Sultan + Shepard Talk ‘Forever, Now,’ Coming From Different Backgrounds As They Are Jewish American And Palestinian And Their Favorite Songs They’ve Made

Progressive house kingpin Sultan + Shepard, formally known as Ossama Al Sarraf and Ned Shepard, initially met by chance at an after-hours club in Montreal in 2002. It was there that they discovered their musical chemistry. Their melodic, angelic and emotional sound is best defined in their latest album, Forever, Now.

The 11-track body of work boasts celestial soundscapes, shimmering synths, enchanting vocals, twinkling sounds, progressive bass and more. Indeed, the album proves to be a masterful body of work and features collaborations including Julia Church, Andrew Belle and Delhia De France.

The duo initially began collaborating on original songs and remixes, signing their first song to John Digweed’s Bedrock imprint. Forever, Now is out via Lane 8’s This Never Happened label. In addition, Sultan + Shepard has produced several monster releases, including its Grammy-nominated remix of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven.” It has also remixed for major pop acts, including the likes of Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Madonna and Lady Gaga. It boasts a long catalog of work with dance music artists, most notably joining forces with Dillon Francis to create “When We Were Young.” Sultan + Shepard has also graced the stages of Tomorrowland, Ultra and Electric Daisy Carnival.

Here, the pair shares the inspiration behind Forever, Now, uniting despite their different backgrounds, their favorite song they’ve made and more.

Lisa Kocay: Can you describe your sound in three words?

Ned Shepard: “Melodic, uplifting and sad.”

Kocay: Can you talk about the inspiration behind Forever, Now?

Shepard: “This album came together mostly because we really had such an amazing experience releasing our last album. We loved that process and the reception so much that we were really inspired to do it again. It was very much informed by being out and on the road and playing shows…being in a place where we felt free to explore our creativity and try new things. The concept of Forever, Now is really wherever we were in this place of creativity and feeling present in that spot. It felt like this sort of eternal creative moment for us.”

Kocay: You come from different backgrounds, being Jewish American and Palestinian. Given the state of the world, can you further discuss that?

Shephard: “Osama and I come from what people would maybe perceive as opposite sides of the spectrum. But the truth is that we’ve always felt very connected as people. We’ve learned a lot about each other’s cultures just from being so close. The truth is that most Jewish American people don’t know that many Palestinian people and most Palestinian people don’t know that many Jewish people closely. So we’ve been lucky to have that friendship and learn about what our experience has been like and what our family’s experience has been like. I think that that’s made us understand each other really well and understand the situation in a way that…we wish more people were able to have that experience.”

Kocay: What’s your favorite song you made and what was happening in the studio when you made it?

Ossama Al Sarraf: “I’d say ‘Forever, Now.’ I think that was a special track and Ned had started this whole idea. I remember coming in and kind of freaking out because it had so many reminiscent elements of Chemical Brothers, Underworld and all the stuff that we grew up listening to. I think he really honed in on it. So when we got together and started building on the idea, I remember both of us having this incredibly big smile on our faces doing this record and wishing that we could keep doing more like this and that that moment would not end. We wouldn’t have to finish that track because it just felt so good being in it.

Shepherd: “There’s a track that we did called ‘Guaba.’ It was before any of our other albums. I think we felt really good when we did it. I remember we were kind of high from making the song that we went up to the kitchen afterward and we were laughing. We couldn’t stop laughing. We got into this total laughter phase where the two of us were on the floor laughing so hard. We weren’t stoned, but we were in such a good place from making a really positive song. We just got totally infected by it, so I remember that was pretty special.”

Kocay: Where would you be today if you didn’t go into making music?

Al Sarraf: “I’d be an engineer working for some aeronautical engineering company.”

Sultan: “I don’t know.”

Kocay: Do you feel like music was always your passion then? You always knew you’d come into it?

Sultan: “I didn’t really have a plan. I would maybe be teaching, or maybe I would be living in a monastery.

Kocay: If you could go back in time to when you first started making music and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Shepherd and Al Sarraf: “Trust your gut.”

Kocay: Can you talk about what your tour is like for those who aren’t able to experience it?

Sultan: “It’s us playing a lot of our new music, but [also] stuff from our whole catalog over the last couple of years. It’s really our favorite way to connect with our fans and people on the road. So it’s a really uplifting experience for us, and I think the people who come.”