Introducing: San Holo

26 September 2014 | 10:00 am | Pilerats
Originally Appeared In

Meet the Dutch producer Disney are trying to take down, and his new EP, Cosmos.. When I first heard about San Holo I already thought, I'm gonna like this guy, because I like Harrison Ford, and his name honours one of the great Harrison Ford characters - Han Solo. From the Netherlands, San Holo has dropped his new EP, Cosmos, and he makes incredibly catchy and well-thought out future-beats, backed up with super-tight production skills. Unfortunately it appears Disney have also noticed his Star Wars-honouring name, and hit the producer with a cease-and-desist letter, with a strike fee estimated at around $5-$10 million. Which is crazy ridiculous. Anyway we wish him all the best in that situation - in the meantime you can get to know him a little better below, and stream that killer Cosmos EP, 'cause the dude is legit.

Tell us about about yourself?

My name is Sander AKA San Holo. I'm a 23-year-old producer from the Netherlands. I've recently released my debut EP COSMOS on Heroic Recordings. I spend all my time making music.

What kind of tunes we talking?

We're talking about next level tunes. As in, always trying to do something new and fresh. I guess people call it 'Future' these days? Even though I'm not into genres at all, I think the term 'future' is quite fitting. It reflects what a group of current producers are trying to achieve; an innovative, melodic, futuristic sound.

I love it when producers make statements with their music. Like using rare sounds, or just creating parts that make you go like 'Wow, I didn't expect that'. I also try achieve that with my music. It's a way of trying to let your music speak, to let the production vocalize something. Even if it's a track without vocals. I often catch myself listening to the producer's angle, or statement so to say, more than I'm actually listening to the music - so something that might sound horrible to someone else, can still be beautiful to me in a way.

Production/writing process:

I work in Logic 9. I really get inspired by sounds . So messing around with one sample or VST, inspires me to mess around with another, which inspires me to add a specific type of drums etc. etc. So basically one little sound or sample can inspire me to create a whole track around it. Even when I'm walking down the street and hear someone yelling or whatever, a new idea starts in my head.

What do you do outside of San Holo?

I graduated from the conservatory some years ago. I studied guitar and production. I actually play guitar in some bands and projects. When I'm not working on my own music, I'm working on other people's music. Like mixing/mastering a record, producing someone's EP/album, or playing guitar for a specific project. I'm also a guitar teacher. However, when my own music will generate enough income, I'll probably decide to work on my own music 24/7.

Any shows coming up?

Oct 3 at Run The Trap, Rotterdam Worm. I'm currently talking to bookers and scheming things. 

What’s the rest of the year have in store?

You can expect some new releases I'm very excited about. Also some fresh remixes and interesting collabs. I'm planning to release A LOT of music. 

Where can we hear more of your music?