Stargate chiefly produces songs in the
R&B,
pop,
dance-pop,
Europop and
hip hop genres. Hermansen and Eriksen grew up as R&B and hip hop fanatics in the Norwegian suburbs, where most youths listen to
Europop and American
rock music. Their interest in music started in the 1980s with
breakdance and rap. Eriksen and Hermansen were raised on
pop music, growing up listening to
ABBA (both were Scandinavian) and German pop outfit
Boney M. In an article by
The New York Times,
Jive Records president
Barry Weiss, who had hired Stargate to produce songs, said, "Those influences lend themselves to them making very melodic pop records, with great hooks and choruses." According to the team, they have always loved American pop music, citing acts such as
Prince,
Michael Jackson,
Usher,
Destiny's Child, and
R. Kelly, as well as the British band
Depeche Mode, as their inspiration. The team also cited producers
Antonio "L.A." Reid and
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds of the 1980s R&B band
The Deele, and R&B-pop production team
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as their early influences. In their usual production style, Stargate first creates an
instrumental backing track—also common in pop and hip hop productions—from which a collaborator would write lyrics and add a vocal melody to. In an interview with
About.com, the team explained: We always start out with a musical idea. Great effort goes into creating a solid melodic core. We both play the keyboards and program, but in general Mikkel plays the instruments and controls Pro Tools, while Tor has the executive overlook as well as lyrical input. However, we both are hands on and have no rules or limitations. When we have some killer beats and musical starting points, we hook up with one of our favorite topline writers, who gets cracking on the lyrics and melody. We make sure there's a lot of melody in the track, so it can inspire the writer. Together with the topline writer we work, often tweak and simplify the song, and never quit before we feel we've got a killer hook.
Ben Sisario of
The New York Times described Stargate's music as "sugary, lilting R&B in the
Michael Jackson vein leavened with the kind of melody-rich European pop that paints everything in bright primary colors ... Their work carries on a tradition of Scandinavian
bubble-gum artistry that stretches from
Abba to
Max Martin". Sisario added that, unlike other producers in the US, "Stargate signature is more difficult to detect, because to some degree the duo's style is an adaptable method, not a specific sound". However,
Atlantic Records A&R Steve Lunt pointed out that "if you put a bunch of Stargate songs together you will see the thread running through them". ==Critical reception==