The driving force behind Kings of Tomorrow, Sandy Rivera has steadily carved a successful niche for himself as one of house music's most innovative craftsmen. In a club-oriented career that has spanned almost a decade, he is a prolific producer, remixer extraordinaire, and DJ in demand.
His first track was delivered in 1992 on the now defunct BlackLabel - his experiences of shopping that track leading him to start up his own label, BlackWiz. BlackWiz allowed Rivera to create the music that he wanted to create, rather than what was the norm. At that time it was hip-hop, and he worked alongside some of the best talent in the US, including the Fugees.
However, ever-changing musical tastes and a desire to develop what was becoming his own distinctive sound encouraged Rivera to seek an alternative outlet to transcend the boundaries of BlackWiz – giving rise to Deep Vision.
Deep Vision has a history of releasing tracks with seismic beat potential, while catering to those who love a sprinkling of silky smooth, sweeping melodies. A collection of Deep Vision tracks have become veritable club staples, including Michelle Weeks' 'Fade To Black', the sublime '10-Minute High' and the mammoth success ‘Come into my Room’ which has been sampled many times over (not least by Everything But the Girl), and will still bring a dance floor to its knees.
Through Kings of Tomorrow (KOT), Rivera has garnered an impressive collection of remixes and original productions. The debut album ‘It's in the Lifestyle’, shows off his production capabilities and features powerhouse performances from Julie McKnight, Littleton Brown and respected Parliament Funkadelic sax player, Darry Dixon.
Releases from the album include ‘Tear it Up’, ‘Young Hearts’ and the eternal anthem ‘Finally’ - released on Defected. Other Defected releases include the classic ‘Changes’ featuring Haze on vocals and ‘I Can’t Stop’ – described by DJ magazine as ‘one of the best house records of the last five years’, plus 'Don't Stop' and 'You've Been On My Mind' under his Soul Vision moniker for the sub-label, Fluential.
Aside from his fantastic double mix for the Ministry Sessions series, he has also mixed the second in the new ‘In The House’ series for Defected, delivering two CDs of full on house music.
As a DJ - most recently seen at Defected’s ‘In the House’ parties at Ministry of Sound, Rivera is a technically accomplished and in demand across the globe, where he drops pumping energetic sets, spiced with deep house and soaring vocals. As part of Defected’s core DJ roster, you can catch him at ‘In The House’ tours thoughout Europe.
Selected Sandy Releases
The King Size E.P. (Distant Music)
Class is in Session (Deep Vision Records)
Soul Vision ‘Don’t Stop’ (Fluential)
Soul Vision ‘You’ve Been On My Mind’ (Fluential)
KOT ‘Finally’ (Defected)
KOT ‘Young Heats’ (Defected)
‘Changes’ (Defected)
‘I Can’t Stop’ (Defected)Remixes
‘Burning Up - Sandy Rivera Mix’ (Azuli Records)
‘Dreams - Sandy's Maximised Mix’ (Distant Music)
‘You've Been On My Mind - Sandy's Ex-Out Mix’ (Fluential)
‘Young Hearts - Sandy Rivera & John 'DNR' Alvarez Dark Mix’ (Defected)
‘Low Down’ (Deep Vision Records)
‘Shelter - Sandy K.O.T. Rivera Mix’ (Purple Music)
‘In The Night - San's Ghetto Mix’ (Distance)
Compilations
The Kings of Tomorrow Sessions (Defected/MoS)
Sandy Rivera In The House (Defected)
Panama, Amsterdam
Club Las Palmas, Rotterdam