We Meet DECCO | The Producers Behind Hits for DUA LIPA & SELENA Gomez | We Chat About Their New Single ‘I DIDN’T KNOW FT JAMES GILLESPIE’ & K-POP
In just three years, the Swedish/Austrian duo Decco have become in-demand producers and remixers for leading artists such as Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez and John Legend, while also taking big steps with their own releases. Consisting of Joacim Persson and Sebastian Arman, Decco have already exceeded a career total of 150 million streams. Decco now follow last year’s Alex Clare collab ‘Crazy To Love You’ by sharing ‘I Didn’t Know’, which features James Gillespie.
‘I Didn’t Know’ exemplifies the traits that have made Decco leaders in their field. The insistent melody is immediately memorable, allowing its positive dance-pop groove to immediately embed itself in your subconscious. And having worked with an enviable list of collaborators, Decco can identify a world class vocalist. This time around they called on James Gillespie, whose tenacious vocals and autobiographical lyrics shine in a vastly different setting. It’s a song which reflects the natural connection that the trio made when they recorded the track together pre-lockdown.
Hailing from Stockholm (Joacim Persson) and Vienna (Sebastian Arman), Decco first came to attention with their remix of Dua Lipa’s ‘Thinking ‘Bout You’. Teaming up with Kiddo in 2018 resulted in their biggest track to date with ‘Drunk And I Miss You’, before they continued their success with ‘Crazy To Love You’ with Alex Clare. Outside of their own tracks, they’ve delivered international radio hits in the past year as executive producers of tracks from Ray Dalton, Alle Farben, Clueso, Stephanie Heinzmann and Michael Patrick Kelly.
With songs such as ‘What You Do’ and ‘Beyond Today’ as well as last year’s debut album ‘Safe.’, James Gillespie has forged a reputation as one of the UK’s most distinct talents. His rich, gravel-toned voice has earned praise from Radio 1, Sir Elton John and Pink plus 90 million streams to date. He’s currently working on his second album, which will be released next year.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US COULD YOU START BY TELLING US WHAT IS THE SONG ABOUT ?
Decco commented, “We wrote this song together with James in The Barbican London pre the Corona pandemic. We started jamming and instantly felt that we had something really strong going. It’s a song about realizing how much somebody means to you when it might be too late to fix it."
James Gillespie added, “This song is about not knowing how badly you need someone. Thinking you’re OK and pretending to everyone around you. But in reality - you can't imagine life without them”.
How do you work as a two-person team? What does the process entail in relation to production and lyrics?
We are based in Stockholm and Vienna so we work and communicate a lot over WhatsApp where we’re constantly throwing ideas around and sending each other feedback. We used to travel all the time before the pandemic and will definitely start that again as soon as it's safe.
What are the advantages of working together?
It’s always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off. We’re constantly trying to improve stuff and challenging what’s there. It’s also way more fun to share successes, struggles, and travel with somebody.
Do you ever disagree on the vision of a song or are you usually more or lesson on the same page?
We often agree but we also disagree on things like song structures or where something is going.
Most of the time the disagreements end up being constructive and good for the song in the end.
Are you also working on individual projects?
Decco is taking up more and more of our time as things are progressing fast at the moment.
What have you learned from working with each other?
We have learned how incredibly fun it is to meet up around the world with new people create music and go to nice restaurants
Sebastian, your parents were classical musicians. You’ve chosen to follow a musical path as well but from a different angle. Do you think classical musicians realise the value of music production?
I think most of the younger generation of classical musicians are pretty open and listen to all kinds of music. Some classical musicians can be a bit judgemental and in certain points they’re probably right. Pop music is supposed to be simple and accessible. I think my parent’s for instance have realised how much work we put in trying to keep it simple.
Sebastian, you said you initially became interested in production through hip hop music. Do you have any favourite hip-hop artists?
Lots. When I was a kid I was always listening to Wu-Tang, Gang Starr, Tribe Called Quest … a lot of east coast stuff. Right now I’m loving Aminé, A$AP Ferg, also Guapdad and Gashi who we both worked with.
You guys regularly travel to new places and meet new artists, you must be adaptable in new situations. How do you guys create an artistic atmosphere when working with people you've only recently met?
I believe one of our strengths is that most of the time manage to create a good vibe and positive atmosphere in the studio with new people.
Do you guys ever feel limited or restrained by radio-ready music criteria?
Of course, it is in the back of your mind as you want your music to be heard on the radio. But we still create things we like and feel ourselves.
What tracks or artists do you guys admire from a music production perspective and are there any musicians you’d like to collaborate with?
There’s so much, production is on such a high level at the moment. Dominic Fike and Harry Styles's new stuff sounds incredible. It would be amazing to work for one of those legendary artists though … Rihanna, Drake, Beyonce, Gaga. Shoot for the top, why not?
You guys have a tremendously rich and meticulous production style, which is popular at the moment in Western countries but also in many countries abroad like South Korea. Have you ever thought about working with K-Pop artists?
Yes, we have been working with some K pop acts as composers/producers. This is done in a different way then our Europe and US writing. Asia is all about sending finished songs to A&R people for a specific act. They then translate and write domestic lyrics and record and mix the song themselves over there. Many times they buy your production files and use them in the final production.
In a previous interview Joacim, you stated: “Imperfection creates what people love". What songs confirm that statement for you?
I meant that imperfection gives a very human feel to the music. And a lot of the classic song “evergreens” have flaws both vocally and instrumentally.
Stuff happened in the recordings and was kept in there before recording music became computerized.
So many songs from the 70’s have the vibe. It can be un-tight or slightly pitchy but the feeling is great.
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Interview by Adam Mur