Sandilé Q&A: “The UK sound scene was always in Germany… It’s super small and ‘underground’, but it’ll be there forever”
Cologne’s Sandilé revels in the sounds of the UK underground
Germany has a much bigger taste for UK dance sounds than many of us might predict. In Berlin, clubs like Gretchen have a strong reputation for their pushing of styles like UK garage and grime. Meanwhile, parties across the capital are increasingly booking in jungle artists – Tim Reaper and Coco Bryce are but a few English artists to be headlining shows in the city soon.
We wouldn’t have predicted for the hardcore continuum to have ‘continued’ in Cologne, though. Today we meet Sandilé, a thriving artist from the city whose practise draws strongly on her musical influence from UK and London-esque sounds – like breakbeat, jungle, UKG and soulful house.
Sandilé’s upcoming EP, ‘Home Again’, mars all these sounds into one healthy, style-blended stew. And of course, it succeeds in reconciling all of said sounds with her native techno. Marking their fourth release to date, the EP is somewhat of a celebratory one for both label and artist. Track four is a wondrous collab with Sandilé’s childhood hero Zed Bias, ‘Bossbias’, proving she’s got the UK’s blessing (though she doesn’t need it).
Since the interplay between Smoke and Stadt isn’t well-documented enough, we caught up with Sandilé in the hopes of shedding some light on how she relates the two scenes…
How did you first discover the sounds of garage and jungle, and why did you resonate with them?
Well… it all started with dubstep, LOL. Benga, or the label Swamp 81, for example, was one of the coolest things out there for me. And I remember back in the day, when Boiler Room started and was a UK thing only, I kind of developed a UK “obsession” because in these very first sessions I saw people feel and celebrate the music, just as I did at that time… I just really enjoyed developing a passion, and really got into it. It was, or perhaps still is, one of the most satisfying feelings ever.
Why do you think these sounds have seen a resurgence in recent years, and why are more artists like yourself beginning to experiment with fusing them all together?
Honestly, to me the quality of (electronic) music hit it’s peak in the 90s. That is, of course, because of all the new sounds and the new ways of producing music without automatically thinking in sub-genres, because you first had to invent that sub-genre, haha… So when people nowadays produce music that’s supposed to bring back the sound people were crazy about 20 years ago, it’s probably a sentimental romanticisation and the attempt of recreation of an era, in which creativity was fueled by the invention of technique and the new possibilities that came with it. To cut it short: That shit was fire, and still is, and that’s why people try to keep that sound, even 20 plus years on.
Is there much of a fanbase for these styles of UK music in Germany? We would have guessed there was in Berlin, but what about Cologne?
The UK sound “scene” was always there… It’s super small and “underground”, but it’ll be there forever. Irrespectively of what’s hip at the time, or how much money you can make with a party… It’s that kind of realness that I appreciate so much… if that makes sense.
Do you have any favourite UK tunes / artists you’d like to share or name as influences?
Zed Bias for sure. Neighbourhood is a track that will always be inside of my heart. The Streets was also an artist, that blew my mind and got me into that kind of music by using jungle/ garage beats here and there on the album “Original Pirate Material”.
Oh… and I just remembered another of my most heard, signature UK-sound tracks: “Next Hype” by Tempa T. Hahahah.
Have you visited London before, and if so what did you make of the scene compared to at home?
Yes I have… but to me they aren’t really comparable, since Germany is more known for techno parties and there isn’t a really big UK sound scene. What also makes a big difference comparing clubbing in London to Germany is the time-frame within the party takes place, since most cities in Germany don’t have a barrier time / curfew, which automatically leads to people coming to the party later during the night.
What about the influence of music from your own home turf? To what extent is German dance music part of your palette? Again are there any particular tunes / artists you’d like to mention?
Cinthie is definitely one of the names to mention here… As well as Black Loops, Cab Drivers, and the label Beste Modus.
How did you link up with Zed Bias? What was it like working with him?
That connection came up (just like so many other things) through Soundcloud. He dropped a lovely comment on one of my tracks, which encouraged me to drop him a private message telling him how his sound has influenced me, and how much I admire his work. So we chatted for a while, and then he asked me to do a remix for him, which I did, and since he was super happy with the outcome, he asked if I was interested in doing a track together (which obviously was one of the biggest honours for me). I was so hyped, it felt unreal. So then we started to send drafts back and forth, which at some point stopped, since Zed went through a rough time, due to health issues. Really glad to see him recovered and back on track today. We’ll probably pick up our work, where we ended it last time, sometime in the future.
Buy ‘Home Again’ EP here: