Manchester DJ and producer Sanchez (UK) has been a part of the underground since 2010. His roots run deep as he came up in a musical family and has gone on to turn the heads of heavyweights like Jamie Jones and Roger Sanchez. We caught up with him to discuss his upcoming single, his surging Time Bandits imprint and more.

Hey Ashley, thank you for taking the time to speak to us at Music is 4 Lovers! Where are you joining us from today?

Ibiza.

We heard that your musical roots run deep in your family history. Tell us a bit about your background and where your early influences came from. 

My grandfather had a huge impact on my passion for music, my grandfather is basically the Persian living Mozart/Elvis composing and creating half of the persian chart music since the 80’s to the present day. 

He has taught me many instruments such as keyboard, violin & has taught me everything from notes to melody thought methods which has impacted my creativity towards the dance music I make today. 

What was your experience of growing up in Manchester with its bustling music scene? Did it help to shape your overall sound

Manchester is one of the best cities in the world! 100% BEST IN THE UK! From playing & running Time Bandits at Sankeys up to selling out the biggest venue in Manchester Academy. It has truly had a print within the walls of my heart, how my city has made me feel towards dance music. 

My sound  definitely comes from my Persian/Cuban heritage, also from 7-8 years seasons in Ibiza listening to unbelievable DJ’s playing some naughty tunes haha! But I would say taking little bits from all over the world that have left me with a bit of flavour, it’s safe to say I like to make my own random cocktails and experiments when it comes to my music! 

You’ve been involved in the underground scene for over a decade and have released on labels like La Pera, Happy Techno and now your own Time Bandits. On a personal level, how do you think you have developed during this time as both an artist and label boss?

I have always been so humbled to be booked all over the world! America, Ibiza, Australia, Dubai! So many more places. It’s an unbelievable experience when you can take your passion ANYWHERE and portray it via the love and the authenticity of bringing people together to listen to unbelievable dance music, it’s definitely something that you are grateful for each day!   

My label after 3 years of the hard work, some amazing, crazy adventures to say the least! The past few months they really feel like they’ve started to pay off! Time Bandits has actually been taken on by the biggest distribution in the dance music business ABOVE BOARD, which look after the likes of Defected, Hot Creations, Cuttin Headz, Repopulate Mars + so many more! 

 Since you launched your Time Bandits imprint in 2019 the label has had 8 Beatport number 1’s and still counting, which is an incredible achievement, congratulations! To what do you owe such an incredible streak in just three years?

 

I feel like it’s the artists that have THE FUEGO with their music! It’s also the amazing support of the DJ’s such as Joseph Capriati, Jamie Jones, Marco Carola, Eric Prydz, Paco Osuna + so many more! All the radio stations globally, all the ravers! People who supported and purchased the tracks! so many, it’s countless! 

The label has seen some huge success and is a firm favourite amongst house heads. However like in any business the road to success is not always easy; what did you find most challenging when you started the label?

The support was definitely a struggle from the start, not from the people, mainly from artists, platforms, social media platforms.

It helped a lot the first ever release was from the godfather Roger Sanchez himself, I think that aided and helped us a bit to get traction by artists.

The latest release on Time Bandits sees you join forces with Costa Rican artist Newball. How did you work together to combine your talents for this production?

I love Newball, he’s such a nice guy and also his productions are amazing! He released a huge EP out on Time Bandits earlier this year! I promised we would work with him on something later on in the year in which we made our new single ‘Walk N Talk’.

Any exciting names we should be looking out for on Time Bandits in the future?

Absolutely! We have another huge one from Carlo Lio, Nathan Barato, Myself, Nacho Scoppa, BRODYR + more! 

What has been the highlight of your career to date?    

Playing all over the world and getting to meet all the fascinating, amazing people I do, all the cultures, people I’ve meet its been WILD to say the least!

Sanchez (UK), Newball ‘Walk N Talk’ is out on 12th December on Time Bandits.

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