Welcome To Cabana

Album: Hotel Cabana (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the introductory track to British-born Pakistani record producer Shahid "Naughty Boy" Khan's debut album Hotel Cabana. The record is a concept album, based around a luxury hotel where musicians come to perform. This song features singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé and rapper Tinie Tempah.

    Khan explained where the idea came from to Digital Spy. "One of my many early jobs was a waiter at a hotel called The Grove," he said. "It's a luxury hotel. This was in 2005 so it was only later on that I thought about the concept. I became a bit obsessed with them, because I used to see these rich and famous people. They'd spend lavish amounts of money, people would be able to complain more because it was expensive and they'd have affairs. I just think hotels are strange weird places - and luxury hotels even more so."

    "When I was making the album," he continued, "I couldn't just put a bunch of songs together - it would have been easy to do that. So I needed an idea. 'Hotel California' is one of my favorite songs and I just love the whole idea of what you can discuss. It was just a crazy idea that I stuck with."
  • This is one of four songs on the album (eight including the bonus tracks), that features the voice of Sandé . Khan also collaborated on much of the Scottish singer-songwriter's debut album, Our Version of Events, including her hit single "Heaven."
  • Khan asked Tinie Tempah to imagine on this intro track that he was working on Hotel Cabana's front desk.
  • The album was recorded at Cabana Studios, which is located at Ealing Studios in London. The record title was in part inspired by the studio.

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