Sound Advice: Roger Sanchez

Join Roger Sanchez on Sound Advice, the weekly interview series covering artists’ journeys and their creative process. In this episode, we discuss the legendary NYC DJ/producer’s first album in 20 years, ‘Spectrum,’ modernizing the classic house sound and more. 

Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything SoundCloud offers to elevate their sound, get heard and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile.

On this episode of Sound Advice, we speak to house music legend Roger Sanchez, who’s been moving dancefloors and shaping his unique style for the past three decades. Although known for his huge remixes of Madonna, Daft Punk and No Doubt, among others, and his originals like “Another Chance” and “Go Again,” Roger recently released his first full-length album in 20 years: ‘Spectrum,’ a reflection of the spectrum of colors he sees through sound. 

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Calling in from Ibiza, where he holds a long-running residency at Pacha, we talk about balancing modern production techniques with classic house elements, what influences he keeps from the days of the Paradise Garage and the Loft, the importance of mixing and mastering, and the process of working with a variety of vocalists and collaborators on this new record, from Kele Le Roc to Low Steppa. 

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Roger also talks about the importance of SoundCloud in disseminating his radio shows worldwide and finding new artists, and he shares some advice for up-and-coming DJs on forging their signature sound, understanding local audiences, and staying true to their personal vision.

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LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE FEATURING ROGER SANCHEZ

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LISTEN TO ‘SPECTRUM’ BY ROGER SANCHEZ ON SOUNDCLOUD

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Things We Talked About In This Episode of Sound Advice

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Roger Sanchez Reflects on 30 Years of Ibiza Club Culture and His Pacha DJ Residency

• We begin the conversation with Roger Sanchez’s reflections on his 30-year career in Ibiza, and his Flower Power residency at the famed nightclub, Pacha. The “wild west” vibes of the island’s early club scene and its growing popularity with British and European ravers created “a honeymoon heyday,” he says. 
• Here, he reflects on the people, sounds, atmosphere and memories of his decades of playing and partying on The White Isle, and how he’s worked to blend classic, gritty New York City vibes into the soulful piano house sound that connects with the island’s ravers. You can find out more about Roger Sanchez’s Pacha residency, Flower Power, here.
• As someone who’s performed thousands of sets over those years, he shares advice to fellow artists who are looking to adapt to different crowds on the international circuit. For Roger, it’s all about understanding what’s popular in the different territories, but most importantly, to establish your own sound. If you create your own signature, he says, “it may exclude you from some rooms, but it’ll make the crowds you play for embrace you more fully.” 

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The Making of ‘Spectrum,’ Roger Sanchez’s First Studio Album in 20 Years 

• Roger’s 2026 album, ‘Spectrum,’ is the result of years of writing, producing and collaborating. After a “seed of inspiration” was planted during pandemic lockdowns, he worked between New York City and London on the final result. He reflects that crated the album from 50 tracks down to 13, working with writers, producers, vocalists and audio engineers throughout the entire process. 
• During the making of ‘Spectrum,’ Roger found SoundCloud to be “a useful tool,” especially for  sending private links of tracks-in-progress to his peers for feedback. Now that the album is out, he teases that he may upload unreleased versions of album tracks for his fans on SoundCloud, too. Roger also talks about how he uses SoundCloud to host DJ mixes and recorded radio shows, and connect with fans around the world. “It’s a great place to bring in the inner circle, and give them exclusive, unique things that we don’t put anywhere else,” he says.
• Here, Roger also talks in detail about the collaborative process — including advice to fellow artists on how to approach a session with a vocalist — releasing the album on his own label, Stealth Records, and how the album was inspired by his synaesthesia. When it comes to collaboration in particular, he shares that “it’s not about who does what” in a session, but that the work “is all in service of the song.”

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Roger Sanchez on Blending Classic New York City House and Hip-Hop For His New, Original Tracks 

• Roger Sanchez comes from a rich heritage of groundbreaking DJs and producers in New York City, who shaped house music culture: from clubs like Paradise Garage and the Loft to artists like Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, David Mancuso and others. So how does he pay homage to that heritage in his music today, while not falling into a retro mindset? Here, he talks about how he draws on the “grittiness” of the NYC underground and hip-hop-based sample techniques, and how he blends them with Latin and tribal percussive rhythms and soulful piano sounds, all while using some of his favorite analog gear.
• Part of his process is having an “extensive sample bank,” but as he says, it’s less about the tools and more about the mentality. Giving advice to artists, he shares that the most important thing to focus on is your process of selecting sounds, namely which will stay in a track and which will be left out of a track. 
• Coming from a dance background, Roger likes to imagine himself on a dancefloor during the production process: “How would I move to this?” he shares. Elaborating further, he notes that instinct also comes from his time in the NYC underground, and how DJs like Tony Humphries and Timmy Regisford selected tracks, created their blends, and focused on the atmosphere of the room. 
• This extends to how he approaches remixes today. “I have to hear something appealing in the original,” he says, so that he can “hold onto the original track’s intention” while “bringing it into his club world.” To experience Roger Sanchez on the dancefloor, check out his 2026 tour dates here.
  
  

Links and Extras 

Follow Roger Sanchez’s journey on SoundCloud.
Press play on Roger Sanchez’s 2026 album, ‘Spectrum.’
Follow Stealth Records, Roger Sanchez’s record label.
Hit play on Roger Sanchez’s collaboration with Melanie C, titled “I Don’t Wanna Know.”
Go back to where it all began with Roger Sanchez’s classic 2001 track, “Another Chance.”
Listen to “Love Like This,” Roger Sanchez’s collaborative track with Kele Le Roc. 
Explore some of Roger Sanchez’s wide-ranging influences, including Tony Humphries, Larry Levan and Timmy Regisford, to name a few. 
Listen to the Ibiza Summer Anthems playlist on SoundCloud.
Never miss an episode and follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.

Getting The Most Out of SoundCloud

Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
Learn more about how to make a custom playlist on SoundCloud.
Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with an Artist Pro subscription.
Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
Learn more about getting heard with SoundCloud’s updated algorithm, available to Artist and Artist Pro subscribers.

To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist or Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.

_{CREDITS Host: Vivian Host, Executive Producer: Mike Spinella, Producer: KC Orcutt, Audio Engineer: David “DibS” Shackney, Coordinator: Trevor McGee, Editorial Associate: Lauren Martin}