As Martin Garrix continues to prepare for the release of his debut album later this year, his latest single with Bebe Rexha has managed to stave off the anticipation just a bit longer. Their collaboration, “In The Name Of Love”, now has over 22 million plays on Spotify, and Garrix has taken the time to share some insight to his secret formula for crafting a successful track.
Due to the nature of being a traveling DJ, you never know when inspiration can hit. Garrix says his ideas strike in the most unlikely places, in the shower, in bed, on a plane. “I’ll record it on my phone with my own voice, humming. When I get to the studio, I check which melodies work.”
But when it gets time to see which melodies work, and what chords fit best together, Martijn’s acoustic guitar has been his recent favorite for creating ideas. “I sit in my living room for hours trying different chords. I come up with a break, drop, and everything that the song needs to get better. Sometimes it can help to work with a vocalist.”
Regarding “In The Name Of Love” in particular, when asked about what drew him to Rexha as a vocalist, Garrix said “she has that rough edge, but somehow also a very sweet voice.” The collaboration appears to have been an organic process, even though they worked through FaceTime while on opposite sides of the world, Garrix in Amsterdam, and Rexha in Los Angeles.
“We were super honest with each other. She tries some stuff…I have an idea in my head about how I think it should be… [eventually] we came to the point where we were both like, ‘Wow! That’s it!’”