Artist To Artist: Hear & San Proper

Music

Often the most interesting collaborative projects evolve through unexpected chance. A coincidental meeting, a communication of ideas and the discovery of likeminded attributes.

HEAR is the man behind Naissance Musik, an up and coming producer from Lebanon based in Berlin who has previously collaborated with the likes of Move D. San Proper needs little introduction, the Amsterdam based "Doctor" come Rockstar come producer come disco deviant. His affiliation with the likes of Rush Hour, Perlon and many other labels has led to him becoming highly sought after as a dj and musician.

The pair have recently collaborated on a new EP for Naissance Musik, a four track EP with underlying intrigue and an unusual take on the stereotypical notion of dance music. The pair interview one another below:

SAN PROPER

Do you remember the first time you met Dr. Proper? How did we end up producing this EP together?

"We first met at Salon Daomé in Montreal as you were booked to play there. I was excited to meet you as we were both spinning there that night.
The party ended at 3am and we went to my place for the afterparty. We started jamming into the late hours. You stayed over as you were leaving in the early afternoon for a USA tour. You left and I received a phone call from you in the late afternoon telling me that the tour was cancelled due to visa issues. You ended up staying for a week and we started composing music. I moved to Berlin a couple of months later and we met a bunch of times in my studio over the last 3 years to polish the tracks that we had created."

HEAR

What is your first memory of me?

"I think I met you In Montreal. I was supposed to do a tour in the US which was cancelled unfortunately by the border security at the time, which allowed me to stay in Canada's Montreal the following 2 weeks, to jam and work on music with artists like Miguel Graca, Vincent Lemieux, Ohm and yourself, Hear."

SAN PROPER

You have Lebenese roots, right? How did you end up in Berlin via Montreal?

"Yes I was born and grew up in Lebanon. I went to Montreal to study Film Production and fine arts after high school and stayed there for more than 13 years as the city became home. I was already passionate about music and started DJing at parties. Things got more interesting and the crowd was more and more responsive, leading to great venues and festivals. Producing & composing music was also done in parallel. After releasing my first album and record, it was more relevant to be in Europe. Berlin suited me the most as I was always in love with the city since I discovered it in 2009 when I was invited to a festival for a web ad I had directed."

HEAR

Would you live somewhere other than Amsterdam?

"I'm quite ok in Amsterdam, because of my studio, friends and family, but also because it is situated pretty central, has an ok airport to get around quick and in my line of work I travel enough to not have the urge to leave my hometown. It actually makes me wanna get back there. I love House-music and sometimes even feel a bit homesick."

SAN PROPER

Where does the name "Hear" come from?

"It came intuitively, I was listening to music and thinking about a DJ name in 2003. I cannot explain how, similar to how I named my cat ‘Houdini'"

HEAR

Where does "Dr." comes from? Knowing that all people who are familiar with you call you Dr. Proper.

"Made it up when i was younger. Wanted to give myself a degree. Music is therapy in my book, it heals me. I also like to help my friends when they're on a bad trip."

SAN PROPER

Can you tell me something about the director of the videoclip who shot "The Groin" and the rest of the crew? Where did you get the cast from and who ran this production?

"Hany Tamba is an awesome inspiring film Director. He won in 2006 the Cesar for his Short film ‘Aftershave’. After seeing it I had the opportunity to contact him and to show him mine (Doobie Pink or how I quit Being A Party Freak), I felt that he was a very open minded person and outgoing. There was an instant connection and we stayed in good terms all those years, we met numerous times when he completed his features and I always liked his work and the music videos he did. He had a chance to listen to ’The Groin’ during our coffee discussion. He quickly wrote and sent me his vision of the track, the rest is already history resulting in an amazing clip. When I read his idea, and I saw that you were enthusiastic about the project, I felt that it would be an opportunity to have an experienced director that created a story to our music. The Groin is Cheeky, fun and catchy.
I already had some experience in the Film industry directing music videos and working with crews so I searched for the most suitable one. I entirely produced it and ran the production. The cast was chosen over a period of one month, I did plenty of auditions and tried to find characters that fit Hany’s vision, sending him videos to approve. The cast and crew were fantastic and will always be part of the project."

HEAR

What did you feel of the cast and crew? Did you like working with Hany? All in all how do you feel about our video?

"Shooting the video was harder on me than most vids i've done, probably because it was done way more professional. Hany did a splendid job. I really enjoyed the cast and the crew a lot. Bless you all and thanks a lot."

SAN PROPER

What do you feel these tracks are about? And what are Elephantoms?

"A unique taste of both our energies colliding!! It is as much a listening experience to a spiritual body shaking! The EP heads towards a journey and ends with a nice opening! Elephantoms are spirits of elephants, an animal that needs to be saved. It is us discovering the good side of life, having a strong positive spirit."

HEAR

I would like to ask you the same questions: What do you feel these tracks are about? And what are Elephantoms? and how would you interpret the story of it!

"I would suggest people purchase the EP and read the info on the insert. It explains the concept on a romantic note to describe the similarity between club-culture and a herd of elephants among other fun-facts."

SAN PROPER

What is your next move? Do you have any prospects or goals set for yourself?

"My moves are intuitive, depending on the music, I like to improvise. The next one would be to release our EP which is the second one from my Label ‘Naissance Musik’ To continue exploring music and art in general. To Create music in front of exhilarating crowds."

HEAR

How many tattoos do you have? Do you have a good recipe or dish to accompany your music or this EP? Do you have a good recipe or movie to accompany this EP?

"Honestly, i've lost count, but I like to stick with the number of string-instruments as well as my age, so I can get me a new one each year."