40D, MSHU And Zoe Kypri Find Common Ground On ‘Holding On’
- Undrtone Blog
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
Collaboration works best when each artist brings something recognisably their own to the room. For Mozambican-born producer 40D, MSHU and vocalist Zoe Kypri, ‘Holding On’ grew from three different musical perspectives that found common ground without any of them having to force the process.
Their paths initially crossed online. MSHU and 40D connected through social media, while MSHU had approached Kypri several years earlier after discovering her work. For Kypri, agreeing to collaborate came down to something more instinctive than credits or career strategy.
“There was a real sincerity about him and I could feel how much he loves music,” she explains. “I could tell he wasn’t someone chasing anything. He let me do my thing and the song was born.”
That freedom proved important. MSHU had already established the foundations of ‘Holding On’ when he sent the track to Kypri, who immediately connected with the music. 40D then entered the picture, bringing another production perspective shaped partly by the rhythms of his Mozambican heritage.
Traditional sounds remain embedded in 40D’s approach even when their influence is not immediately obvious. “Traditional genres such as Xigubu will bring that raw energy, Marrabenta adds an elegant percussive rhythm, while Pandza, also known as Dzukuta, inspires a youthful spirit,” he says. “All of the above happens naturally without deterring the essence of Afro House.”
On ‘Holding On’, however, he credits MSHU with establishing the melodic framework around which everything else could develop. 40D saw his own role as enhancing its sonic character, “almost like adding colour to a canvas”, while ensuring the right elements carried the emotional weight of the finished track.
For MSHU, the collaboration arrives alongside his debut on Sondela, but he does not see it as a deliberate reinvention. His relationship with house has always been broader than one defined sound.
“I’ve never really seen myself as an artist with one specific direction in the first place,” he says. “For me, house music is much bigger than one particular sound. It represents all the different genres and influences that I love and live.”
The emotional centre of ‘Holding On’ comes from Kypri’s vocal, and its origins are considerably more complex than the relationship narrative it might initially suggest.
The song began as an exploration of the human psyche, inspired by Kypri’s vivid dreams and her fascination with the line separating physical experience from what happens within the mind.
“When I wake up I can still feel the remnants of the emotions that the experiences in my dreams caused,” she explains. “Hence the line ‘which one’s reality’. I find it so interesting that the body cannot differentiate between what happens in the physical and what happens in the mind. It treats both as if they are real.”
Originally titled ‘Mind Control’, the song evolved during a writing session with Jay and Sheamus. They encouraged Kypri to bring its abstract concept towards something more immediately relatable. A recent breakup gave her the route into that second perspective.
She rewrote around half of the record, turning those questions around perception and intuition towards relationships without completely abandoning the original idea.
“It ultimately ended up being about holding on to who I am and not losing any parts of me,” she says. “Never doubting my intuition.”
That balance between personal songwriting and club production became clearer as 40D developed the track further. Kypri remembers receiving the first version following his involvement and immediately recognising the difference, particularly in the final build. MSHU had much the same reaction, recalling that “after the first take from 40D, I immediately knew we were onto something.”
For all three, the breakdown and subsequent drop became the point where ‘Holding On’ properly found its identity.
Its eventual home at Sondela carries a different significance for each artist. 40D already counted releases from the label among his favourite Afro House records, while Kypri had previously met Louie Dunmore in Mexico and remained in contact. She was particularly drawn to the team’s focus on building something with longevity rather than chasing individual moments.
MSHU’s reasoning was equally personal.
“With Sondela, I felt heard as an artist from the very beginning,” he says. “I never had the feeling of being treated like a product. There’s a genuine respect for the artist and the music.”
The release ultimately reflects the value of allowing contrasting backgrounds to coexist. 40D brings a rhythmic language connected to Mozambique, MSHU provides the melodic foundation and Kypri places a deeply personal idea at its centre.
For 40D, the experience reinforced how collaboration can push music somewhere an individual artist might never reach alone. It also created a genuine relationship between the three.
Kypri is currently focused on a run of forthcoming collaborations and her own Zoe Kypri material, while MSHU remains open to wherever the connection might lead next. There are no immediate promises of another record, and perhaps that suits a collaboration that developed without one in the first place.
As MSHU puts it: “I’m always open to anything that feels good and happens naturally.”
