Track Of The Week: Proper Villians Remixes QRTR's 'Nossa' into a Rave Ready Masterpiece
New York-based artist Proper Villians has reinvented himself throughout his career while always staying ahead of the curve. His latest remix for fellow New Yorker QRTR is another example of how his intelligent sound design and impeccable grooves can elevate an already stellar piece of music.
"Nossa" appears as an interlude on QRTR's 2021 album infina ad nausea. The haunting choral arrangement is accented by clips of dropped calls and an equally haunting backdrop of chimes, swells, and hits.
Proper Villians take is a warped late-night ride to a dark warehouse lit only by a strobe light. The drums are crisp, and as the vocal sample washes out, a devastatingly dirty descending synth plunges you deeper into the rave. The icing on the cake. The voice asking, "Are you fucking serious?" before the last drop. It's a simple touch that's beautifully effective.
When QRTR finished her album and asked him to pick a song to remix, it seemed like an odd choice to choose a two-minute interlude. However, the choral sample was something he knew he could work with.
Initially, the remix flowed from him organically. "I spent like one day on it. And like I got the weird string crazy drop thing and then the intro thing. "
What's remarkable about the source material revealed itself when he asked QRTR for the original sample. You won't find the choral sample on Splice or in any sample library, for that matter.
"I asked her about it. She recorded it in a church. She just took a field recorder and recorded the choir."
The creativity behind both the original and the remix are hallmarks of these two remarkable artists.
