Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen are the Norwegian music producers behind the duo better known as Stargate. Although your average listener may not recognize their name, the pair's career has undoubtedly had a strong influence on shaping the sound of pop music over the last decade or two. They have collaborated with some of the biggest names in the game from Rihanna, Sia, Coldplay, and Katy Perry, and they recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about some of their personal experiences with each artist. They even talked about their work with "the best in the game, hands down"—Miss Beyoncé Knowles Carter.
One fateful encounter in 2006, would allow Stargate to work with arguably the biggest name in music on a global scale. Jay Brown, Roc Nation's current CEO, just happened to be one of Hermansen and Eriksen's first managers. Brown told the producers that they should, "make a song that has acoustic guitar and hip-hop beats," Hermansen said. With little else to go on, the duo set out to create what would become "Irreplaceable" off of Beyoncé's B'Day.
Hermansen explained that they were prepared for the song to be scrapped, as they had heard Beyoncé wanted to cut it, but turns out the stars aligned after all for the producers. The label called back and said, "Actually, not only is it going to make the album, it’s going to be the third single," Hermansen said.
Stargate had recorded "Irreplaceable" with Bey, and gushed about how hands-on and motivated she was towards her art, even back then. "She’s the best in the game, hands down. She takes her shoes off and lays on the couch and is very hands-on when it comes to her own vocals," Eriksen said. Hermansen affirmed Eriksen's praise, explaining that despite her intimidating presence, she's "magnetic" and "the most humble."
"There’s never any drama. She always finishes her stuff. A lot of people like to throw ideas down and finish it later. I think because she’s so busy, she always finishes stuff on the spot— singing the last chorus, doing the last ad-lib, throwing in the extra harmonies. She never leaves anything half-finished," Hermansen said. This sounds exactly like the Yoncé we know and love. It isn't hard to see that B's dedication to her craft has been a part of her mentality even in the earlier stages of her career.
Hermansen also explained the overwhelming nature of meeting someone with such a mesmerizing aura as Beyoncé, saying, "She’s also so beautiful that you can’t really look straight at her. You have to look to the left of her or something, so you don’t get distracted." Turning heads and snatching wigs even in 2006—an icon!
