Yuval Maayan reached the top of the American dance chart
The Israeli producer and songwriter worked on a track by David Guetta, Tones & I, and Teddy Swims along with Jordy and No/Me — and reached number one on the Billboard chart. Now he tells mako about the process.
Israeli music producer Yuval Maayan recently recorded an impressive achievement: "Gone Gone Gone," the song by David Guetta that he worked on alongside Jordy (Yarden Peleg) and No/Me (Naomi), reached number one on the Billboard Dance Airplay chart.
Despite the success, Maayan is not willing to reveal exactly what the work on Guetta's song looked like, as he collaborated on the track with Tones & I and Teddy Swims.
"I cannot tell about the process behind the scenes," he says in a conversation with mako. "We were specifically asked not to talk about how it happened and to leave it to the artists, so I will respect that."
The achievement on the chart was reached back in December, but for Maayan and his partners, there is now also a physical souvenir that he posted on Instagram. "We are all working on many other cool things, so this did a lot of good," he says. According to him, the success of "Gone Gone Gone" has already influenced the path forward, opening doors for work with bigger artists.
In a period when Israeli artists and creators sometimes face different treatment abroad, Maayan says that at least in his case, nationality did not become an obstacle:
"At least in my experience, being Israeli did not have an effect. You just have to find your people. In my experience, people who would make an issue out of it are not necessarily people I would have had a connection with anyway."
However, he qualifies that others may have different experiences. Maayan, who left Israel, identifies a clear trend in the local music industry, noting a strong leaning towards singer-songwriter directions. According to him, the reality in Israel naturally permeates the music created and consumed there, reflecting the emotionally complex period in the country.
When looking at the next stage and the possibility of working with other big names in the world, Maayan does not think the Israeli passport should stop him:
"In my feeling, at the really high levels and in the world of writing and production, it is not a factor. If someone makes amazing songs, people want amazing songs."
According to him, the difference in attitude towards Israelis is actually found outside the studio, particularly in the world of live performances, which he notes is a bit different, though he is not a part of it.
