Sandy Rivera is a very rare and unique artist in the dance music world. He maintains both global popularity and respect within an industry where fads come and go as quickly as shooting stars. He has been labeled an “ascending star” – something he feels he is still quite accurate – although he told ITM that he feels that he is working at “75 percent of [my] musical capacity”. Releasing successful cut after cut since 1992, tunes such as ‘Finally’ and ‘I Can’t Stop’ under his Kings of Tomorrow moniker just stand out in the array of hits he has delivered. His ability to mix beats and tempos and create a funky vibe second to none ensures that no matter what musical taste you subscribe to, he’s likely to appeal.
The last time that Sandy was in Australia was around twelve months ago. At about this time, a bidding wars was occurring over the release rights for what was dubbed “a huge dance record”. UK label Data won the rights, and Dada’s ‘Lollipop’ single was released, featuring Sandy’s debut as a vocalist. The song has subsequently taken the dance world by storm. It has proven to be a huge record; and it is no less popular today than when it was first released. The resulting success has had huge flow-on effects for Sandy too, “It feels like I’m starting again [my music career],” he told ITM recently.
This, of course, seems a little out of the ordinary for an already successful DJ and producer. He has carved working relationships with the likes of Burt Barcharach and Parliament’s Darry Dixon. He’s worked with the Fugees, and the list of denizen fans that sample his work include Ben Watt, Pete Tong and Junior Jack. 4 years ago he relocated from his native New York to London, and ever since has had a succession of DJ friendly hits delivered through his Deep Vision record label. Always modest, and possessing a strong sense of humor, his life prior to ‘Lollipop’ seems, well, quite extraordinary.
“I was happy with my life in general, I’m very grateful. Y’know I’ve been traveling and lucky doing what I love. I’ve always been amazed, but now it’s like icing on the cake.” It is perhaps the new performance element that has been integral to fueling the renaissance. His versatile musical stylings are only growing new branches. “It’s weird, I look at my music differently now, I’m finishing tracks in a day now. I’ve just finished working on a new release with Haze [a Malaysian DJ] and I’m finishing off my own album, as well as doing stuff with Raye. Whereas it might have taken a year or two years to finish projects before, now I’m doing it a lot faster.”
Explaining that before the release of ‘Lollipop’ he was “more in the background, and not into interviews much,” a new confidence has emerged for Sandy, and he attributes this to the new vocalist/performer role. It’s a position he hadn’t tried until this point of his career. “I love performing on stage. I love jumping on stage and doing shows a lot, the time goes so quickly you know? It’s all been very positive at so many different levels.” Certainly England’s much talked about weather might be a factor for his success “The weather helps, because in England it rains a lot, and you do more because you can’t go outside, you know the environment dictates that you do more and stick with it.”
With such a positive response to ‘Lollipop’, one has to wonder if Sandy is beginning to grow tired of the track yet. When asked, he couldn’t help but laugh before offering his response. “You mean every time I walk into an ice-cream shop and there’s that song [playing]? No I’m not sick of it yet, it’s a groovy funky track. Also, I’m actually performing now, which is new for me and I love it. The lyrics could have almost been too sickly, but they aren’t and it’s worked, and it’s a commercial success, I’m proud of that. Most of the time I just find it funny.”
The universal popularity of his music has seen Sandy tour extensively. Whether it’s playing in clubs in far-flung locales like Tunisia or China, or outdoor festivals in more exotic destinations like Spain or Australia, there has been no let up in the volume of people seeking out the maestro’s touch. It’s lucky as this is another area that Sandy finds a constant inspiration for his music. “As a young kid, my life was bubbling with music, I wanted to learn. I’m a musician, I’ve recently been talking about this quite a bit with other musicians, and the thing is if it’s in your blood and soul, the essence of who you are, you don’t want to stop y’know. You don’t want to stop performing; you don’t want to stop doing what you love. I love going out to clubs and venues, there is so much talent and originalness [sic] out there. I’ll often see DJs that no one knows, often I don’t get a chance to learn their names, and they constantly amaze me”
On tour, though, sometimes things just don’t go to plan. Sandy told ITM a story which highlights his cool headed approach to performing. “He’d [another DJ] finished his set early, I was in the toilet and I had the promoter banging on the door asking me to get on stage, I was like, literally, ‘well I need to finish here first’. So I got on stage and I didn’t even look at my records, I just grabbed the first thing that was on top which was a Daft Punk record, and played that, the crowd really got into it – sometimes people can criticise you without knowing the full background or details, but so much with DJing is about the crowd and the venue”.
Fans of Sandy Rivera will be well aware that the Kings of Tomorrow website has been out of commission for some time. There is a good reason for this, as Sandy revealed that his new site is almost ready. It’s been 9 months in the making, and features an unbelievable 50,000 pictures, as well as recorded footage from his tours. There will be music aplenty as well, so expect about 40 new tunes and 4 albums. Sandy tells ITM that the structure is designed to have a “domino type effect”, and that the development of this website has opened a “whole new big area for me.”
Sandy’s newfound love of the internet doesn’t mean he’s lost his old skool roots, however, as he describes himself as a “bit of an ole geezer”, and is still collecting around 800 records a year. This is all in spit of the fact that “you don’t even need to carry a record box anymore to be a DJ you know?” Sandy going on to explain, “I’ve got tonnes of records, and I really love the 12” process, it’s the perfect way to hear music. That’s something that new comers need to realise, I think, pushing the volume up and getting this weird digital distortion, it’s… erghhh! Good sounds and old skool sounds are meaty y’know.”
Sandy describes Australia as being “a place I’d love to move to, if it weren’t so geographically far away,” and Sandy has footage of “crowds going crazy” from the last time he toured. True to keeping with his versatile approach, exactly what you’re likely to hear on his upcoming tour wont be decided until the moment he steps up to the decks. “I play so many different styles of music, it’s a joke you know? It depends on the crowds and the venues.” One thing is for certain though; we will be treated to many sweet sounds, one of them of course being ‘Lollipop’.
Sandy Rivera’s single ‘Lollipop’ is available locally through Ministry Of Sound/EMI. He visits Australia this weekend:
Fri Jun 8 – Ambar, Perth
Sat Jun 9 – Billboard, Melbourne
Sun Jun 10 – Sounds on Sunday, Sydney
