Sultan + Shepard, Shallou meet on mellifluous first original, ‘Raye’

Five months ago, Sultan + Shepard aligned their name with Shallou‘s for the first time on a remix of the latter’s “Pacifica.” The opportunity could have been a one-off, but thanks to the propulsive push of their generally complementary sounds—and a touch of serendipity—it wasn’t.

A chat had only after Sultan + Shepard’s spin on The Long Way Home inclusion hit streaming platforms provided the path to “Raye,” the Canadian duo’s first original production with Shallou that fittingly lands on Lane 8‘s This Never Happened. “We were surprised to hear that he was really interested in working on original music together and that we lived in the same city,” Sultan + Shepard shared. “Before we knew it, we were in the studio working on songs and ‘Raye’ was born.”

The outcome bespeaks what most collaborations aim for but only the true achieve: balance. In a warm, mellifluous framework, Sultan + Shepard’s progressive leanings intersect with Shallou’s penchant for vocal-led dreamscapes, culminating in a finished product with no discrete parts.

“This track feels like the start of a special creative relationship,” say Sultan + Shepard. We’d have to agree.

Featured image: Sultan + Shepard/Instagram

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Written by Dancing Astronaut