
Foreign Born In the Remote Woods StarTime International
2004 Solea Solea Textbook Music
2003 Murs The End of the Beginning Definitive Jux
Armor for Sleep Dream to Make Believe Equal Vision
2002 Hankshaw King Kandy
  1. ^ Credits adapted from music databases and standard liner notes.

Composer Discography

With The Hippos

With Foreign Born

  • 2009 June: Person to Person, Secretly Canadian (LP)
  • 2007 August: On the Wing Now, Dim Mak (LP)
  • 2005 June: In the Remote Woods, StarTime International Records (EP)

This page was last updated at 2023-12-30 04:04 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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