Roger Sanchez, The S-Man, chart topping producer and globally revered superstar DJ. The
keystone of the “Release Yourself” concept, recognized and respected the world over for
his compilation cds, club nights and a radio show across Europe and the US which reaches
over 1.2 million listeners a week. The proud owner of ‘Stealth Records’, champion of hidden
talent wherever he encounters it, and one of the most level headed players on the
International dance scene. And, judging by his track record, the dynamo that has propelled
the disco scene into the 21st century and beyond.
Currently Roger Sanchez boasts a monthly residency at Crobar in New York, and a bimonthly
knees-up at Stereo in Montreal, where he plays marathon 14 hour sets on what
he describes as simply the best sound system he has ever encountered. He has also
recently remixed a track for the Cirque de Soleil, and turned his hand to a reworking of
Bassement Jaxx’s ‘Rendez Vous’, which promises to feature on his eagerly awaited
compilation ‘Release Yourself Volume 3’. The summer will also see him return for another
season of Monday nights at Ibiza’s one and only Pacha, making this the 3rd year running
that the sun-kissed connoisseurs of fine house music will be able to get it on to the sounds
of Sanchez. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a massive amount of music to come from
such a small slice of daily life. Time off, if and when the lifestyle permits, is otherwise
dedicated to a love of all things Japanese, from Sushi and Karate to Manga animation.
Roger Sanchez was born and raised in Queens, New York, where he found himself immersed
in a vibrant and explosive youth culture which identified music and dance beyond all else.
It wasn’t long before the young entrepreneur was selling mix-tapes like hot cakes, and
making his mark as a breakdancer in his neighbourhood – a passion which culminated
in a cameo appearance in the movie Breakdance.
In ’89 he first touched base with ‘Strictly Rhythm’ and under their guiding light he released
‘Luv Dancin’, his first club smash (as ‘Underground Solution’ ) less than a year later. Five
years of hard work in the studio left the world with little doubt that the ‘S-Man’ - as he was
becoming widely known – was far and away the most valuable asset on the ‘Strictly Rhythm’
label.
His first imprint ‘One Records’ had followed by ’92, and 1994 saw the launch of ‘Narcotic
Records’, the home of his second club anthem ‘Another Star’. Narcotic was also the
launching platform for ‘Back’, the results of some serious collaboration between Roger
Sanchez, Junior Sanchez and DJ Sneak, under the guise ‘S-Men’, arguably the first dance
music super-power.
Throughout the nineties Roger’s creative input to the dance scene saw him far outreach
many of his US counterparts, and his studio productions now came with the very highest
recommendations. By ’98 he was in The Movies, contributing to the soundtrack of ‘Blade’,
in which his tune ‘Wreck tha Discoteck’ set the tone in one of Tinsel-town’s only credible
nightclub scenes to date. By March of the same year he had achieved an unprecedented
3 songs in the Billboard Top 25, all in the same week, and it was clear to everyone that
Roger Sanchez had truly come of age.
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