Daniel Sanchez – a DJ, producer and live specialist – is the bad boy of underground techno in Holland, and has released on labels like 100%, Remote Area and Memento Records. He has recently returned with a brand new record on Witty Tunes, namely ‘Make My Day’ (Reinterpretation Of Classic Grooves Mix) and so we caught up with him for more.
How did you first get into electronic music in Holland?
When I was 11 years old I was with my parents in a big warehouse for some shopping. And on the 4th floor there was the cd shop. I was curious looking around, checking all the crazy pictures of the cd covers. And there was one particular cd that attracted me a lot, with a cover filled with strange people in extrovert dressings.
I bought the CD with my little bit of allowance money and went back home to listen to it.
After that first listen I was completely hooked on the music what was on the cd and start collecting the series of cd’s. After a while I found out it was a mix cd from a famous Amsterdam club IT, a legendary breeding ground for club and house music.
So at age 12 I got completely hooked on electronic music. And on the age of 13 I bought my first Technics SL1200, started to DJ and to buy records. It’s funny because I still play tracks from that period.
Were you part of a scene or did you just learn on your own?
On a certain moment when the harder techno scene was quit big, people needed a bit of fresh air; looking for new music and new artists. So in 2004/2005 there was a new movement in Amsterdam, starting to concentrate on the minimalistic part of the techno music. This was something completely new for many of us, but you felt that people wanted this. So we started to give small parties, and from small to bigger and with success, our new founded scene got bigger and bigger.
Tell us about your live set up…
For me it’s always important to develop yourself in the way of electronics. I mean techno means technology!
I just changed my setup for 2012 and I’m happy about this. I work close with Allen & Heath because it gives me always a trusted feeling to play on their machines.
I use an MacPro with Ableton, NI Traktor, and NI Reaktor. Sometimes I take the NI Maschine with me as well. MacPro are amazing machines to run different standalone programs on the same time.
Everything routed through the Allen & heath Mixer Xone DB4, and routed to Ableton for FX etc. And then 2 times an A & H Xone K2 to control all decks and FX
How long did it take you to put together?
It is experience and it goes with the flow, also the way that the technology develops itself inspires me to put in new elements.
How different is each show?
Small or big events are for sure quite different. But both are amazing to do, because some tracks work better for a bigger crowd, and other for smaller places. Also the connection with the audience differs from place to place, but I love to play every show, it’s what I do.
Do you make music with playing it live in mind?
Yeah it all depends on my idea what I want to do with the music, for instance if I’m working on an album, automatically I try to make it more for the iPod, Car or home-listing. But when I work on EP’s, for the DJ’s, then it has to rock!
Do you prefer big festival gigs or smaller intimate club sessions?
The summer is so amazing, for a couple of months everybody is playing outside, at the festivals or the beach. And when the winter comes, the club season starts again. I love this combination and duality in the seasons.
How did you hook up with Witty Tunes recently?
It’s an American/Dutch label and I like to support and work with Dutch labels, like 100%PURE, BITTEN and of course my own (label) Bla Bla. So the connection was easily made, and the guy’s really liked to work with me.
Tell us about the track you made them…
I was editing some tracks for the Sensation Innerspace shows and I wanted to have something recognizable but in a cool way. So I started to edit this particular track, but at the end I thought: maybe its better to make a completely new track and only use a small part of this well-known sample. So I started to play it and got some good reactions on it. I talked to Witty Tunes about it and they were very enthusiastic to release it.
What else you got coming up?
At August the 5th my new solo release Awakenings EP is coming out on Bla Bla with an amazing rmx of Stefano Noferini. October 8th will be a new 100%pure release Sik EP with 2 remixes from 2 guys I really admire Mauro Picotto and Mladen Tomic! November 18th we release the Volume 3 of DANIEL SANCHEZ FEAT FRIENDS on Bla Bla 039. Three different tracks made with Alberto Pascual, Johnny Kaos, and Cardace & Perazzini
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