Ben Samama is a multi-talented, Dutch-born, Grammy-nominated producer, who has just released his co-produced and co-written single for the American pop-rock band, ‘OneRepublic’, called ‘Runaway’. He is now based in Los Angeles and is under the company ‘Bigger Picture Publishing’; plus he has garnered billions of streams on his credited collaborations. The new track incorporates punchy bass slaps and driving drum rhythms to capture the retro essence of the single – a perfect anthem for this summer.

Hi, welcome to ReVamp! You said that producing and writing with OneRepublic was a dream come true – who reached out to who first to make this track?

We worked on the song together! It took a long time to get the production right but I'm so happy with it!

You’ve collaborated with so many different artists, ranging from Lil Wayne to Black Bear to Monsta X, and you said that this track helped you channel your love for 70s rock – do you have a particular genre of music that you lean more in terms of your inspiration?

Anything from the 60s and the 70s is where I live. I jokingly call my style Future Boomer! [laughs]

How did you get started with producing music when you were younger?

My family is all musicians, so I've been surrounded by music all my life, but I didn't start producing until much later when I was 25. It's been a hobby gone out of control. now all my money goes to instruments and plugins.

Is there anyone you’re interested in working with in the future?

Whose leg do I have to hump to meet Mark Ronson around here? 

What’s your creative process like when making a song? What aspect of it do you begin with that starts it all off?

As a true Euro kid, my ear will always go to melody first, even though I've become fluent in English in order to be a great songwriter. I still will love a song for the melody before I even notice the lyrics. I have no idea what D'angelo is talking about, but I sure love all his music to death

You’re now Grammy-nominated! Did you ever foresee this happening when you just started in the music industry? What has the journey been like so far?

Yay! And no, even though I hoped it might happen eventually. When I moved to the US from Amsterdam, I made a deal with myself. If I was gonna leave my country, my family, my friends, I'd only do it to work with my heroes. otherwise, what's the point? I'm slowly getting there, but it's nice to know I'm on the right path.

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