It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: Sandy Rivera is without doubt one of the most talented house music producers in the world. Whether recording in his own name, under his celebrated Kings Of Tomorrow moniker, or under various other less well-known but equally praiseworthy aliases – Soul Vision and Mysterious People to name but a couple – Sandy has been responsible for an incredible number of timeless records, and remains a champion for the vocal-led, soulful side of house.
Long associated with Defected Records, Sandy’s involvement has increased markedly in recent weeks thanks to some rare and highly anticipated live appearances as Kings Of Tomorrow, and a new record ‘Burn So Deep’ alongside frequent collaborator April: an essential soulful house cut that sees both parties at the absolute top of their games and follows previous, genre-defining releases ‘Fall For You’ and ‘Take Me Back’.
With the record currently riding high in the Traxsource Top 10, and upcoming sets at both Space Ibiza for Glitterbox and AIR Amsterdam for the Strictly Defected ADE Showcase, here we caught up with Sandy and April to discuss the inspiration behind ‘Burn So Deep’, their increasingly fruitful relationship in the studio and why it’s a great time for house music right now.
Thanks for talking to us Sandy. You’ve got a couple of Kings Of Tomorrow appearances coming up for Defected and Glitterbox... is there a big difference between a Sandy Rivera vs. a Kings Of Tomorrow set?
Kings Of Tomorrow sets tend to be rarer. I guess I never really pushed that moniker as much before, at least in terms of pushing Kings Of Tomorrow sets. With Glitterbox and the sound it stands for, those gigs really allow me and anyone else to dig deep into the crates and play a set they perhaps aren’t able to at other nights. Kings Of Tomorrow was always somehow tied into my name and never separated. This is a great time for real house music and the soulful, disco aspect of it all is more relevant these days. A Kings Of Tomorrow set would dive into some proper classics, something I could not really do before and really get into the disco side of things. It's not far from what Kings Of Tomorrow is known for as you can hear with the new ‘Burn So Deep’ single.
Strong vocal tracks seem to be harder and harder to come by these days… do you think a lot of producers just don’t know how to work with them properly? What advice would you give to someone who wants to produce a killer vocal record?
If your set up is based on just a laptop, then you’re not set up for recording vocals. You’re not getting any practice at getting a good recording or dealing with artists who will sing for you. Lots of people send tunes out and wait for vocal to come back. That works sometimes. But if you want to be able to bring out the good qualities in a singer and help develop a song, then you need the singer in front of you. Then it becomes a real session where you are able to zone in for the best and help guide the vocalist in if necessary.
On the recording side of it, you can pick certain styles to record it. It becomes a real effort and at times very stressful, but that’s the best part of making the music. You can't get that original song all the time if you don't get involved in the writing. At the same time some vocalists are really good and don't need to be in the room with you. On that note, you better find some really good singers, writers and people who can come up with a hook. When April and I are in the studio, we work hard, we have a great vibe together and that comes out in the tunes.
How have your recording techniques changed over the years?
Sequencers back then were very loose with the whole MIDI thing. Everything was analogue to begin with and in a way, that has come full circle. If you’re an analogue junkie like me, then some things have not changed so much. Tracking to tape has changed a lot. From tape to a DAT to digital recordings and now people feel the need to go back again. I think an extremely good mic, pre-amp and compressor is essential. If you record everything through that and into the digital domain, you are at a good analogue start.
Tell us about how your new track ‘Burn So Deep’ came about?
I always try a few different ideas, but am always very specific in where I want the track to go. ‘Burn So Deep’ came out of a very specific idea. We had the lyrics and we just needed the perfect music to allow the vocal to flourish. With that in mind, we tried a disco version in a different key to the original track, so re-recorded the vocals to the disco mix and added a new hook. Once we had the final vocals done, I moved into doing the ‘Classic Soulful Mix’ and that became the package we released on Traxsource. We worked really hard on it, but the actual original version won’t be released as the two version we did just worked.
How do you decide what vocalists to feature on your records?
Most vocalists on all my past records I knew and have been in the room with them to write and record. Now we’re finishing some songs with singers I have not really met yet and I’m getting songs done where I am not there, though I much prefer to record the vocalist and be part of the session. It’s the only part of music that seems real to me. To only get sent the vocals as digital files is still hard for me to deal with.
April, tell us about working with Sandy… you two have made some incredible records together, and seem to have a very fruitful relationship?
Thanks! Sandy is a great guy. Working with him is always so much fun and we just seem to get it when we are in the studio together. We bounce off each other really well and we have become really good friends over the years as well as working together musically.
Relationships seem to inform a lot of your lyrics, do you draw on personal experiences when you write?
Yes definitely! I mean everyone goes through relationship in one way or another, so I try to keep it general but it always starts from a personal experience I guess, whether I realise it or not at the time. Sometimes I will finish writing a song and then be like “damn, that’s how you’ve been feeling all this time!”
What was the inspiration behind ‘Burn So Deep’ especially?
Well I think that many people look for love in the wrong places and can usually end up getting hurt. So it was just really about saying that sometimes we think we are in the right situation, but actually you don't really know until the right thing or person comes along. So let it burn!
Sandy, is there anyone that you’d love to work with past or present?
We have reached out to Michelle Weeks for a new record. We did ‘10 Minute High’ back in the day and a girl from Toronto called Nisha is the latest new singer I’ve got a collab going with – she’s dope. As far as a legend that I’d like to work with, it’s gotta be Mary J Blige. I’d love to spend a couple of days in the lab with her writing a house record.
What are your thoughts on the current house music scene?
A lot of the current stuff I really dig. There’s a big throwback to the 90’s scene going on which is cool when it’s done right; respect and knowledge. But so much has changed; fake seems to be the new cool. Ghost producers are now a must have for certain people who can’t actually make music and have a busy touring schedule. It really sucks how the audience love someone for the records they don’t make, but I guess that’s just the music business scene these days.
'Burn So Deep' is out now - buy from Beatport / Traxsource / DStore
Sandy plays as Kings Of Tomorrow at Space Ibiza 04 September, AIR Amsterdam 16 October and Great Suffolk St. Warehouse 17 October - full line-up and tickets
