When you think of a songwriting team, most probably think of Lennon and McCartney or Lennon and Harrison. However, there are lesser-known examples of collaboration between two artists that went on to create the greatest songs ever written. These collaborations could be either personal or professional. It all depends on the kind of chemistry one can extract from collaborating with another person. Collaborations with people who share similar interests in music or even an artistic mind with someone similar are bound to yield better results than working alone. Some collaborations may also take time to blossom but when it does, it’s worth keeping as a partnership. Collaboration is not easy especially when different personalities are involved. But what makes it even more challenging is when two individuals have very different artistic sensibilities as well as different skills and backgrounds too;

Dutch and Knight Siaax: A Collaboration Worth Keeping

Dutch is a singer-songwriter and musician, who is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Knight Six, on the other hand, is an Australian singer-songwriter who divides her time between Sydney, Australia, and Cape Town, South Africa. When these two artists first got together, they were strangers. It was an online collaboration that ultimately led to an offline collaboration between the two. After many months of constantly exchanging emails, they finally got together in person in Cape Town. The collaboration not only yielded several great songs but also brought out the best in both of them, as far as their creative collaboration is concerned. The results of their collaboration were most definitely worth keeping for good.

What is Collaborative Songwriting?

Collaborative songwriting is when two or more songwriters work together to come up with new songs from scratch. This could be done either in person or through email. Collaborative songwriting is not a new concept in the music industry. Collaboration between different artists has been happening for ages. Folk artists have always preferred to work with other folk artists. They believed that it’s more inspiring to have a partner with whom you have a deep connection as an artist and as a person.

The Dangers of Collaboration

Now that collaborative songwriting has become more popular in the music industry, more and more people are choosing to go the collaborative route. While it may sound like a great idea on paper, the fact remains that people are different, and collaborating with someone who shares the same artistic sensibilities and skills as you doesn’t always work out well. When two people collaborate, they end up trying to mold each other into someone they’re not. This may seem like a good idea at first, but in the long run, it’s not. You end up with two different people who still want to do what they do best. However, when two people work together, their motivation to create something great is significantly diminished.

How Dutch and Siaax Worked Together for Their Collaboration

Dutch and Siaax first met online through the social media platform Instagram. They had a lot of mutual friends there, which helped them to know each other better. After a while, they decided to meet in person in Cape Town, South Africa. From the very start, their collaboration was a great success. Dutch said that he found working with Siaax to be very inspiring. Six, on her part, said that she too found working with Dutch to be highly motivating. They agreed that it was a great experience. While they worked together, they used both platforms to exchange messages and ideas. It was through these platforms that Dutch and Siaax built an actual relationship. They became friends and then best friends. Then, when it came to creating music together, they used these platforms to communicate and decide on what to work on next. In essence, Dutch and Siaax collaborated through social media platforms and phone calls.

What the Songwriters Got Out of the Collaboration

Working together with someone whom you find highly motivating and inspiring can be a great experience, but it can also be dangerous too. It all depends on how much you listen to the person and how open-minded you are with accepting their ideas and skills as yours too. If you’re not open-minded enough, then you might end up losing your motivation when it comes to writing music. This can happen in the best of collaborations. Dutch and Siaax, while they worked together, were open-minded enough to accept each other as they are. They didn’t try to change or mold each other into someone they’re not. They only accepted and respected each other in their fields of expertise and creativity.The collaboration yielded many great songs, including This Dream, Hold Me, and Home.

Final Words

Collaborative songwriting is not a new concept in the music industry. Folk artists have always preferred to work with other folk artists. They believed that it’s more inspiring to have a partner with whom you have a deep connection as an artist and as a person. Dutch and Siaax proved that collaborative songwriting can work, even with two people who don’t share the same artistic sensibilities as you, and who may have very different backgrounds and skills. Collaboration is not easy especially when different personalities are involved. But what makes it even more challenging is when two people have very different artistic sensibilities as well as different skills and backgrounds too; this would make sticking together difficult at times and compromise the best possible outcome that could have been had if both parties were more open-minded and willing to compromise their ideas for the good of the whole project in question instead of taking things into their own hands. The result? They ended up creating some great music together.