As a producer at the U.K.-based independent music label XL Recordings, Rodaidh McDonald has helped produce albums by a wide range of internationally renowned artists including Adele, The xx, The Horrors, Bobby Womack, Vampire Weekend, King Krule and many others.

McDonald participated as one of the keynote speakers at the annual MU:CON Seoul music conference this week, discussing his experiences and his small indie label’s methods of creating internationally successful albums.

In his first visit to Korea, the producer admitted he knows very little about the Korean music scene, apart from Psy and Crayon Pop. However, he stated that one of the reasons he agreed to participate in this year’s MU:CON event was for the opportunity to become more familiar with the Korean music industry.

“The idea for me coming here is really to learn about how things work in Korea (in the music industry),” said McDonald during an interview after his keynote address. “It would be great to find an artist that has that something special.”

The producer said that after attending one of MU:CON’s artist showcases on Monday night, he was most impressed by the performance of local crossover band Jambinai, whose band members combine modern rock music with traditional Korean instruments.

“The whole thing seemed very exciting, with sounds I have never heard before and two instruments that I’ve never seen before,” he commented.

As a producer at a record label with a large number of major acts, McDonald says one of the key benefits his independent company has compared to big entertainment labels is his belief in giving artists freedom with their music.

“I give our artists 100 percent of their creative freedom,” he said, noting that the process of making music under his label and the process of creating K-pop music couldn’t be more different.

“It’s just a culture difference ... I can tell it (K-pop) has been very choreographed, but I guess it just couldn’t be made any other way.

“I saw Crayon Pop perform the other day and it was so melodic, it was enjoyable to listen to,” he added. “I didn’t know what it was about (language-wise) and I didn’t really care because I didn’t need to understand.”

McDonald compared the production of K-pop music to the U.S. music industry in the 1950s and ’60s, when music was being made like a factory product. “I can sense it,” he said.

While watching Crayon Pop perform, the producer claimed that although he enjoyed the light-hearted aspect of the group and its songs, he still felt that there was something lacking in terms of allowing listeners to make a personal connection.

“Massively, I felt a complete disconnect with it ... it was just a spectacle,” McDonald stated. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Without this (K-pop) infrastructure, K-pop wouldn’t have existed, we would have never heard of it, and we wouldn’t have had Psy. K-pop works as a visual spectacle.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)