| JJazproJect In The House with
Sandy Rivera…
Friday October 31st found Sandy paying a visit to Glasgow for the first time.
Scott Wilson and Dean Serafini made the
short drive through for a couple of beers and a chat with
him as he prepared for his set at Cube.
So where do you start then? Sandy Rivera is
an accomplished DJ and producer who is probably
best known for his work as Kings Of Tomorrow. He runs Deep Vision
records and has released material for Distance and most notably Defected
here in the UK.
At 32, Sandy is, in his own words, “..still kinda’ young” despite
having a CV most other DJs would envy. “The first record I bought
was by Eric B & Rakim. I remember it
well cause I got turntables and a mixer the same day.” As for his
memories of the house scene in it’s early days, Hearing the likes
of Louie Vega and Marshall Jefferson play live he found that house
music had “the same vibe as hip hop…it was soulful and cool”
As for his influences, in addition to hip hop, Sandy lists Jazz as a major influence on his music. He’s taken advice from Nile
Rogers and talks enthusiastically about the music of Miles Davis,
Patrick Adams and John Coltrane.
Sandy’s best known track to date is probably “Finally”, which features the sublime
vocals of Julie McKnight. It turns out that the introduction came
very close to home, Julie being his ex partner’s cousin. “It was
really cool, she came down, we worked on the track and she slept
on the floor at ours”. Talking about the track itself, “ as we
were putting it together, I knew we had something very special…it
just felt right” Scott enquired about Louie Vega’s involvement and
was met with a candid response, “we just paid his fee, simple as
that”
The rumours are true: Sandy has indeed relocated
to the UK. “Yeah I’ve been here for two weeks now…it was prompted in part by my
divorce. I felt like I had to move so I tried moving to California. After that I spent
six months on tour living out of hotels before I decided to move
to London”. Making the move, Sandy has closed down Deep
Vision in the US and the label will relaunch here in the UK early in 2004. He’s
already making himself at home in London, enjoying the nightlife
at clubs such as Ministry, Fabric and The Cross. “I enjoy going out
to clubs, I also go to a few private parties depending on where my
friends are going.
At
a time when there seems to be an abundance of people ready to criticise
the DJs out there, Sandy chooses not
to single out anyone for either praise or criticism. He explained
why: “every DJ hits a different audience, they could be the worst
DJ I’ve ever heard but to 1500 other people in the audience they
could be the best”. Having played all over the world he has no particular
favourite gigs. “It’s the same vibe you get everywhere…the cultures
might be different but people feel the music in the same way”. Of
the music he’s playing, he’s still getting a major reaction when
he drops “Finally” and of the labels and artists also seeing action
on his dance-floors he quotes MAW, Joey Negro and Soulfuric.
Contrary to opinions voiced in some circles, Sandy does not believe that
the house scene is on its last legs, “it’s a small market, a certain
vibe that contracts and expands”. That said though he’s not happy
for the scene to stay underground and feels that some people could
make better music. “There’s a bunch of 12”s coming out and not enough
albums. We need different kind of songs that reach somewhere else.
My album will be different – I have a few cuts that really push the
envelope”.
If
you ever wondered why some of his releases for Defected have been
under the name Kings of Tomorrow and “Changes” was
released as Sandy Rivera, it turns out that the reasons are political
rather than artistic. Apparently, there was a problem getting to
use the KOT name, hence
the wallpaper effect “I am kings of tomorrow” on the sleeve for “Changes”. We
can happily report that these political obstacles have now been overcome.
Talking about the internet and its effect on
the industry, “The house business is hurting badly from the net and
downloading but R’n’B and hip hop aren’t
because millions still buy the albums”. This fits in with his theory
about house music needing more people within the community to make
albums. “Sales might be low”, he says, “but the vibe fits in this
environment. Even after you’ve been in a club listening to house
music, you can go back to a party at someone’s house and they throw
on some R’n’B. It’s just easier to listen
to…”
As far as the vinyl vs CD
debate goes, Sandy is without doubt someone who appreciates vinyl, especially for the covers
and the artwork, which often accompany them. “I love vinyl but CDs
have
the same sound and we evolve”. Looking forward we can expect a new album from Sandy, which is forthcoming
on Defected on March 14th 2004. He’s definitely trying
to do something different, “pushing the envelope a little further”, as he puts
it.
So after taking up a little of his evening,
it was time for Sandy to entertain the eager crowd at Cube, not to mention the boys from JJaz. More than once I heard people in the club remark on
their eagerness to see and hear him in action. Judging by the dance-floor
throughout his set, they were not disappointed. Starting
at around 12.30, Sandy took the crowd to
new heights, just about taking the roof off with “Finally” and then Hardsoul’s “Back Together”. We were treated to two versions
of “Finally” simultaneously as he toyed with the audience, making
light work mixing the two together.
The
flavour of the night was varied as the typical crowd pleasers were
blended with a few deeper tracks. Throughout
the
set, it became evident that it’s not all about throwing down promo after promo
of the latest unreleased projects. While this was all going, the man himself
seemed to be enjoying himself as he set about his task of keeping the vibe going.
The residents at Cube had also played a varied set before Sandy took over the decks,
last up before the changeover was New Order’s “Blue Monday” with a little extra
drums mixed in.
Finally, all the team at JJazproJect would
like to thank Sandy for taking the time to speak to us. He’d already had a whistle stop tour
of Glasgow since flying in earlier in the evening. We would also like to give a few
people a quick shout for their help in making this article possible. First up, Andrew Destephen in NYC also
to Toni and Tess at Defected.
Available now on Defected
Records. Check out www.defected.co.uk
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