Interview - Mark Ronson

But vilifying his pet musical production projects is another matter entirely.

Back in August, after he had landed three Grammys for the Amy Winehouse album Back to Black, including Producer of the Year, Ronson was on the end of another wandering tirade from Noel Gallagher. The Oasis protagonist turned on Winehouse and Ronson's rock production job with the Kaiser Chiefs.

Then Gallagher got personal. "Mark Ronson needs to learn three chords on the guitar and write a tune, instead of ruining everyone else's," he quipped.

Ronson retaliated, but his response hardly made as many headlines as the initial attack.

When reminded by EG of his war of words with Gallagher, Ronson laughs nervously.

"It's fun to speak back if you have a good line to come back with," he says. "In England, the tabloids have turned the music industry into a giant playground. Sometimes it's amusing, other times it looks incredibly petty. It usually just depends if I'm in a forgiving mood that day."

Ronson's charmed run and privileged background has made him an easy and frequent target for rock's establishment. Everybody from Gallagher to the Arctic Monkeys has lined up to take pot shots at his style of production and his propensity for recording cover versions of indie-pop hits.

So dubious was Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson of working with him, he held a rigorous job interview before agreeing to him working on their new album Off With Their Heads.

"I was pretty much against it," Hodgson tells EG. "It was only because I met him and liked him (that) we did it."

After toiling in obscurity for 12years, Ronson has become one of the most well-connected, well-credentialled and sought after producer-musicians. Last year, he remixed a Bob Dylan track, becoming the first person permitted by Dylan to remix any of his material.

Ronson's trademark sound - an amalgam of retro-leaning soul, pop, reggae and hip-hop - is now one of pop's sturdiest brands.

He skilfully evokes nostalgia while simultaneously creating music that feels hip and fresh. His masterstroke was drafting a smoking band of soul players, the Dap-Kings, for his records, in the process helping to reignite the career of the Dap-Kings' primary vocalist, Brooklyn veteran Sharon Jones.

And that's just the start. Ronson's radio show, Authentic Shit, is a key taste maker, regularly premiering tracks by artists such as Kanye West. His label Allido Records signed Australian soul tyro Daniel Merriweather, British rockers the Rumble Strips and rapper Rhymefest.

His father, Laurence Ronson, was a band manager for Bucks Fizz and forgotten soul soft-rockers Roachford.

Ronson studied at NYU, but dropped out of his music theory course after just one semester to pursue DJ-ing full time. He released his debut compilation album, Here Comes The Fuzz, in 2003. It flopped. Still, he and his business partner and manager, Rich Kleinman, continued to search for talent for their then-fledging label.

Ronson struck gold while producing a track for US singer Nikka Costa. He met her Australian husband Justin Stanley, former guitarist for Noiseworks. Stanley's contacts at the Australian label, Engine Room, recommended Ronson keep an eye on a 19-year-old singer from Melbourne. So began the ascent of Daniel Merriweather.

"He was just a kid," Ronson says. "But he had the most incredible voice. I called him up and said 'you don't know me from a hole in the wall, but I want to bring you to America'."

Merriweather signed to Allido, and when Ronson eventually put together Version, he was a certainty for the record. In fact, Merriweather's version of the Smiths' Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before became the album's biggest hit, reaching number two in Britain.

Merriweather's forthcoming debut international album, recorded with Ronson, is wrapped in hype ahead of its planned release early next year.

Sharon Jones, who loaned the Dap-Kings to Winehouse, says their skill was a key to his success.

"We've inspired a lot of young guys to do this," she told EG last week. "Mark admitted he'd been looking for a band to play that sound and he couldn't find it. These guys live for classic soul and R and B."

Ronson discovered the Dap-Kings through some old 45s he found in a New York record store.

As for Winehouse, Ronson is reticent to discuss recent reports suggesting he is splitting from the troubled diva.

"I'm going to wait until Amy calls me and tells me she has some songs ready," he says. "We've had a few false starts. We haven't even started (a new album). Every time we almost book something in, it's like 'too much pressure to write in the studio'. Yes, Rehab and Back to Black came out that way, but everything else, she'd been working on for about a year."

His association with Winehouse has made him a paparazzi target.

"It always ends in them just following me around the block, but they never really follow me home. I don't have it on Sam or Amy's level."

Ronson's Melbourne debut this weekend will feature Merriweather, the rapper Kenna, Alex from US rockers Phantom Planet and local MC, Phrase. "It's a busy show," he says, "It's hard to know where it fits, musically."

As for Gallagher, Ronson offered a gentle retort on his MySpace blog.

First, he reminded Gallagher Wonderwall contains just two guitar chords. Declaring he is learning guitar from Jay-Z - the rapper Gallagher had a separate feud with months earlier - Ronson had one final shot back: "Noel, I did write a song called Back To Black, which actually has seven chords in it."

Still, you get the feeling the criticism from Gallagher has stuck. Asked of his plans for his next album, Ronson's answer is succinct: "I can tell you it won't be a covers album."

Kylie Northover

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