Greg Kurstin

Born in Los Angeles in 1969, Greg Kurstin was destined to make a mark on the music industry. He received his first published writing credit as a 12 year-old, when he cowrote "Crunchy Water," the B-side to classmate Dweezil Zappa's single "My Mother is a Space Cadet" (1982). He moved to New York to study music at the New School, with jazz great Charles Mingus's pianist Jaki Byard. Kurstin co-founded the alt-rock band Geggy Tah in the early '90s and signed to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label. The band released two records, in 1994, and 1996, which received acclaim and a moderately popular single in 1996's "Whovever You Are," but garnered limited sales overall. After Geggy Tah, Kurstin began to moonlight with artists like Beck, Jane's Addiction, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2005, Kurstin teamed with singer Inara George as The Bird and the Bee and released their first record in 2006. Kurstin also became known as a superstar producer, working with Sia, Kylie Minogue, and Ellie Goulding, among others. In 2013 he was nominated for two Grammys for his work on Kelly Clarkson's mulit-platinum single "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In 2015, Kurstin produced three songs from the album 25 by Adele, including the hit "Hello."