Here’s what Ozzy Osbourne taught Andrew Watt about mixing rock songs: “He would always say to me, ‘Listen to Led Zeppelin and tell me what the loudest thing is’”
At 34, Andrew Watt has seen just about everything the music world has to offer. The Grammy-winning producer has worked with the Stones, Elton John, Post Malone – and, perhaps most famously, Ozzy Osbourne, producing the Prince of Darkness’ final two albums, Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022).
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Watt opens up about what it was like to be mentored by Osbourne, as well as some of the key lessons he picked up from the Black Sabbath legend in the studio.
“You have to understand. This man was making Paranoid when he was 21 years old. So he had a 55-year career where everything was grandiose and at the highest level,” says Watt. “And he’s one of the smartest people I have ever met, and a history buff, and a genius, a literal genius. His persona was [just] persona. He was incredibly brilliant, incredibly sharp.”
READ MORE: Nuno Bettencourt recalls his final conversation with Ozzy Osbourne – as “the only guitar player who said no” to playing for him
According to Watt, Osbourne’s ears were second to none.
“His ears were reactive. You could think he wasn’t listening and he heard every single thing. There’d be times we’d be in the studio listening to something and he’s just drawing and I’m like, “Oh, he is not listening.” And then he’d just give me this one line that cuts so deep, in a positive way.”
One lesson, in particular, has stayed with him: “He would always say to me, ‘Listen to Led Zeppelin and tell me what the loudest thing is.’ And me, having my confidence, I’d be like, ‘It’s the drums. John Bonham.’ He said, ‘Nope, not the drums.’ He said, ‘It’s the bass.’”
“He pointed out the bass is the most important thing in a rock song. You have to make sure the bass is there and pumping and cutting through and providing that sense of rhythm, because it’s the bridge between the drums and the guitars.”
“It makes the song heavy,” Watt continues, “because the guitars can poke through if you have them mixed in the right way. The bass is a hard thing to really get cutting, but also representing the bottom.”
That philosophy shaped the records they made together: “He was very bass-focused, mix-wise, and making sure the bass came through,” says the producer. “And if you listen to the records that we made together, there’s a lot of bass on those records. Under the Graveyard has so much low end, if you check that out. He was involved in every detail of every single mix-down, too. That’s how much he cared.”
In other news, Watt has confirmed that new music with the Stones is on the way, following the success of 2023’s hit record Hackney Diamonds.
“I’ve said it before, but it’s like working for Batman,” he told Rolling Stone. “When the tongue [logo] is up in the air, you just go… I can say we did some recording together, but that’s all I can say.”
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