Roger Sanchez' top 7 Ibiza anthems

Image: Roger Sanchez (source)

Masterful US DJ Roger Sanchez is about to begin another busy season. In summer months he has been a near permanent fixture on Ibiza for the last decade and a half, and as with every place he visits, he wows crowds by using multiple CDJs simultaneously and by manipulating music utilising the full extent of modern DJ technology.

In addition to representing at Glitterbox on Ibiza this summer, Roger Sanchez will also be appearing at, Blackpool Festival between Friday 6th and Sunday 8th July, Suncebeat 9 in Croatia and loads more.

In addition, he's also managing two residencies of his Undr The Radr label, one weekly Sundays at 1-800 Lucky in Wynwood, Miami and a newly announced addition on Thursdays at La Suite in Marbella, which Sanchez describes as an “upscale but intimate venue with a great vibe and great sound”.

Prior to these undertakings, Skiddle caught up with Roger Sanchez to ask what sounds he expects to be big for him this summer. Like an S-Man set itself, he responded with a mixture of beloved classics, secret weapons and with a couple of forthcoming greats.

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Roger Sanchez - 'Another Chance'

My record. It was a transition track for my career. It became such an anthem in Ibiza, people would just lose their minds to it. At that point I had a residency at El Divino and I would play it as the sun was coming up. They had these massive windows, it's right on the bay. The entire club would be bathed in this morning light. Some records just capture a vibe and that was one of them. It's a track that's kept going, but for me it definitely defined the summer of 2001.

Kings Of Tomorrow - 'Finally'

Pretty much one of my all time Ibiza anthems. There's just such a depth of emotion to the track. That also captures the vibe of the year it came out. There was almost a spiritual vibe on Ibiza back then, like a moment of discovery. The scene wasn't as massive over there in that period as it is now. I remember playing it on the terrace at Space, I remember hearing it at Amnesia and Pacha. I always play Sandy Rivera's original mix.

S-Men - 'Who We Are' (forthcoming)

S-Men is DJ Sneak, Junior Sanchez and myself. We released our first single 'Back' in 1997. We reconvened at Mambo Studios on Ibiza last year and made for or five new ideas. It's been a lot of fun getting back together with the boys. We just released a remix of 'Appreciate' by Jesse Rose and Seven Davis Jr, but 'Who We Are' is the first of the tracks finished from last summer.

The disco vibe is really coming back on the island at the moment, especially at Glitterbox, which I'm playing at this summer. Basement Jaxx, Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, Purple Disco Machine are also going to be playing. That sound has found its way back onto the dancefloor. I think people were missing the feel of live instrumentation, even if it's just a sampled loop. The warmth of that sound is something that was missing.

DJ Koze - 'Pick Up'

Continuing on the disco vibe, but this is something you also might hear at a venue like Cafe Mambo. It has the same vocal sample as Midland 'Final Credits' from Gladys Knight & the Pips ‘Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)’. It just feels like summer. It's kinda midtempo, so it's not super fast. A real warm vibe with a loving vocal. I've always enjoyed DJ Koze, he's really talented, some brilliant ideas. I also really like DJ Koze's 'Amygdala' (2016) album. The production is so unique, almost disjointed, but it really, really works. Kudos.

Melé - 'Tribal Layers'

Most of my secret weapons you would never find because they're edits that I've done myself. But this one you can buy. Like the disco sound, the tribal sound has also come back very strong. I love what Mele has been doing. The track by him that I've been killing lately is 'Tribal Layers'. Just one of those tribal percussion tracks that really, really works.

Dennis Cruz - 'El Sueno'

This is another bit of a secret weapon, again with a tribal feel, but this time also with a real Latin edge. Latin vocals are making a major comeback and being in Ibiza especially, the Latin element is really strong. Spanish language vocals always connect with the audience there, so I think this one will grow over the summer.

Nasser Baker - 'Say Something' (forthcoming, watch his Boiler Room NYC set below)

This is more on the underground tech tip and I think it's going to be one you'll hear a lot more of. Yousef sent it to me recently, it's a bit of a weapon. It's coming out on his Circus Recordings label. It's a vocal track, lots of chanting. You're going to hear it I think from a lot of the tech house DJs, but it's one I'm playing in my sets as well. It's a big record. Yousef and I keep trying to schedule me coming to play for him at his Circus night in the UK, but so far we haven't had a chance to do it. But I know his parties are great.

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