Eclectic Dutchman and Meoko favourite San Proper recently teamed up with the equally versatile Maayan Nidam to create his fantastic ‘It Was a Night like This’ EP. Released through the consistently left field Belgian house and techno label Lessizmore, the EP’s three tracks are a v-flick at tame, innocuous 4x4 house ; this oozes the dark funk we’ve come to expect from San Proper over the years. A gravelly vocal weaves itself around a squelchy bassline and spaced out percussion in one of the forward leaning constructions that has landed San Proper a string of well-received releases on labels as respected as Rush Hour and Perlon.
Maayan Nidam, along with San Proper’s fellow countryman Tom Trago, stood up to remix duty admirably. The Tel Aviv-born, Berlin-based Nidam (who also operates under the Miss Fitz, Laverne Radix and Spunky Brewster monikers) gave the title track a dark, trippy reimagining that works wonderfully, and also got a chance to flex her hefty creative muscles by creating a similarly psychedelic video to attach to the release. Read our review of the EP here. Because we are such nice guys over here at Meoko HQ, Lessizmore have given us an exclusive download of Maayan Nidam’s unreleased ‘sunset’ remix of ‘It Was a Night Like This’ to share with you all. We’re warning you, it’s funky:
Hi guys! Thank you for taking the time for this interview!
Can you tell us where and how you two met?
I remember meeting Maayan through Zip. I booked her at my first Proper’s Cult night at Trouw’s Verdieping some 5 years ago, if I remember correctly. She gave me a disc with some amazing new cuts and tracks she did. I was charmed with her energy and appearance straight away, and her music later emphasized this even more for me when I listened to the disc!
How did you come in contact with Lessizmore?
Through the amazing parties they did at Fuse in Bruxelles, Belgium. Pierre & Jessica who run the label contacted me to select tracks for an EP, and they also came up with the idea to ask Mayaan to do a remix after they picked “It was a Night like This”.
How did you start your musical partnership?
Maayan and Alex Picone contacted me to do a couple of jams with “The Kicks”, a great project they do together. Very inspirational.
You both approach music in slightly different ways. Which aspects of each other’s style make it appealing to work together?
I would say it comes naturally. Diversity is the key in any partnership.
How did you find working together? Can you share some interesting stories?
Interesting stories? I’ve got an acute black-out all of a sudden, but I’ve enjoyed it every time! That’s why we keep on jamming whenever we can, making sure to make time between all the other collaborations and gigs we do. I consider her a true friend.
Lessizmore released a very cool video on Vimeo for the remix of San Proper’s track by Maayan Nidam. Is there a particular reason why you chose to attach a video to the EP?
I guess it has a bit to do with the fact that a lot of people like to watch stuff while listening. Us too, I guess. It might have something to do with the latest “fad” they call internet and laptops, it’s really catching on this new invention… But we all see colours and images when we hear music, so I think it is actually quite a natural process to combine art-forms like that.
San Proper, you both deliver DJ sets as well as live sets. What do you prefer the most and why?
I prefer to do dj-sets, for they’re longer in general, but I play a lot of own releases and unreleased stuff too. I love to do live-shows as well, but I want to keep it a bit more selective, and do like 5 good sessions a year, perhaps to keep it special.
Do you plan to continue your collaboration in the future?
Hell yes! We’ve got enough up our sleeves, so it would surprise me if not… But we also have some footage ready to be released in my opinion.
Thanks for talking to us, guys. All the best!
Thanks for this little chat. Bless y’all and enjoy our special remix. Check out the rest of the EP!
The 'It Was a Night Like This' EP is out now on www.lessizmore.com. Vinyl only.
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