New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Paris-born producer/composer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist Tobias Dray doesn't fall under one sub-genre, producing electronic music, pop, and indie R&B. Not afraid to experiment with new pop laneways, Tobias (who has had a knack for cherry-picking collaborators via the internet) turned to Spotify, reaching out to relatively unknown vocalists to ask if they'd like to work together. The result is a collection of songs that balance organic and electronic elements and best reflect Tobias' impeccable tastes.
On July 2, Tobias will release his EP ORANGE Aura that features vocals from R&B singer/songwriter Duncan Davis, pop duo Running On Everything, genre-defying 23 year old Yuki Dreams Again, and alt-R&B artist Charlie Powers. The latest single, the pop-inspired track "Twice" is about the complex dynamics of a relationship. Dray teamed up with Charlie after discovering him online and creating a rapport of back and forth exchanges.
"The day I made this song, I listened to a lot of Japanese house & the 1975 songs. I wanted to try to make a beat with the same feeling of eagerness & intensity while still having a bright and soft sound. I sat down and made the drums first, followed by the chords, which have a wide voicing (I think there are 7 to 8 notes per chord if I remember). A little fun fact about the song, if you listen closely to the intro and outro, you can hear two people speaking French. What you hear happens to be a recording from 3 years ago of my girlfriend at the time and myself talking. I used to have this handy recorder, the Zoom h4n pro, and I tried to record every sound & foley I could when I was going out," says Tobias.
Charlie Powers, a fresh-faced 23-year old California native, embraces the DIY spirit - producing, writing and engineering his own music from his home studio. "Tobias sent me a grip of phenomenal production, and this one just had this very familiar feeling, but it wasn't particularly sad or happy. I felt like it could be both. So, I wrote a story that visits both of those ends when it comes to love. I love how it turned out!" adds Charlie.
For the official music video - a montage of frozen moments and memories of a dissolved relationship - Tobias teamed up with
Martin Klapperbein, the director behind his first music video "I Don't Mind (feat. Ben Chandler)." Speaking with FLAUNT Magazine, Tobias says, "I don't think there is such thing as Manichaeism, especially in relationships. It just depends on the perspective and I wanted that to come across in the video."
