Exclusive Premiere: Chennai Artists Michael Timothy and STEVIE’s Silken Jam on ‘Y.d.e.k.’

Chennai-based bassist and producer Michael Timothy has so far been at the top of his game when it comes to crafting smooth R&B tunes for young singer-songwriters such as Nitika Kurian, but he’s also been for long associated with hip-hop/R&B artist Stevie.

Releasing singles throughout 2020, the producer’s latest calls on Stevie for a can’t-fail pop leaning earworm called “Y.d.e.k.” The club-friendly synth laden track features Stevie taking on rap verses and also providing a distinctively honeyed hook for the chorus. Timothy says about getting Stevie on board, “I was working on this poppish song, with a stacked chorus and thought it’ll be cool if I got someone to rap on it, that’s how I thought of Stevie.”

The song follows up collaborative tracks such as “Take It Off” featuring singer Nivedita Lakra, “Trip” and “Like I Did.” Timothy says he wrote 10 ideas in a week when the lockdown started in India in March. He adds about crafting his latest, “I built it up like people would expect a pop song but the drop has a very soul/R&B vibe to surprise the listener.”

While Timothy has worked with Stevie on his 2019 debut EP, this collab has the producer taking over compositional duties. The producer says, “I’ve always had this connect with Stevie, it’s really simple for us now, we know how the other thinks and it doesn’t take much time to work on a song.” The timing was great for the singer too, considering he’s been working on more hip-hop oriented material. Stevie adds that he has “hard hitting hip-hop” singles slated to release this year.

Timothy, for his part, says he’s now focusing on stepping up as an artist rather than just helming production duties. Released via New York label Bentley Records, the producer-bassist says he has more collaborations in the works, mostly with vocalists (“I can’t sing for shit,” he says) and a total of four singles on the anvil. “I’m also working on a live set as an electronic duo,” he adds.

Watch the lyric video for “Y.d.e.k.” below. The song is streaming on all platforms on August 19th.