Dubbed the "kings of the progressive scene" by Beatport, Sultan and Ned Shepard continue to capture listeners and top electronic charts with their music. Known for producing some of the most successful remixes in the world of EDM for artists such as Morgan Page, Dirty Vegas, and Madonna, the two have also proven themselves in the field of original production - their track "Call My Name" featuring Nadia Ali held on to the number 1 spot on Beatport's electro charts. Having just had their latest single "Walls" released on Tiesto's Clublife: Volume 2, Sultan and Ned gave us the inside scoop before taking us into the DJ booth for their performance at LIV Miami.
How did you guys come together as artists?
Sultan: I met Ned about 8 years ago. I was DJing at a club and he came up to me and told me he was a big fan and handed me a CD. That night I listened to the CD and was blown away by what I heard so I called him up the next morning and we became friends really fast.
Ned: In the beginning we would give each other advice on our own tracks and soon enough it just became natural to collaborate. We found our chemistry was really great and so we’ve just kept at it!
In what ways is working on music as a team better than going it alone?
Ned: Our skills in the studio really compliment each other. I play keyboards and Sultan plays guitar and so we can just jam for hours together, which is where we come up with most of the ideas for our songs.
Which tracks hold the most emotional value to you or have been the most fun to work on?
Ned: I think working on the remix for Madonna was kind of emotional because it was such a highlight for us. While we were working on it, we kept just looking at each other and laughing because we were excited to be a part of the project.
Sultan: 'Call My Name' has a lot of emotional value to me because we’re really close with Nadia (Ali) and the song had a big impact, especially to our fans here in the US.
Sultan: Nadia hit me up on Myspace, back when Myspace was relevant, and it turned out she was a fan of my music. We started talking about working together and it was around that time that Ned and I really started working together a lot. So the two of us went down to NYC to work on her album and we ended writing about 10 tracks for her album, 6 of which ended up on it.
Ned: It was one of the best writing sessions I’ve ever been a part of. Honestly, there was so much creativity coming out there that it was crazy!
You guys incorporate a lot of variety in your sets. What is your favorite musical style to work with and what genre would you like to explore further?
Sultan: We’ve been experimenting with some more electro stuff recently. We always have melodies but our grooves have definitely gotten more electro.
Any up and coming projects/releases/shows we should know about?
Ned: We’ve got a collaboration with Nervo called “Army” which features Omarion on vocals, as well as stuff in the works with Funkagenda, Fedde Le Grand, and DJ Vice.
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