{"id":379870,"date":"2026-04-03T11:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/379870\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:29:12","slug":"bts-producer-writer-tyler-spry-interview-on-arirang-studio-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/379870\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS Producer\/Writer Tyler Spry Interview on ‘ARIRANG’ Studio Sessions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tHow does a producer follow up crafting a Billboard Hot 100<\/a> No. 1 hit for a decade-defining global<\/a> superstar? For Tyler Spry \u2014 who was part of the elite creative team that brought Bad Bunny<\/a>\u2019s Grammy-winning album DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS to life, including a writing\/producing credit on record-breaking title track \u201cDtMF\u201d \u2014 the answer is to do it again, this time for another of the biggest acts in the world: BTS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter four years of solo exploration by Jin, SUGA, j-hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook while the members completed their individual military conscription, the South Korean boy band\u2019s shapeshifting first project since 2022, ARIRANG, regroups by rooting itself in cultural heritage \u2014 while also tapping talent (Diplo<\/a>, Ryan Tedder<\/a>, Kevin Parker<\/a>, El Guicho<\/a>, JPEGMAFIA<\/a> and more) from all over the map.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m so fortunate to have been able to work on these two albums that feel bigger than just bodies of music,\u201d Spry tells Billboard from his studio in Silver Lake.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe started work on the more recent project not too long after Bad Bunny\u2019s album was released, pitching ideas to BTS\u2019 team at the outset of 2025. With the R&B track \u201cPlease,\u201d which would ultimately make it onto ARIRANG\u2018s lighter-weight second half, the producer earned himself a spot at an L.A. writing camp held last summer, alongside collaborators from Tedder\u2019s publishing company Runner Music<\/a>. During those studio sessions \u2014 captured in small part by Netflix documentary BTS: The Return<\/a> \u2014 trance-like lead single \u201cSwim\u201d came into being.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSome of the best songs just fall out of thin air,\u201d Spry says. \u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019ve always existed somewhere, and you just need to be in the right headspace to reach out and grab them.\u201d For \u201cSwim,\u201d that spark \u201cjust happened so effortlessly,\u201d he notes. \u201cA lot of times, you have to fight for a song. There\u2019s something there that\u2019s really good, but you just can\u2019t crack it.\u201d Here, the basic composition was fleshed out in fewer than 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Spry and Diplo signee Leclair got down that rough beat, Tedder quickly freestyled the second verse and then handed off the track for a longer tinkering process. \u201cThat was when RM came in, and I think they started to get more serious about the record,\u201d Spry says. \u201cHe was trying to figure out how to make it fit the vision they had for the lead single.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt wasn\u2019t until the septet returned to Seoul to finish recording that the pressure of the group\u2019s self-imposed March deadline really started to ramp up. Because they were working halfway around the world, Spry would get vocals from longtime BTS collaborator Pdogg back in the middle of the night; he recalls stepping out of a friend\u2019s birthday party to listen to a mix of \u201cPlease\u201d with the HYBE crew. \u201cIt was chaotic,\u201d he laughs. \u201cBut I love the chaos. I thrive in the chaos. It\u2019s my job as a producer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Spry talks to Billboard about the stress and \u201cmagic\u201d of creating ARIRANG tracks \u2014 plus a few \u201creally good\u201d songs that just might surface on future BTS projects \u2014 during the L.A. studio sessions and beyond.<\/p>\n

\n\tARIRANG is now a Billboard 200<\/a> No. 1 album, with \u201cSwim\u201d topping the Billboard Hot 100, Global 200<\/a> and Global Excl. US<\/a> charts. How are you feeling about the reception?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHonestly, I\u2019m amazed by the response. I am aware that BTS is one of the biggest artists in the world, but when we set out to make this project, it was very ambitious, and it\u2019s definitely a sound that I don\u2019t think the fans or the general public were expecting.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was so cool to see them perform [\u201cSwim\u201d] live. I hadn\u2019t seen it yet. Everything related to BTS is very secretive and on lockdown, so I didn\u2019t see any music videos or performance videos before they happened. It was really exciting to see these legends out there dancing and singing a record that we made in a little studio in L.A.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you get involved with the album?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the beginning of last year, I was sitting down with my publisher, Ryan Tedder, and we were talking about who we wanted to collaborate with. He mentioned that BTS was going to be making a comeback. Honestly, it felt like a lofty, almost unattainable goal to have a record with BTS. But I love a challenge, so we decided to swing for the fences.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe spent a few weeks at Ryan\u2019s studio in West Hollywood, starting ideas, sending them to the team, trying to find something that would stick. Some of it was probably too pop, too close to their earlier English-language records like \u201cDynamite\u201d and \u201cButter.\u201d But we caught our stride and started finding a sound that felt fresh and exciting.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd this was before the L.A. studio sessions?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. I wouldn\u2019t say I came onto the project in any official capacity before that. My team and I were just sketching, painting, trying to find sounds that would be exciting for the label and for the band. Before the L.A. writing sessions, we found something like that. That ended up being a song called \u201cPlease,\u201d which, after some changes, landed on the album. It was our ticket into the writing camp that they were hosting at Conway Studios.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe crew [from Runner Music] was mostly me, James Essien, Sean Foreman, Ryan Tedder and Sam Homaee. And then there was a whole gang of incredible songwriters and producers, a revolving door of people at Conway. That was June or July of last year. But initially, we weren\u2019t in the room with the band. They invited us out, and there were a lot of people making ideas to present to them.<\/p>\n

\n\tTell me more about the process of making \u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe weren\u2019t necessarily writing full, finished, polished ideas from scratch every day. Rather, we were trying to capture some kind of magic, like lightning in a bottle. \u201cPlease\u201d ended up being one of those. I was just chopping up these keyboards and guitars that sounded like old soul sounds and putting together some off-the-grid hip-hop drums. It\u2019s the only song on the album with a single producer credit, so it means a lot that the guys and [HYBE chairman] Bang trusted me to carry that one across the line.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe day we wrote the song, I came home and my friend Dawson from the band Almost Monday and my wife and I all sang gang vocals around the dining room table in my kitchen. The band decided to keep them in because there was just this raw texture that they connected with. You can hear it really quiet in the background on the chorus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat was your first impression of BTS as collaborators?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWe weren\u2019t working with them all at one time. It would be chaos to have that many voices in the room. But I got to work with them one-on-one.<\/p>\n

\n\tJung Kook is an amazing songwriter, and he is an incredible singer. He can sing with no Auto-Tune and hit all the notes. V is so warm and sweet and has an incredible tone. He\u2019s really funny too, even though there\u2019s a bit of a language barrier. We were cracking jokes and having fun in the studio.<\/p>\n

\n\tRM feels almost like the older brother of the group. He knows what he wants. He helps bring the guys in and get them excited about things. It was a good energy. Honestly, they\u2019re some of the nicest guys I\u2019ve met, let alone just artists. It was really a privilege working with them.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are some songs that we made with them that they were really creatively involved in that have not seen the light of day. So I hope \u2014 it\u2019s not up to me \u2014 but I do hope that those get to come out into the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tThey did mention<\/a> that they\u2019ve already claimed some of the unused songs from the studio sessions for upcoming solo projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. [Laughs] I would definitely like to know who\u2019s claiming which songs. There are some really good ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did BTS mediate disagreements while working on the album?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThey\u2019ve done a really great job making sure that every voice is heard, every opinion is respected. The final album, once they whittled it down, is such a distilled version of what every member really wanted.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen working with the guys, the best music that we made was when we created a space where we were free to try anything. Like, SUGA could jump onto the mic and feel comfortable freestyling a rap in front of songwriters and producers that he\u2019d only known for a few days. Or, Jung Kook could tell us that a lyric concept that we have sucks, and he doesn\u2019t like it. [Laughs] But in a nice way, in a kind way. Or RM saying, \u201cOh, that verse is cool, but we wouldn\u2019t say that,\u201d or, \u201cThat\u2019s not our flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt feels like some of the lyrics on \u201cPlease\u201d were a result of that calibration.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre the original lyrics out there?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, but there\u2019s speculation that the line \u201cHold me from the front, back, left, right\u201d might have been something else originally.\u00a0Something less PG.<\/p>\n

\n\tPerhaps it could have been something else originally. [Laughs] No comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, some of the best songwriters and producers are also artists, but you\u2019re wearing a different hat when you\u2019re writing music for other people. Our job was to build a room that they could exist in.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut they\u2019re the stars; once they step into the room, that\u2019s what brings it to life. On a song like \u201cPlease,\u201d you set the mood with the chords and the drums and the melodies, and then they come in and figure out what they want to say and how they want to perform it.<\/p>\n

\n\tTell me about how \u201cSwim\u201d was chosen as the lead single.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSwim\u201d is a subtle song. They\u2019re not singing at the top of their range. The melody isn\u2019t particularly athletic, but it\u2019s an earworm. It sneaks up on you. I think that\u2019s what ended up happening with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThat day, we were paired with Leclair, who\u2019s signed to Diplo. When we were working, we\u2019d write two or three songs because we weren\u2019t trying to deliver a finished, polished thought. There weren\u2019t any references. Leclair and I just put together the rough beat while James and Sean were freestyling on the couch. The chorus just fell out of thin air.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think everyone was afraid of it, because it\u2019s such a subtle song. It didn\u2019t feel like, \u201cHere\u2019s \u2018Dynamite.\u2019 Here\u2019s the smash.\u201d But I remember two weeks after we wrote it, I was going to the lounge to make myself a coffee. I walked past V, and he was humming to himself, \u201cSwim, swim.\u201d I don\u2019t even think he knew that I could hear him. That was when I knew, \u201cOK, I think we\u2019re on to something. I think this is probably going to be the song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s interesting that you contrast the two songs, because when they were discussing \u201cSwim,\u201d BTS said<\/a> it reminded them of \u201cDynamite,\u201d mostly in that it was such an unexpected choice.<\/p>\n

\n\tBTS has such an incredible team around them with Pdogg and Bang, and they\u2019re obviously incredible writers on their own. They come to people like us to help contextualize them to the world in a new way. <\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s why I use a reference like \u201cDynamite,\u201d because, at that point in time, that was what introduced them to a whole new demographic of people and built new fans. We had the task of trying to do that now, while honoring their core fan base and where they come from.<\/p>\n

\n\tThey are fundamentally different people than they were before they took a break. They grew a lot. Their tastes changed, their voices changed. It was daunting to steward that process, but I\u2019m really proud of what we ended up doing. I mean, look at the response. There\u2019s a whole bunch of people listening to BTS that weren\u2019t listening to BTS a few months ago.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSwim\u201d is also one of three English-language songs on the album.\u00a0Were there larger conversations about that?<\/p>\n

\n\tMore than ever, the language that a song is in does not necessarily affect how large the audience for that song is. I had the fortune of having a No. 1 six weeks ago with Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cDTMF\u201d being the first Spanish-language single to top [the Billboard Hot 100, Global 200 and Global Exclu. US charts simultaneously]. Now \u2014 granted, it is in English \u2014 \u201cSwim\u201d is the No. 1 song on the Hot 100. A Korean act on an American chart.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m really proud to be a part of this album because, like DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS, it feels like such a deep representation of who they [BTS] are as artists and the country that they come from. I think it\u2019s pretty bada\u2013 that they decided to do a lot of the album in Korean \u2014 not just make a project that was focusing on being a large commercial venture, but rather a snapshot of who they are creatively at this point in their lives.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt seemed like ARIRANG was produced on a tight timeline. Did you feel that pressure in the studio?<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the writing camp, while the stakes were really high, none of us were made to feel pressured or competitive. Obviously, we all wanted to write the BTS comeback single, but on any given day, we\u2019d show up and, like, my friends are in Studio B, my friends are in Studio A. We all get to have lunch together, high-five each other and listen to the songs that we made.<\/p>\n

\n\tOnce they had \u201cSwim,\u201d \u201cNormal\u201d and \u201cPlease\u201d \u2014 once they had the bulk of the earlier songs on the project \u2014 and they started to really assemble the album, that was when pressure started to set in. Getting the vocal performances right, getting the mixes right \u2014 that\u2019s where we were really under the gun, especially to make the vinyl and CD deadlines.<\/p>\n

\n\tWas there a particularly memorable moment working with the members on this album?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a video<\/a> that\u2019s gone around on the Internet when I was writing with V, James Essien and Sean Foreman. That video is not the making of any of the songs that made the album, but it was one of the most fun days I had in the studio with the guys. We were just jumping up and down, singing the songs. I think that it was one of the freest days we had in the studio, creatively. So I do hope that song gets to see the light of day.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m glad there were those fun times, because the Netflix documentary shows a lot of creative anguish.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe had so much fun with the members in the studio. Like I said earlier, there were definitely times where SUGA would jump off the couch like a bolt of lightning, run into the booth and freestyle a verse out of nowhere. Or Jung Kook would say, \u201cI think I have an idea. Can I get on the mic?\u201d And then he\u2019d get on the SM7 and go stupid, just completely crush the most angelic melody. We were really trying to create a space where they felt safe to try anything. And I think we accomplished that.<\/p>\n