Tony Visconti has criticised modern pop music, calling it “fluff”.
Speaking to The Daily Star to promote his new talent show Guitar Star, the producer said: “There’s a sound to pop now that is so perfect it’s boring, because everything is fixed.
“Guitar Star aims to unearth old fashioned, raw ability. I’m looking for virtuosos like Hendrix, Cobain and Bowie.”
Singer Adele was specifically in the firing line (much to the displeasure of her fans, many of whom voiced their anger with the comments on Twitter) – he said: “You turn the radio on and it’s fluff, you are listening to 90% computerised voices. We know Adele has a great voice but it’s even questionable if that is actually her voice or how much has been manipulated. We don’t know.”
He also took an indirect shot at the inferiority of modern TV talent shows, saying: “There’s no fluffy back story, there’s no ‘I lost my pet dog in 97 and that made me want to play’ nonsense… No one can mistake me for Simon Cowell. It’s the worst time ever in the music industry”
Guitar Star sees its contestants compete to play at a major UK festival. It returns for a second series on June 14 on Sky Arts
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