Arca Reveals Details about Working with Kanye on Yeezus

“In a weird way, he kind of produced it.”

September 30, 2014

Since Kanye West's game-changing Yeezus came out last year, Arca has remained mysteriously mum about his experiences as one of three production consultants for the album, alongside Hudson Mohawke and Evian Christ. In his recently unveiled FADER cover story, however, the Venezuelan producer shares some interesting details about those legendary yet mysterious Yeezus sessions, including how he got involved with the project, working on a big team of producers and Kanye's very hands-on approach. 

On linking up with Kanye for the project:

“I was just asked to send some music [to Kanye], and I did. I made sure to send maybe the strangest stuff I had, and it just so happened that Kanye was excited by that.” 

On Kanye's hands-on role in the production process: 

“There was really no constant other than the fact that at the end of the day, [all the music we made] went through him.” 

“It was a lot of coming up with design, like solving riddles. If the song called for something aggressive, it was up to three or four people to design what in their head was the best solution for that aggression in that moment. Everyone would approach it in completely different ways, and ultimately, it would all be edited by Kanye himself. In a weird way, he kind of produced it. Not only did he select it, but he stylized it.”

Arca Reveals Details about Working with Kanye on Yeezus