Max Hurrell's 'Shots Fired' song scores more than two million streams

Max Hurrell, the Cape Town music producer behind the hit song Zol, keeps winning as his Shots Fired song has received more than two million streams on the online music streaming platform Spotify. On YouTube, it has reached 2.3 million streams.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Wednesday, Hurrell said he collaborated with Axol, a vocalist and producer from Italy. The song was released under the British record label NCS  Music.

“Being with NCS was the main goal. They are a massive entity and we knew they would do wonders for our brand. Axol already had a song under them so he reached out to them and they enjoyed the song and decided to release it officially,” said Hurrell.

Shots Fired is Hurrell's biggest hit yet in terms of online streams. His second-biggest is Demons, a collaboration with German producer Rival and Australian vocalist Veronica Bravo.

Hurrell said Shots Fired is a feel-good song. He said he was happy and in a good mood when he produced it. This could be among the reasons why it has been so successful online.

One fan wrote on YouTube: “This song makes me feel like a millionaire. Anyone else experiencing the same?”

Another wrote: “Why does this make me happy every time I listen to it?”

Hurrell said collaborating with international artists is a good marketing tool and helps expand his brand as he plans to move overseas in the near future.

“I feel like I can take my music to the next level, but I need a level up my skills and overall abilities as a musician. They push me to do better because they work on a certain standard. That also helps when I work with local producers. I can give my knowledge to them,” he said.

Hurrell has been making music since he was 14 years old. He started off as a DJ but decided to expand his skills and knowledge by venturing into music production.

The producer has definitely become a favourite among South African fans of dance music.

He said the response was unexpected.

“It’s been interesting. I felt like an underdog because the genres of music I do are not popular in SA. I want to take people on a musical journey. I went against the grain and learnt you have to stand out and do what you want.

“The irony is that when I’m not doing shows, I blow up. I’m not used to the attention but I'm not letting it get to my head.”