Matthew Schultz has taken huge strides in his music production career over the last few months. With a history rooted in the music industry, he has released his new solo single ‘Promise For Keeps’ which has racked up over a million streams online and entered the iTunes UK Dance chart. Emotive and powerful, the track tells a story which has obviously resonated with listeners, and we caught up with the music maestro to learn a bit more about the tune!
So Matthew – can you sum up the inspiration behind the name and why you chose it?
The name “Promise For Keeps” came from pondering the idea of long-term commitment to the love of my life. I figured there is nothing more powerful that someone can offer than to promise his or her love to someone forever.
It’s a really special, evocative track – what was the inspiration behind it?
The theme of “Promise For Keeps” is a highly romantic, feel good track. The song is based on my real life relationship with my girlfriend and soul mate. It reflects the idea of my long-term commitment to the love of my life. I am in a very happy state of my life right now, so the song definitely reflects and captures my current emotional state.
Do you have any particular influences in the music scene that you think are relatable to this track?
I really love what Major Lazer are doing out there, with Partynextdoor and Tory Lanez & Cashmere Cat. Calvin Harris has a new one out I really dig called “Nuh Ready Nuh Ready.” I feel “Promise For Keeps” blends elements of EDM and Dancehall to create a fresh sounding, cutting edge track that’s Pop/EDM.
How long did the track take to make from start to finish?
I really took my time on this track! I started working on it about a year ago. I kept listening and tweaking until I felt it was ready to go. I knew I had something special with this one and I did not want to rush the process.
This is a great way to start the New Year, are you ready to get working on more music for us? And can we have any hints of what to look forward to?
I have recently released a remix featuring Gyptian. Keeping the essential melody, the music is given a Dancehall, Reggae-fusion vibe in the vein of Major Lazer, Tory Lanez and Partynextdoor. The laid back tropical, Reggae-tinged rhythm gives the track a slinky, syncopated groove that will work well on the dance floor. I also have three more remixes of “Promise For Keeps” coming out later this month by Young Wolf Hatchlings, DJ Surinder Rattan, and Electric Bodega. I have a new release called “For No Reason” slated to come out in early May!
Was the project something that took a while to form as a whole, or did it all come together naturally?
It took every bit of a year to develop the right sound and production to go with the lyrics. I wanted to have all the pieces put together for the release. The cover art was very important to me; created by Lina Velasquez, as well as the animation for the visual created by 7god Busara. I wanted to merge art and my music together. Also, coming up with the perfect feature for the remix with Caribbean sensation Gyptian was important for me.
Do you have any specific production methods when working on tracks, and did this track differ?
I like to come up with a solid melody with vocals and synths, and gradually start building with light percussion at first. Then continue to build and tweak adding heavier beats, instruments and vocal harmony and adlibs.
Finally, where can we get our hands on the tune?!
Music Animation Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3za5-NWT7Ng&feature=youtu.be
Buy on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/promise-for-keeps-single/1339206387?ls=1&app=itunes
Spotify Stream
https://open.spotify.com/track/64faKvLO2s0d89sZdFSlXu?si=sYJu_wxfSMOwfeACbJPFfA
Buy on Beatport
https://www.beatport.com/track/promise-for-keeps-original-mix/10193617
Matthew Schultz Online
https://www.facebook.com/matthewbschultz
https://twitter.com/mschultz33
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Sd3zmzvPHUeBp7jWxIGfP
https://instagram.com/matthewbschultz
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