Thanks everyone!
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Jack Evans asks:
What are you most excited about in music in 2015?
Guardian contributor i'm really looking forward to the Action Bronson album (which i also produced two songs on). i've heard some of the Jamie xx album which is really incredible. and the Hudmo album is amazing too. i think people are going to be surprised at how symphonic and soulful that it is. those are a few things to mention.
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elywhitley asks:
The video for Uptown Funk, and Bruno mars in general on stage, reminds me of Morriss Day and the Time. are there any influences from that era?
Guardian contributor Bruno directed the video, along with Cameron Duddy. The Time were so visually striking, I really looked up to them as a kid. New Jack City, the film, was also an influence.
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Paddy O’Brien asks:
George Clinton or James Brown?
Guardian contributor without James Brown, there would be no George Clinton. but George is certainly a genius. i've been listening to alot of Parliament & Funkadelic and Brides of Dr Funkenstein lately. it's mind blowing
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MackerMonty1977 asks:
Love Uptown Funk! Very deserving to be at the top of the UK charts. Parts of it do remind me of Duran’s Skin Trade. Was that an influence at all?
Guardian contributor Duran Duran were responsible for a lot of the first "funk" music i heard growing up, from "Notorious" to the "Reflex", etc... they always said that they wanted to sound like Chic so that makes sense. i learned alot, and continue to learn alot, from those men.
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Pauline Amon asks:
How many days or months or years did u work to make the uptown funk?
Guardian contributor it took about 7 months to finish "uptown funk". Bruno was on tour so me and Jeff (Bhasker, who co-produced the album with me) would go meet him whenever he had a day off. whether it was in Los Angeles, Memphis, Toronto or London.
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Lorenzo Martínez asks:
Any plans on releasing another Version-like album?
Guardian contributor Version was such an unexpected thing. i made the covers just so i could play them in my dj sets and then Zane Lowe and Gilles Peterson started playing "Just" and I ended up getting a record deal from it. i feel really strongly about those batch of songs. i'm not sure if there's another batch of 12 songs that i feel so strongly about that i would want to do another covers album.
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ID023949 asks:
Looking across your discography do you have a favourite song? Until yesterday mine was Ooh Wee with Ghostface and Nate Dogg but I love I Can’t Lose with Keyone Starr - I think it’s my new favourite.
Guardian contributor i still like hearing "ooh wee" and it's pretty great to me that it still gets played in hip hop clubs 10 years later. "i can't lose" is definitely one of my favourites off the new record. as is "summer breaking". you have great taste.
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SubhajitBanerjee asks:
Just how cool was it to deejay at Paul McCartney’s wedding and then produce part of an album for him? Are there any tracks from those sessions that still remain unreleased?
Guardian contributor i'm not afraid to say i enjoy dj'ing weddings. you can play alot of fun tunes that you might not get away with at the Coronet in Brixton...as for Sir Paul's wedding, "temporary secretary" was a big hit. "Crazy in Love" is always great for weddings.
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"I wrote for a few heavy metal fanzines in my teenage years. I still enjoy some Pantera"
Nadia Dahan asks:
If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
Guardian contributor i'm not sure. i've been playing music as early as i can remember. i did enjoy writing about music alot though. i wrote for my high school paper in NY reviewing gigs and interviewing rappers like KRS-One. i also wrote for a few heavy metal fanzines in my teenage years. i still enjoy some Pantera.
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Mark's fondest memory of Amy Winehouse: "We recorded Valerie for Version in an hour or so. That was a pretty magical day"
ID8209602 asks:
What’s your fondest memory of Amy?
Guardian contributor i love the day that we went to Daptone Studios in Brooklyn, NY for the first time. Back to Black had just come out but she hadn't met all the musicians that had played on the album. i introduced her to Nick, Homer, Tommy, Victor and Binky (the musicians) and they all were laughing for a while. and then we recorded Valerie for Version in an hour or so. that was a pretty magical day.
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RobertClarke asks:
Mark, your upcoming album, Uptown Special, is the first one you have released that doesn’t feature you or your face on the cover. Was this a proactive decision or something you never really considered?
Guardian contributor Brian Roettinger came up with an amazing logo, way superior to my face
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ivanna asks:
This really isn’t really a question but i really admire your work and everything you do. It’s really rare for me to find an album that i can listen to straight through without skipping a song and Uptown Special is one of them. I can tell you spent so much time on each song until it was perfect. My birthday happens to be on monday, is there a possibility you can just wish me happy birthday?
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"Hudson Mohawke is one of my favourite producers of the past few years"
Darren McCaughey asks:
What happened to the album track with Hudson Mohawke?
Guardian contributor hudson mohawke is one of my favourite producers of the past few years. the song he co-produced on my album unfortunately had to be left off at the last minute due to sample issues. but i'm hoping to fix it and then put the song out in the spring. it also had A$AP Rocky on it. it's a banger. by the way, Hudmo's own album is coming soon. i've heard most of it and it's ridiculous.
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Mark Ronson is in the building!
Looking smoother than a fresh jar of skippy...
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Sandyy4 asks:
What lyrics did you write on Uptown Funk?
Guardian contributor i wrote a few. but "julio, get the stretch!" is the one i'm most proud of. i just wanted one line that people would yell out in the club.
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TinyGiant asks:
Mark, have you got any idea how Bitcoin works?
Guardian contributor sometimes in conversations, i pretend to. but actually i don't. and i've read about it 15 times and i still can't grasp it.
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Zenjard asks:
How come your track was ripped off by Fleur on XFactor? did you give permission for them to use the song?
Guardian contributor i think they had permission because we were supposed to perform it on the show ourselves. it all worked out for the best. i felt strongly that the song should be out right away and by Fleur peforming the song, that's what happened.
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intheweed5 asks:
Mark, do you “roar” at the beginning and the end of Uptown Funk because the song was such a you-know-what to write?
Guardian contributor that roar is Philip Lawrence aka Phil Smeeze. he co wrote the song and is an incredible roarer. i think he would beat Katy Perry in a roaring contest
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Gary Aw asks:
Why did you talk over the Amy Winehouse demos you played on EVR and where are her Back to black recording sessions?
Guardian contributor i play alot of things on EVR, demos etc..., because i enjoy letting the listeners hear things in their early stages. Amy's demos are amazing and it's inspiring to hear where her ideas came from, however, i didn't feel right just leaving them out completely exposed. it was more for people to hear a slice of them.
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Lucas Robertson asks:
Which producer has inspired you the most in your career?
Guardian contributor i think it's been a combination of a few. Quincy Jones, for the sheer brilliance of his arrangements and quality of work. DJ Premier, for beats. and Gabriel Roth and Tommy Brenneck from Daptone/Dunham for teaching me how to record live instruments.
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RainyDayDude asks
Mark - do you regret DJing at The Conservative Party conference?
Guardian contributor i can promise you that this never happened. i don't know where this rumour started but thank you for asking, so i can finally lay it to rest.
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Briella101 asks
Stevie Wonder playing the harmonica, how did that come about?
Guardian contributor i wrote the melody which was inspired by the lyrics of Michael Chabon and then i became completely fixated on the sound of Stevie's harmonica playing it, every time i heard the melody in my head. so i sent his manager the song and he liked it and played it. it's definitely the high point of my musical career so far. he is my hero in every way
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Post your questions for Mark Ronson
Being a trendy music producer can – even acknowledging the endless rounds of parties and cross-continental glamour – be a bit of a tough gig. One year’s musical trends can easily be old hat the next, as Mark Ronson more or less acknowledged as much in a recent Guardian interview: “You know you’re cold, industry-wise, because you see all the gigs going to your friends.” He may have pioneered a vintage soul sound with Amy Winehouse that dominated the zeitgeist, but now pop’s all gone a bit Ibiza – is he high and dry?
Actually, far from it – like Daft Punk before him, he scored a massive hit with old-school disco-funk that swam against the prevailing tide. Uptown Funk reached No 1 and gave Christmas some much-needed sass, while the album it’s taken from, Uptown Special, is being feted for its typically slick arrangements and Michael Chabon lyric book.
With the album out on 19 January, Mark is joining us to answer your questions in a live webchat, from 2.45pm GMT onwards on Friday 16 January. Post yours in the comments section below, and he’ll answer as many as possible.
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so, i hope we can do this again sometime. thank you for writing in with your (mostly) very thoughtful questions. i hope my answers were okay for you all.
take care everyone.
Mark
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