She may not be a household name (yet!) but we guarantee that you’ve heard Australian Amba Shepherd’s voice on every popular EDM song you’ve ever danced to. She’s worked with Hardwell, Tiesto, Afrojack, Porter Robinson, Nervo, Ferry Corsten, and many more DJs — which means you’ve heard her vocals off the main stages of Tomorrowland, Ultra and EDC. With her multiple Beatport and iTunes No. 1 hits, she’s performed to massive crowds around the world, and has been named “the most relevant guest vocalist in EDM" by Elektro Mag and "the number one voice on today's dance floor" by DMC World.
Shepherd just released her second original single, "Wide Awake & Dreaming" on her own label Superrlativ; a departure from collaborations, for sure. Her sound, Shepherd says, is “singer-songwriter meets bass ... deep, emotional and melodic.” And “‘Wide Awake & Dreaming’ is a song about that moment when you realise something you have been dreaming about for a really long time is coming true right in front of your eyes.” We spoke with the singer about her biggest collaborations, inspirations and who she hopes to work with in the future. Hop to the next page to read the full interview.
Hometown and home base: Sydney, Australia
Were you always a singer? Do you play instruments?
I grew up in a musical family, so music was always a big part of my life and something I have always been obsessed with. Dancing, piano lessons, etc. — there were a lot of extracurriculars. However I was about 14 when I started singing lessons and it was around that age that I knew that it was something I loved deeply. I do produce also; mostly I produce my vocals from my studio in Sydney and send them back to the artists I collaborate with. And I have played drums, piano … plus a clarinet for a year or so, and violin for a little bit too.
So you’ve worked with everyone in the EDM world — what was your first big moment?
This is hard to pinpoint exactly! One of the big first moments was being at the world premiere of Apollo my collaboration with Hardwell, at Escape Club in Amsterdam during ADE 2012. That was a huge moment for me, it was the first time I had heard my vocals in such a big club (of 2,000 to 3,000 people), and we went on to perform that song all over the world.
Who else would you love to collaborate with?
There are so many artists I would love to collaborate with! Diplo, Deadmau5, Alan Walker, Flume, Eric Prydz, Skrillex, Sia, The Bloody Beetroots, Calvin Harris, and many more.
Who inspires you musically?
I love classic artists and classic songwriters - Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Police / Sting, Donny Hathway, Roberta Flack, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Lionel Richie, James Taylor, Hall & Oates for example.
Do you have a fun Myspace story to tell as a musician?
Yeah! The first record I worked on was in 2010 and it was a collaboration between myself and Australian DJ / Producer Nick Galea, we actually found each other on myspace! I heard his tracks and was like damn this guy is amazing I would love to work with him so I messaged him and we worked on a track called I Believe. It went to No. 2 on the Australian Aria Chart for like seven weeks and that was essentially the beginning of my career. So thanks MySpace!
If you were a hashtag, what would it be?
#goodvibesonly
For more profiles on up-and-coming artists, visit our Artist of the Day page.
from Myspace - Editorial http://ift.tt/2lYNksa
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