page_title: 24K Magic (album)
section_title: Recording
hierarchical_section_title: 24K Magic (album) / Recording
caption_attribution_description: English: The Stereotypes (Santa Monica)
context_page_description: 24K Magic is the third studio album recorded by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released by Atlantic Records on November 18, 2016. Mars reunited with Philip Lawrence and Christopher Brody Brown, who composed the album under their joint alias Shampoo Press & Curl. Mars enlisted new composers including The Stereotypes and James Fauntleroy. Recording sessions for 24K Magic took place between late 2015 and September 2016 at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California.
  Several critics said 24K Magic was crafted from elements of R&B, soul, funk, pop and new jack swing. Mars was inspired to create an album on which he could capture the sound of 1990s R&B, that he listened and danced to during his childhood. He wanted to make people dance and have the same enjoyment he had. The lyrics of 24K Magic explore themes similar to those of its predecessor, Unorthodox Jukebox, including money and sex. According to Mars, although he was able to convince Atlantic Records of the album's sound, they were initially hesitant.
context_section_description: Mars reunited with frequent collaborators, American songwriter and producers, Philip Lawrence and Christopher Brody Brown, forming a new production trio, Shampoo Press & Curl, to record 24K Magic. It was recorded at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California between the fall 2015 and September 2016. Nevertheless, the singer returned to the studio for on the first week of October to complete the album. Mars revealed that he was not confident returning to the studio after releasing "Uptown Funk" (2014) and was struggling to write new songs. On top of that, he added that he took him so long as to create a song, he needs to "touch an instrument or it won't come out. If I'm not touching the guitar or touching the drum machine or playing the piano, the song just won't come out." He imposed a dress code in the studio during the recording process, favoring jewelry and "fine clothes" over sweatpants to create the "groovy, smooth and soulful songs" on the record.
  Lawrence said, "We got the sitting in the studio laboring over songs for hours and days and weeks". He furthered that playing new songs live while recording helped. They noticed what was or not working and what it could be improved. "Finesse" underwent twenty different versions, including one in which Mars sang about "gold chains and cognac over a silky beat", and another which sounded "like a Seventies cop show". "Versace on the Floor" started with a "piña colada vibe" before the beat was remixed, though, Mars felt his vocal performance and lyrics were not emotive enough for a ballad, and changed the melody and re-wrote the track. The singer-songwrtier took a long time to write "Too Good to Say Goodbye". It was not complete until Babyface heard the chorus, encouraging the former to complete the song. They composed the song together on a piano. Mars used a flexatone, a percussion instrument, on the album, giving to him by DJ Quik.
  Mars asked American singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy to help him write "That's What I Like", but Fauntleroy end-up co-writing most of the songs on the album. Fauntleroy said; "Bruno is the core of those songs and Phil is a huge part of the reason those songs sound like that." He added that despite having a good time with them, it was "probably the most intense album process of my life". American record producer and DJ Skrillex said he and Mars were creating something "different, awesome and next level and sounds like nothing else that's happened before". He also affirmed that they could work on "more of a Skrillex thing". The DJ concluded, "... he has a vision for his album, and I'm helping him produce it on some of the songs." The song they were working on was not completed in time for the album's release. American rapper T-Pain who worked on "Straight Up & Down", said he saw Mars and his band, with the engineer "jamming out and having a good time". T-Pain affirmed Mars "was real specific about what he wanted".
  The Stereotypes, a production team, were also involved in the album's composition. They have worked with Mars since 2007, however, after the singer signed a deal with Atlantic Records they did not collaborate very often. Nevertheless, in 2015, Jonathan Yip, a member of The Stereotypes, talked with Mars about working together. The latter asked for "some beats" for 24K Magic, but "nothing came of it". In June 2016, Mars asked Yip if they would like to help him finish a song for his album, to add a little "seasoning". He needed another song with a certain tempo and key. Yip sent Mars an idea that caught his attention, and he asked The Stereotypes to come to the studio. Once in the studio, it took them some time to "get the groove" on the track. They spent the first couple of hours catching up and having fun. The Stereotypes helped Mars finishing "24K Magic" and "That's What I Like". They also created "Finesse" with Shampoo Press & Curl. The team noticed that Mars "is his own biggest critic", a "perfectionist".
  In August 2016, the album entered the mixing stage. Romanian-American mixing engineer Serban Ghenea had to return to the early 
caption: The Stereotypes (pictured) composed several tracks for 24K Magic.
exif: {"Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "ILCE-7M2", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.7.1 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2016:08:25 17:51:54", "Image ExifOffset": "206", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "902", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18582", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "6400", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "6400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:08:18 15:58:30", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:08:18 15:58:30", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "415241/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "361471/100000", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-2773/1280", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Tungsten (incandescent light)", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "35", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "27447417/16384", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "27447417/16384", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[35, 35, 14/5, 14/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "FE 35mm F2.8 ZA"}