Aside from a few household names, producers are the unsung heroes of the music industry, crafting hits that become famous without their name necessarily being heard.
By Graeme Smith
How would the Beatles have fared without George Martin? Would Michael Jackson’s Thriller have been the global smash that it was without Quincy Jones? We all love Amy Winehouse’s rendition of The Zutons’ Valerie, but let’s not forget Mark Ronson’s contribution to its success.
In 2024, songwriter Daniel Sarver and vocalist Rick Jansen recorded a track called Rise. Today, Jansen has close to one million monthly listeners on Spotify. But what of the track’s producer?
That honour belongs to Ofir Wainboim aka Wain.
Wain is a music producer, songwriter, and mix engineer with a clear skill for creating emotionally charged, story-driven music with a modern, cinematic touch. He combines acoustic instruments with contemporary and folk pop influences and currently has over 100 releases, working with artists in the US, UK and elsewhere.
When it comes to Rise, Wain’s musical fingerprints are all over it. His goal was to take Sarver’s song and inject a sense of the cinematic into it. Jansen’s vocals shine, the clear focal point of the track, but would they have if Wain not elevated them in the way he had?
The drama of the track’s themes of overcoming struggle are given the appropriate gravity through Wain’s careful ear and craftmanship. Opening with reflective piano, and minimal instrumentation in the first verse, there’s a steady rise in the arrangement, finding a triumphant close.
“Everything is there,” says Wain on his work on the track. “The production is dense and rich. I didn’t want to limit the track to just a guitar and voice. I orchestrated a full spectrum of sounds to create a ‘maximalist’ folk atmosphere.”
When it came to the mix, Wain had to carefully balance the track’s many layers while making sure its emotional core, Jensen’s vocals, stood out. He mixed with the radio in mind, giving a complex arrangement accessibility.
The producer is the artistic leader of a track. Wain helped shape the direction of Rise while ensuring the talents of his collaborators shone through. Carver’s lyrics and Jensen’s vocals are, naturally, the track’s heart, but its Wain’s choice of instrumentation and how they’re combined that gives the song its character.
The success of Rise and Wain’s other projects have seen him relocate to Los Angeles, USA to continue collaborating with artists and grow his producer portfolio. Already having a viral hit under his belt certainly serves him well.
“The goal with Rise was to create something that feels huge from the very first second,” says Wain. “Seeing it approach the one million stream mark proves that the production connected with people exactly as we intended.”
So, from George Martin to Quincy Jones, to Mark Ronson, to Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams, Max Martin, Timbaland, and now Wain, let us venerate the humble producer. They are what makes a good track what it is, tirelessly crafting the raw materials to make something that will connect with an audience that’s fickle and hard to pin down.
Having any kind of success in an industry as competitive as the music business is rare. Wain is already well on his way given the numbers attached to Rise and the quality of his other work. I’m sure his relocation stateside will serve his future career well.
If you want to keep up to date with his projects, you can do so via his website, or by following him on Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Rise is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
