At Night — Shakedown
Two Swiss brothers, an American singer and Defected: how Shakedown’s “At Night” reached No. 6 in the UK and topped the dance chart in May 2002.
- Swiss house project of brothers Stéphane Mandrax and Seb K, with American singer Terra Deva.
- Released on Defected on 29 April 2002; No. 6 in the UK and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart.
- Remixed by Kid Crème, Mousse T., Afterlife and Alan Braxe.
“At Night” is a Swiss record with a London label and a Californian voice. Released by Defected in spring 2002, it took Shakedown onto Top of the Pops and into the UK top ten.
Two brothers from Switzerland
Shakedown was the project of two Swiss brothers, Stéphane Mandrax and Sebastien Kohler, aka Seb K. They started out producing tracks for other artists, then recorded demos with singers including Pookie and Terra Deva. Their album You Think You Know, released at the end of 2001, included “At Night”.
Terra Deva
Terra Deva was born in San Jose, California, in 1976 and first became known as a cast member of Disney Channel’s The All New Mickey Mouse Club, which she left in early 1993. She went on to sing on house records for Junior Jack, Erick Morillo and Charles Webster, among others, and was later part of the voice cast of the 2016 video game The Witness. She co-wrote “At Night” with Mandrax; Mandrax and Seb K produced it.
Defected, spring 2002
Defected released “At Night” in the UK on 29 April 2002, on 12-inch, CD and cassette. In May it reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart, and the duo appeared on Top of the Pops. In Australia, where Sony Music released it on 17 June, it topped the ARIA Club Chart. It also reached No. 5 in Greece. The BPI later certified it Platinum. The video follows an escaped convict who wanders into the woods and meets a family of vampires.
The remixes
The single came with a strong remix package. Kid Crème delivered Funksta and club mixes, Mousse T. contributed his “Feel Much Better” mixes, and there were versions by Afterlife and Alan Braxe, plus an a cappella. Shakedown never matched it: “Drowsy with Hope” reached No. 46 in the UK in 2003.
For more from those remixers, read the stories of Mousse T.’s “Horny” and Alan Braxe and Fred Falke’s “Intro”; Braxe was also one third of Stardust, the trio behind “Music Sounds Better With You”.
FAQ
Who sings At Night by Shakedown?
American singer Terra Deva, who co-wrote the song with Stéphane Mandrax.
Who are Shakedown?
A Swiss house project of two brothers, Stéphane Mandrax and Sebastien Kohler, aka Seb K, who produced “At Night”.
How high did At Night chart?
No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart in May 2002. It was later certified Platinum in the UK.
