Roger Sanchez: Everything in moderation

DJ Roger Sanchez plays some, works some, succeeds a lot

By Mike Prevatt

If there's one group of entertainers who deserve an uninterrupted vacation, it's international DJs. Imagine the constant airport hassles and cross-ocean travel, the never-ending submission stream of third-rate dance anthems to endure, the record store scavenging, the late nights in the studio spent on that elusive artist album or B-side-destined remix work, the label dealings, the sleep deprivation--not exactly the 24/7 glamour lifestyle often assumed by us day-job folk.

In fact, work has become so pervasive for New York house producer/DJ Roger Sanchez, he's left to answering press inquiries via e-mail on holiday--one largely affected by rainstorms but nonetheless suited to private time with the girlfriend. "I did manage to get some sun in, but when it rained, I relaxed indoors [with] massages and naughtiness!" says Sanchez, punctuated with a semicolon-and-right-parenthesis wink.

A weeklong vacation hardly seems sufficient, but for the musician also known as S-Man, Sanchez did not go without his professional rewards. The past year has seen him further promote underground house producers with his Stealth label, a third consecutive summer residency at Pacha, the internationally renowned Ibiza club and the third edition of his beloved Release Yourself CD mix series, which hit record shops late last summer.

Sanchez has allowed "Release Yourself"--also the name of his parties, which have included residencies in both New York and Montreal nightspots, and his global radio show--to become his dominant musical identity, similar to Danny Tenaglia's "Be Yourself" and John Digweed's Bedrock associations.

"For me, `Release Yourself' is a musical journey," says Sanchez. "When I get on the decks, I tend to have an emotional vibe to my music--funky, soulful, tribal [music] and energy mixed together."

That passionate link to music fuels not only the records Sanchez plays during his sets, but his own work as well. He is a celebrated remixer--in 2003, he won a Grammy for his reworking of No Doubt's "Hella Good"--and has produced several dance floor anthems, such as 2001's "Another Chance." That year, Sanchez also released his first artist album, First Contact. He is currently knee-deep in the follow-up record--likely to be released the end of this summer--which he's exercising the same sort of patience with as he did with its predecessor, and his singles for that matter. "The time it takes depends on the song," says Sanchez. "Sometimes it's done in two days, some tracks I work on for a week and go back to it later."

Contrary to his active lifestyle, Sanchez sets limits for himself--a necessary strategizing of both work and play that keeps him from burning out. While 2005 will surely see the continued evolution and promotion of "Release Yourself" in the clubs, he is carefully honing his musical philosophy in the studio as well, vowing to make songwriting and the completion of his next artist record the top priority of the year. He has always measuredly juggled his duties, avoiding the frantic and hedonistic reputation of some of his more carefree peers.

"I think I have always been able to function well and play long sets and travel intensely and not get sick or collapse because I keep my head straight," says Sanchez. "I like to have fun, but I know how to keep it in hand!"

Equally even-handed are his views on the struggling dance scene, which has been vulnerable to artistic stagnation, online piracy, governmental scrutiny and an inflated sense of success countering its hardly-mainstream popularity. He accepts how technology has changed the way people hear and obtain dance music, and he points to how the underground dance community has been forced to conduct itself more creatively--and safely--in the wake of anti-rave legislation. Furthermore, he finds a comfort in the natural progression of the dance scene, as well as that of his own career.

"I'm fortunate that I work around the world and my audience tends to be a bit more mature," says Sanchez. "So, the rave laws don't really apply to me. And thank God I can do what I do musically in an independent environment. I think that this is the way forward for the future of dance music."