The latest track from Deniz Koyu and Amba Shepherd, ‘The Way Out' has been a massive hit with the fans, as well on the charts with support from the likes of Tiesto, Nicky Romero, Afrojack, W&W, R3hab and many more. I was fortunate enough to ask both of them questions about the track, working with each other, and many more.
Deniz Koyu
Talk about your latest track ‘The Way Out', How would you describe it for someone who may not have heard it?
“I would describe it as a happy, melodic, uplifting progressive house track with a catchy and playful melody.”
What was the process like on the track?
“I started working on the instrumental well over a year. It took me around a month til I had a demo done including the hook melody with all chords and sounds and one break and one drop. Then I met Amba at ADE in 2014 and played her the instrumental. She liked it a lot so we stayed in touch via email when she was back home in Australia. She wrote and recorded the vocals in her studio and sent me the stems, then I put them in the project, did some vocal processing and finished the full arrangement of the song.”
How was it working with Amba Sheperd?
“Working with Amba was amazing! She is very professional in all regards. She has a great feeling for melodies and harmonies and how to write a catchy hook. Once I heard her idea I loved it right away and she didn't have to change anything. That doesn't happen often with singers and songwriters!”
Nicky Romero tested out ‘The Way Out' at Ultra and on the main stage at Tomorrowland, What was that like? How does it make you feel to see such a positive reaction from the crowd?
“Having your new song played at Tomorrowland main stage is definitely a great feeling for every producer and the best platform in the world to test it out. I really felt the energy go through the crowd
and thought to myself the hard work was fully worth it.”
Deadmau5 came to your show in Seattle, How did you guys meet? What's your relationship like with him?
“I met deadmau5 a few times before already. The first time I met him was at XS in Las Vegas where I had a day off andwent to see his show. And this time in Seattle he had a day off and came to my show and joined me in the booth for a bit. I'm a car nerd just like him so we talked about meeting up at Gumball next year. That was a really fun night.”
What has been the highlight of 2015 for you so far? What are your goals for the rest of the year?
“My highlights this year so far have been Miami Music Week including the Protocol and Axtone parties, Nature One Germany, some great shows in Asia, and foremost my releases ‘Lift' and ‘The Way Out' on Protocol Recordings . And the year isn't over yet, I'm still working on more stuff to be released this year so stay tuned!”
We all know the voice, as she has been in some huge hits from Hardwell's ‘Apollo', ‘United We Are' and now Deniz Koyu's ‘This Way Out', among many others. Her voice is simply beautiful and refreshing, truly taking songs to a whole new level. I had the chance to ask her a couple questions as well, from the working relationship with Deniz, to the process of coming together on a track.
Amba Shepherd
You worked with a bunch of producers/DJ's, What is the process like when you come together on a track?
“Most of the time I am sent an almost finished track from the label or the producer, and I write the vocal melody and lyrics in my studio, then record / produce the vocal and send it back for a listen! Fingers crossed! Sometimes I work in sessions too when everyone is starting from scratch together in the studio, this process is always super fun but honestly can be harder for me because I need the track to be almost finished before I can really work out what my contribution is going to be, to feel the flow of the track/ what the track is saying and how a vocal can really add something.”
Talk about the meaning behind ‘The Way Out' and How did the vocals come about? How was it working with Deniz?
“I met Deniz last year at Amsterdam Dance Event he played me some ideas there, but of course I already knew his work he is such an incredible & original producer. We kept in touch and started working on The Way Out in March this year. The lyrics to this song are about being stuck in a place and getting yourself up and out of it and not letting yourself get dragged down by situations or life or people.”
Who else would you like to collab with?
“Soooo many people! Right now I would love to collaborate with Tchami, Eric Prydz, Diplo, Flume, Mr Probz, Jauz, Don Diablo, Jessie Ware, I can go on for days.”
More to come from Deniz Koyu and Amba Shepherd so be sure keep an eye out.
Deniz Koyu on Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter
Amba Shepherd on Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter
