Some projects don’t begin with a fixed direction. “Taltesh,” Shahyn’s latest release, starts exactly there: without a predefined path, but with a shared curiosity to see what would happen once the ideas were allowed to move freely and take shape in real time.
“We sit around experimenting, listening to beats, and building something from scratch.”
“Once we lock into something we agree on, we start building. It’s very instinctive rather than planned.”
For Shahyn, the EP came together through a close working relationship with producer Coolpix, who handled all the production. Shahyn explains that the process was driven by experimentation from the very beginning, like we saw live behind the scenes, with both of them intentionally stepping outside their usual sound to explore something unfamiliar.
That same openness carries into the collaborations. On “More,” Shahyn links up with Double Zuksh, and the track takes shape through a back-and-forth process where nothing is locked too early.
Double Zuksh describes it as a kind of workshop, where ideas are put on the table first, then shaped into something that makes sense for the song. They start by figuring out what the track is actually about, then meet somewhere in the middle once the direction becomes clearer.
“The goal is to let everyone bring something to the track until we find the version that feels right. It’s very collaborative from start to finish.”
Mared joined the EP as an artist stepping into unfamiliar territory, where both sides were experimenting with a sound they knew in theory but hadn’t actually created before. The collaboration became a creative challenge that balanced risk and enjoyment, allowing him to try something new while still feeling connected to the music.
Coolpix, who produced the project, shared a similar mindset with Shahyn, as both were focused on breaking away from their usual sound and building something fresh through constant experimentation and instinctive collaboration.
Nayrouz Abozeid played a key role in shaping the visual and narrative direction of the project, helping expand “Taltesh” beyond just music into a more immersive experience.
Instead of approaching the EP with traditional music videos, she guided the team toward building organic, story-driven content that could evolve naturally alongside the project.
“As the content opened up and we started noticing certain details, we thought, why not make it episodic? It started shaping itself.”
