Joel Little, Grammy-winning music producer

He may have cut his teeth as front man for New Zealand pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse, but it was teaming up with Ella Yelich-O’Connor, aka Lorde, that secured his place on the world stage.

Joel Little and wife Gemma, founders of BIG FAN in Auckland. Photo by Guy Coombes.

Now, a decade later, songwriter Joel Little is virtually a household name. Producer to the stars, and hot property among the world’s biggest recording artists, he’s worked with everyone from Taylor Swift, Sam Smith and Imagine Dragons to Khalid, Shawn Mendes and Ellie Goulding. In fact, in the eight years since he and Lorde won Song of the Year at the Grammys for Royals, Joel says he has barely stopped to take a breath.

“Back when I was first working with Lorde there wasn’t really a blueprint for how to be a big songwriter and producer from New Zealand and make it overseas – it wasn’t really a thing that happened here,” says Joel.

It didn’t take him long to blaze a trail, though. He had set up his own production studio and was making music for TV commercials and working with new artists when his manager suggested he get together with Ella.

“It was just one of those things where we clicked. I was almost 30 and she was 15, so it was a bit of an odd-couple situation, but we started messing around with ideas and writing some pretty interesting songs.

“Even when we were making the songs, I remember thinking that they were special, but I had no expectations for them. Then we just watched it snowball – I definitely didn’t expect what happened next!”

Royals, and the album Pure Heroine, propelled the pair into the global spotlight. Since then, the father of three has been dividing his time between Auckland and Los Angeles, writing and producing tracks for some of the best in the business. And although living on a remote island at the bottom of the planet makes for a hectic travel schedule, Joel reckons being a Kiwi has also been a blessing.

“When I’m in LA I feel like the general spirit and attitude of New Zealanders is a huge advantage. We’re very relaxed, welcoming, laidback kind of people and – in my business anyway – I think that’s a great asset as far as putting people at ease. Artists don’t feel like they have to put on a show of being a star. They feel like they can just be themselves, which to me, is one of the most important things when it comes to creativity and writing songs.”

Joel’s laidback Kiwi demeanour definitely came in handy when he began working with Taylor Swift, one of the most famous pop stars of our time.

“I was nervous for sure, but between doing that first album with Lorde and working with Taylor I’d had a good eight years of working at the top level of the industry with a lot of big artists. I’d definitely got a lot better as a producer and I felt ready to do it. And luckily for me, Taylor’s incredible and we just hit it off and wrote a bunch of great songs.”

In 2019, Joel co-wrote and co-produced four songs for her album Lover, which raced to Number 1 in both the US and UK. Three of the four tracks (Me, You Need to Calm Down, and The Man) became top 30 singles in the US. Having achieved such phenomenal international success, it could have been easy to forget his roots, but Joel has made a point of doing just the opposite.

Sure, he’s still producing songs with famous people (he’s currently working with Niall Horan of One Direction fame), but he’s also bringing his Midas touch home to launch his greatest passion project yet. 

BIG FAN is a non-profit recording and performance space in a converted industrial building in Auckland’s Morningside. The brainchild of Joel and wife Gemma, it’s a place that will, he says, “make a big difference to a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life.” 

Complete with three world-class recording studios and a live music venue for up to 180 people, the Little’s plans for BIG FAN include music workshops and one-on-one mentoring opportunities to writing camps with international artists. 

“We know that music can change lives and affect communities in positive ways. We also know that although Aotearoa has a wealth of talent, many people don’t have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. BIG FAN aims to be a nurturing and supportive space where this talent can grow.”

Understandably, they’re excited. “Not just in terms of helping people take their careers to the next level, but also for people who may never even have played an instrument before. People can come and explore what making music feels like, and hopefully it can spark a little something in them that inspires them to take it further.

“Music is such a special thing that can really change the way you look at the world. Regardless of whether or not you’re a massive success, I think that’s at the heart of what’s magical about music and songwriting – you can start the day with nothing and end the day with something that didn’t exist before.”