The internet is a wonderful and crazy thing! Who’d have thought that a songwriter living in Manchester (UK) would team up with Maya Stone’s record label, DeepDownDirty, in London (UK) and a singer/songwriter, John Emil living in Falkoping (Sweden) and then have three producers - Sonic Construction (UK), Tim Techlor (Germany) and Doppelstern (also Germany) - all working to bring the song “You Got Me” to life with some epic remixes.
I certainly wouldn’t think it was possible but that’s exactly what we’ve done! It’s been an amazing journey working with some extremely talented people and I’m super excited to be talking to you about it. I’m Ricky Scott, 26, from Manchester, UK. I’ve spent most of my time working for various people, brands and organisations on their social media.
It actually all started in 2010 when I began to work for the 4x UK number one singer Daniel Bedingfield during University on his new work. I led a team in the UK and organised the music video for ‘Rocks Off’ (NSFW); it was a great experience and showed me that I could work in the music industry.
I also worked for singer/songwriter Zuri Star on her song ‘Better Than Yesterday’ and various other projects. The surprise on the University career guides face when I said what I wanted to do was priceless, apparently I was the first to ask about working in the music industry, but then, I was studying business, finance and economics!
Since then I’ve worked with councils, events and other musicians on their social media. Most recently, I set up own Company 26degrees which focuses on social media for musicians and operatives within the music industry and completed a Masters degree in music industry management.
You Got Me has been an amazing project and a huge learning curve. It’s been exceptional to see it from the perspective of a creator and the excitement of seeing people play it on their online radio stations is phenomenal.
John Emil is a super talented singer/songwriter with years of experience, infact he has been playing the guitar since the age of 6. At the age of 13 he was a runner up in the Swedish Guitar Championship finals. At this time, John went on to set up his own studio and learn the art of music production, certainly a very impressive talent! Later on, he placed 5th against thousands of competitors in the competition “Self Made” winning a song deal entitled “Fired Up”
John’s beautiful vocals and great style have made You Got Me a fantastic and distinct track that’s miles away from the original demo. As well as working on You Got Me, as mentioned, John has a variety of self-penned tracks out, as well as covers of popular songs available on his Spotify and Youtube. His most recent track “Rewind Replay” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZP2dJXZZLY) is an uplifting and beautifully arranged track. Maya couldn’t have found a better person to sing You Got Me.
You Got Me has kinda been years in the making. After finishing university in 2012 I took a job as a chef whilst I figured out what I was going to do, there was someone that worked there, that I don’t even know why, but I suddenly became infatuated with. I’d been writing songs for a few years but only at home, however words just started coming into my head and I grabbed some scrap pieces of paper and just started writing my thoughts. Three days later I tidied it all up with a few glasses of vodka at home and had the lyrics all sorted. From that, I took my melody and worked with someone to get a demo of an acoustic version.
It wasn’t until last year when through a mutual friend and a massive coincidence that Maya (of DeepDownDirty) and I started speaking, I sent her the Soundcloud of You Got Me and she loved it! She asked if she could make some deep house remixes happen for it and I of course was well up for it! The first step for Maya was to find a new (better) acoustic performances which came through John Emil. The next was to have some of her very talented contacts produce the remixes that will be released with it on Valentine’s Day. I genuinely cannot fault Maya and the hard work she has put into this and the other projects she has going on.
I always think that songs can and should be interpreted in many ways by the listener and that is actually the great thing about it. Two people can hear the same thing and can relate to it in different ways. For me personally, You Got Me is about loving someone so much but being too shy to tell them so you go into a fantasy world, making jokes about it and dropping hints. It’s that moment when you become a teenager again and you can’t think about anything else. However, I would love to hear how other people hear it. Interestingly, I think the different versions also offer different interpretations – the talent of the producers is amazing.
For myself, song writing has always just been a hobby, it’s kinda like a diary but one that feels a bit more productive and is a bit more fun. However, the positive response to You Got Me has been truly amazing and I think it won’t be the last you hear of my songs! In terms of John Emil, he is destined for greatness; he is the perfect package in a singer/songwriter with a mix of great vocal and musical ability. Maya’s record label DeepDownDirty continues to go from strength to strength and is looking at following suit with similar projects which incorporate acoustic and deep house!
The producers; Sonic Construction, Tim Techlor and Doppelstern have all created exceptional and varying remixes of the song, each one expressing their own style. I genuinely cried after hearing each one, listening to the hard work, dedication and input of other people about something you wrote is overwhelming and it took me back to that kid, that kid who was just finding himself after University. He thought that he was unable to love or be loved, wasn’t sure where his career was going and was scared.
To any aspiring songwriter, singer or really, anyone that wants to work in the music industry. I say, put yourself out there! The worst that can happen is that you’re told no.
My tips for song writing:
Always have a notepad by you – The first ever lyrics I wrote were for a song called “Letting Go,” I was walking to University and the words just hit me, I ran to a corner shop and bought a small notepad and wrote as I walked, and during the group meeting. I still have it actually.
From that - keep everything you write. Whether you think it’s awful or not. I’ve written some awful ones but I still have them, they mean something. You may also find that you can use some lyrics later on.
Write from the heart and be honest. The songs where I’ve basically forced myself to write something have always been bad, it’s the ones where you feel it that make something good.
Imagine what instruments you hear it with, imagine how it would be performed.
I am always happy to answer any questions and listen to new music!
You Got Me released on DeepDownDirty on 14th February 2018, you can download an awesome dub remix by Doppelstern right now here: https://pumpyoursound.com/fangate/detail/42670-you-got-me-doppelsternreduxdub-by-ricky-scott
Links
Ricky Scott: www.twitter.com/ricky_Scott
26degrees:www.facebook.com/the26degrees
John Emil: www.facebook.com/Johnemilofficial
DeepDownDirty: www.facebook.com/DeepDownDirtyRecordLabel
Sonic Construction: www.facebook.com/SonicConstruction
Tim Techlor: www.facebook.com/TimTechlor
Doppelstern: www.facebook.com/doppelsternofficial
