As Dave and Tems' collaboration Raindance continues its US Hot 100 run – marking a US breakthrough for the UK rap star – here's a chance to revist our Hitmakers interview with Kyle Evans...
Dave and Tems’ 2025 hit single Raindance stormed to No.1 earlier this year, and according to the rapper’s longtime friend and collaborator Kyle Evans, it’s a fitting tribute to its quality. Here, he traces the story of its creation, taking in Dave’s mum’s home cooking, shoulder surgery and 6am finishes...
INTERVIEW: CHARLOTTE KROL
I met Dave about 15 years ago at secondary school. We were both learning to play the piano and became rivals in that sense. Neither of us was able to get official lessons, so we’d use the music rooms at school and YouTube to learn film and video game scores that we loved. That continued until our mums eventually bought us keyboards. I started producing a few years later. My first release – a beat that Dave and I made – was actually on his [2017] Game Over EP.
I think when making an album you discuss the artists you respect, who may fit the concept and sonics. Tems was definitely one of them. We all met a little before [Dave’s second album], We’re All Alone In This Together, when he was working in LA.
Then, at the time we were working on the new record, Tems was in London because she was opening for Coldplay, so that gave us the chance to go into the studio together and try something. Raindance started in spring 2025 when Dave and Tems met up at the studio in West London that we were using for creating songs for [Dave’s third album, The Boy Who Played The Harp].
It was a relaxed vibe in the studio. By the time I’d arrive, Dave and Tems would be there listening to each other’s music. Tems had already written the ‘I love you’ part of the song. That was the anchor. Dave started writing around that hook, and when Tems was around, they discussed the lyrics and the feel they were going for. As you can hear, it’s a very positive song. Tems did go away and write more, but a big portion of the magic was created in the room, in the moment, from the vibes of the music and conversations. A lot of Tems’ melodies were freestyled in the room.
Usually, I begin my ideas by sitting at a piano and improvising, which is what I did in this session. As soon as I landed on the Raindance chords, Tems started singing melodies that immediately felt magical. The initial version we left the studio with was super rough, with Tems’ melodies over the piano loop without any structure. When I went through the takes the next day, it was clear to me that there was magic in what we recorded. I structured a rough version of the song, picking out my favourite melodies and adding a drum groove and bass. Even though it was super rough with minimal lyrics, I found it addictive.
But it was left on the backburner for maybe a month or so. Then Dave messaged me saying, ‘I feel it spiritually, this idea, and it’s got a lot of potential,’ so we decided to see it through. We brought in Jim Legxacy, who added a new drum bounce, and Tems also had a crazy drum break, which somehow meshed perfectly. Then me, Jo Caleb and Jonny Leslie – my frequent collaborators – continued to work on it, adding synths, bass, Rhodes, vocal chops and structuring the song. There were versions that were more Afrobeats-leaning that weren’t quite correct, which we scrapped. We felt it should be something more ambiguous, genre-wise.
The ‘shimmy-yay’ and ‘lean with it’ were among the final parts. Dave had a shoulder injury and he wrote those the day he’d been discharged after surgery. I said, ‘We need to get in the studio and finish the song.’ I immediately thought his ‘shimmy-yay’ part was fire. Everyone felt the energy. It’s such a fun lift, it’s cool.
Despite the success that Dave’s had, he still works like he’s trying to break through. Towards the end of the album, he was working essentially seven days a week, leaving the studio at 6am. He always pushes himself and us. But the feature sessions were extremely fun; everyone was having a blast. Dave would bring his mum’s home cooking, which always hit the spot. She’s an amazing cook and her food got us through the longer days!
What definitely contributes to the success of Raindance is its positivity. And it’s a song filled with moments: interpolations from other Dave records, the ‘lean with it/rock with it’, ‘shimmy yay’ parts, the unconventional structure, Tems’ melodies, which we layered and stacked. People look forward to these moments.
It’s difficult to know if a song will be a hit, but from the start I knew how much the chords, Dave’s verses and Tems’ melodies moved me. I was confident about it. The idea of a hit is bigger than all of us. It’s about how those feelings translate to other people from different demographics, different countries and even people who listen to different types of music.
Getting to No.1 with Raindance feels incredible. I think the slow-burn rise to the top actually makes it so much sweeter. The relationship we’ve built in the studio – not just Dave and myself, but also with Jonny and Jo – is one that’s free and creative. If someone has an idea, we’ll always hear it out and be honest. And my relationship with Dave? We’re still the same people, those same kids as when we met. We’re continuing to learn from each other, inspire and push each other, and we have a lot of fun on the way.
