Progressive-Sounds: You have seemed to abandon Solid Sessions to persue SanProject with Roland K. After Solid Session produced the hugely popular Janeiro, why this change in direction?

DJ San: Actually there are two reasons for this change in direction. Through the years, the three of us experienced difficulties in finding enough time to spend together in the studio. At the time we all had daytime jobs and I had to dj a lot too. Cyril & Thymen shared an apartment/home-studio and could produce whenever they wanted. As a result, we simply outgrew each other in the course. When something like this happens, it is best for everyone involved to go their own way. The second reason is that I didn't feel completely sure with the direction our productions were pushed.

Due to the success of 'Janeiro' (the original), the track got remixed a dozen times and made an appearance in various commercial charts throughout Europe. Unfortunately, it wasn't the original that stormed the charts, but a remake of the original with a vocal, which I didn't understand. This is usually the case when I see underground club-hits being transformed into a commercial radio edit; the essence gets lost. How can you ever make a 3 minute track out of a 10 minute original?? The name Solid Sessions got misunderstood by the mass and I didn't want to be part of that…

I couldn't because of the way I'm known as a dj. In the process of leaving Solid Sessions I got a lot of support from my good friend Roland K., a brilliant producer who completely understands the meaning of true underground music. Of course I was a bit reluctant to start any kind of new collaboration due to the circumstances, but we turned out to be so equally tuned that chemistry happened every time we were in the studio together. SanProject was born.

Progressive-Sounds: You have recently had a set air on John Digweed's infamous KISS 100 show. What does that mean for your career and esteem?
DJ San: I don't really know what this means for my career, but with John calling me 'an amazing dj', I trust everything to be allright ;-). This might help me in finding good overseas representation! For things like this I've developed quite a temperate mind. It does good for my self-esteem and gives me a boost to keep on doing what I'm doing.

Progressive-Sounds: If you could travel with only 5 records in your bin over the next month, what would they be?

Digby & Oliver - Sunshower
De Loren & Colors - Nanga
Pressure Down Below & Dj San - Disturbance
D-ren D - Voodoo Sensation
Mark Shimmon - Red Dwarf (SanProject remix)

Progressive-Sounds: What gives you more satisfaction, rocking a crowd with your turntables or getting a stunning reaction from your productions?
DJ San: Both! The suspense you get from playing one of your own tracks to the public for the very first time is indescribable, but so is doing a three turntable mix that brings the public and yourself into a trance. When you do a dj-set the people expect to hear tracks of your own. Sometimes you don't feel like playing your own tracks, because you know them from every little hi-hat to every effect, but that's a luxury problem…

Progressive-Sounds: What can you tell me about the forthcoming Bellboy album?
DJ San: I'm very happy to say that my good friend Chris Cowie (head of Bellboy Records) and I agreed on me mixing the next Best Behavior Album.

Progressive-Sounds: What new SanProject productions and remixes can we expect in the future?
DJ San: Our latest SanProject remix is out now on Decipher Recordings (UK) and has been receiving massive support from the main players! We've just done a SanProject remix of one of Roland's own productions; Roland K - Linked (to be released on Gesture Music, NL) which has been causing quite a stir on CDR. We are working on a new SanProject release as we speak, but the latest SanProject - Whatever is being re-pressed due to its success so this will probably postpone the next release.

Progressive-Sounds: Are there any artists you would like to work with in the future?
DJ San: There are various producers that I find truly amazing. But to start of a collaboration you need more than just respect. You need to have somewhat of a connection with the person involved so that you can truly express yourself. I have always had an enormous amount of respect towards Chris Cowie (UK), the energy this man puts in his productions is remarkable. We got in contact a few years ago and a friendship evolved. We dj'ed together on numerous occasions throughout the world, but never decided to tie the knot when it comes to doing a track together. Only 2 months ago we started planning in doing so!

Progressive-Sounds: This may be too political to answer, but which remix of Janeiro hits closest to home: James Holden, Lemon 8, or P&K?
DJ San: To be honest I can't say I have been happy with the large amount of remixes being done. Still James has delivered a true piece of art, but the remix I asked my friend Harry (Lemon 8) to do -on the original release- does it for me.

Progressive-Sounds: James Holden seems to be a huge supporter of your recent Xelha and Whatever, what do you think it is in your sound that gets his attention?
DJ San: James is a true supporter of driven, melodic progressive, pounding beats with an effective dj-arrangement coupled with intricate synth lines. I couldn't put it any clearer than James himself: "The SanProject stuff harks back to the happy days when progressive wasn't just a clever way of saying 'boring'."

Progressive-Sounds: What does it take for a track to get into one of your DJ sets?
DJ San: Deep and dark, clean and effective, sinister productions with a true emotional feel that comes directly from the heart.

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