So can you remember the first time that you heard house music or the first time that you thought, wow, this is really interesting? And where was that and who was playing?

I'm trying to remember.

I was going to a club in Manhattan.

And again, this is where my... my memory of exactly where I heard house music itself, and it was called, okay, that's house music.

I want to say it might have been Save the Robots.

I think it may have been Save the Robots.

And it was really interesting because at that point in time, was a combination of kind of these electronic what you would now almost call breakbeat tracks and there was a lot of european tracks you know alexander robotnik things like that that were in the mix then some disco and some funk but when house kind of the chicago house started coming in with really stripped back drum machine basics very much emulating what disco was doing it was a sharp counterpoint to what freestyle music was doing, because freestyle had kind of like the hip hop sped up beats.

So how did these records get into your hands? How did that happen?

So from your dancing in the early days, when did you then transition to DJing and what inspired you to do that?

So after I kind of had that first taste of what it was like, I then started buying records, took over my mom's deck, went and was working at different jobs at grocery stores.

One deck.

One deck.

And then I saved up money to buy another deck.

And then I bought my first mixer, which was a Gemini mixer.

mixer.

Let's talk about this linear review of what you've done over the years.

And if it doesn't work out, you could always fall back on architecture.

Interestingly enough, my father has been someone who has been very heavily educational oriented my entire life.

So like when the kids on Saturdays were outside playing, I had assignments to do before I was allowed to go out and play.

And what my father did is he instilled a very powerful work ethic in myself and in my brother and my family.

And it's something that I think is the reason why I was able to be where I'm at right now, because the work it takes to do what I do and to really follow your dreams of the arts requires a lot of diligence and a lot of effort.

The reason I started DJing was I used to be a breakdancer when I was a kid.

So I was like 13 years old.

What, how does Roger go through rabbit holes and then maybe other people in the creative or entertainment industry kind of let those overwhelm? Like, what could you say to that? And I think, you know, my main question is how did that impact you? You know, when we lost Tim, like how much of an impact was that on you?

For the best in underground music.

It's a house thing.

Jumping and grinding As if they

is Release

Yourself with me, Roger Sanchez.

You're listening to my set recorded live at Flower Power in Pacha, Ibiza.

Last year, I played at Flower Power, but this year, I think we've taken things up a notch to the next level.

Definitely, the production has really become immersive.

How would you say sort of place and space influence, you know, the music that you make specifically, perhaps, you know, referring to Ibiza compared to New York?

I think we are a product of our environment and our experiences.

Growing up in New York was very formative for me in the different influences musically that I was exposed to, everything from what became hip-hop to Latin music, disco, funk, soul, I was able to be right in the middle of that in New York City.

The Latin element's always been very strong as a cultural part because my parents are from the Dominican Republic, and even though I grew up in New York, Latin music was always very much a part of our household.

But then hip hop became a very big part.

And when I first started DJing, breaks and funk and the hip hop aesthetic was part of what I did as well as my technical ability as a DJ.

I really honed that part with hip hop.

i mean what personal struggles have you faced in that way because you said you know uh it's it's about the people that are around you the people you surround you where they're probably the most key part of lasting as long as you have done i mean how have you formulated those relationships and built that level of trust and and found that you know perfect circle

How would you say sort of place and space influence, you know, the music that you make specifically, perhaps, you know, referring to Ibiza compared to New York?

I think we are a product of our environment and our experiences.

Growing up in New York was very formative for me in the different influences musically that I was exposed to everything from what became hip-hop to Latin music, disco, funk, soul, I was able to be right in the middle of that in New York City.

The Latin element's always been very strong as a cultural part because my parents are from the Dominican Republic, and even though I grew up in New York, Latin music was always very much a part of our household.

But then hip hop became a very big part.

And when I first started DJing, breaks and funk and the hip hop aesthetic was part of what I did as well as my technical ability as a DJ.

I really honed that part with hip hop.

i think you know you've obviously done more than three decades as one of our favorite djs on the island and i wonder you know when did that production journey sort of come into your life because obviously you were talking with um norman fat boy slim about the 303 and sort of abusing bits of tech and obviously there's quite kind of um rustic pieces of equipment back then and I see you've done this interview with Alpha Theta and obviously things have advanced through so many different phases of technology during your tenure as a DJ and I wonder you know like when did that what was that kind of you know first moment where you sort of sat down and got down to business?