As in human nature, we all experience ups and downs in this thing we call life. However, we all rise up out of the darkness with our own methods. In this case, Dennis Sheperd took to the studio and put together an artist album that touches upon every edge of its listeners’ soul.
‘Find The Sunrise’ was a very personal venture for Dennis Sheperd as he was in a “very dark place” at the start of the process. Working through it though, he found release and created a masterpiece that takes us on a tour throughout many different sounds — some you may have never expected from Dennis.
We were able to speak with him regarding the creation of his third artist album and much more. Take a look towards the horizon and ‘Find The Sunrise’ for yourself through our interview with Dennis Sheperd.
FMF: First off, I want to congratulate you on the release of your third artist album — ‘Find the Sunrise’. As we all know, putting together an album is a huge amount of work and it’s always greatly respected when an artist decides to undertake this sort of project. Tell us a little about your process and how you worked on the album.
Dennis Sheperd: Thank you so much! I am really a fan of producing albums. You have so much more creative freedom than with single releases. That’s because with single releases you always (subconsciously or not) try to produce a hit record, whereas with album tracks you can just go with the flow. Sometimes that actually ends up in hit records anyway. The album is not a concept album, so the tracks can stand for themselves thematically. Each track reflects a part of my life and how I felt there.
What was the most challenging part of working on the album? What was the most gratifying part of working on the album?
The most challenging part was definitely to be happy and satisfied with all the productions. I really tried to raise the bar in terms of quality control. So I really, really gave my all to make the records the best they could be. And I think I succeeded with that.
The most gratifying part was definitely releasing all the music to the world and seeing people appreciate the lyrics of the album so much. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into those. Since it was the first time that I did songwriting, this felt extra special.
I know this is always a difficult question to answer, but do you have a favorite track from the album? If so, what is it and why?
Very hard to answer. I think my top 3 would be ‘Playing With Fire’, ‘Losing My Mind’ and ‘When Our Worlds Collide’. All very different from each other. I wrote most of the lyrics for ‘Losing My Mind’ and ‘When Our Worlds Collide’ as well.
Throughout your new album, you touch upon many different styles of trance and progressive. What inspired you to have an album with such varying sounds?
This is totally me! I love so many different styles and I wanted my album to reflect that. I also think that you just need to go with the flow as a producer. If the production is going towards breakbeat, then be it. Don’t limit yourself! I think this will result in the best outcome musically.
Most of your music throughout the years has resonated with trance vibes. So, I always have to ask my favorite trance artists; what does trance mean to you?
For me, trance is a feeling, not a BPM or certain production formula. Also, trance unites so many people. It’s a love so many of us share. I hear a lot of trance in nowadays’ techno and progressive house genres as well. Sometimes those records sound more ‘trance’ to me than actual trance tracks.
We all love the journey through music that this album portrays! Will you be doing any live-streams to showcase the album and any future work you have in store? If so, when and where can we check it out?
I have just recently done an album live stream on Facebook. Occasionally, you can also find me on Twitch but I rarely use the platform. I just don’t have so much time to do a weekly stream as I like to focus on producing new music and teaching people about music production.
Finally, I’m sure I speak for us all when I say we can’t wait to be back on the dance floor. But when you get back behind the decks in front of a live crowd, what is the first track you want to play?
Puh, it’s a lovely question! I hope that this summer I can play some music to a crowd again. I would love to play one of my records in recent months to them: York – ‘On The Beach (Kryder Remix)’
*Featured image via Dennis Sheperd*
