DJ duo Sandeman & Mr Dickie followed their passion for music & moved to London from their home town of Edinburgh and since then they haven’t looked back.
The two talented scotsmen have gained kudos playing some of the coolest parties across the capital.
From querky basements, to superclub the pair’s sets seem to create a real party atmosphere. They style falls under the tech house umbrella but there is a real groove to their sound, and there is always an element of surprise as to what they will drop next.
This year they have been heavily involved with IFIDOTA Music; London based label and artist agency, and they’ll be releasing their first E.P. on the Ifidota imprint this Summer. As well as Djing and producing they are co-promoters of successful free after party “Family Affair” at Platinum Shoreditch where they have had the likes of Claude von Stroke, Tiefschwarz, Dollz at Play join them on the decks.
This summer is set to be an exciting one with forthcoming gigs at Carl Cox & Friends @ Space – Ibiza, Wickerman Festival Scotland, as well as regular appearences at trendy London day party ‘You are We’.
How do you describe your style and sound?
hmmmmmm, we play tech house, but within that genre all sorts of stuff from groovy deep house, to bouncy techno, minimal sounds lots of drrrrrrs, plings, plongs, rolling baselines, muffled vocals, stripped down beats, but fun stuff…music that will make you dance :-)
How does your DJ Partnership work – in terms of styles/sound/who does what etc?
Our sounds vary slightly but I suppose bounce really well of each other. When we play we usually go back to back playing 2 tunes each.. unless one of us is holding the other one up! we having been djing togeteher for a couple years now we kind of know each of our bags inside out so can direct our sets through all things house and techno. there is always that element of surprise when one of us pulls out a secret gem we bought and kept if form the other… so kind of play off each other in that respect always wanting to play a better tune the last…
You are playing Space Terrace for the first time this summer – how did this come about and how excited are you both?!
Very excited! Both frequent visitors to the isle so it i nice we are playing out there this year. Our good friends Scott & Jamie of Filthy Gorgeous Have a few dates in the El Salon for Carl Cox & Friends and asked us to join them on August 11th.
What’s the story behind Family Affair, where you both play every month?
It was originally a New Years Afterparty. The idea was to have a place where all our friends could come together for free after their nights out. A place with no hassles to party or to chill out…. Kinda like an exaggerated house party with a full bar and wicked sound system! The party worked well and in February we decided to roll with the idea and make it a free monthly party with good local talent as well as a surprise guest or two thrown in.
Why should no one be left out of the family?
The phrase “Nobody wants to be left out” was taken from the the famous Sly and the Family Stone.. tune “Its a Family Affair” and suppose it fits as its a party that you dont want to miss out on!
Which family members would you first call if you needed a favour & why?
SANDEMAN: Well that really depends on the favour! but… im gonna go with the soppy answer and say my parents they are very supportive with everything i do.
MR DICKIE: My oldest sister… She is the one that understands me most I guess.
Are there any other musical talents in each of your families, or are you it?!
SANDEMAN: Music has always played a huge roll in my family, from my grandmas piano lessons, to my dads love of rock. 2 older sisters involved in music theatre and dance.
MR DICKIE: My immediate family have always been in to music. In terms of musical talents i’m not too sure…. My mum’s cousin is a Producer out in the States apparently.
You have both been signed to new music label Ifidota. What made you go for this label and why?
IFIDOTA Music head Yarda had a huge part to play in where we are at with the label. He cherry picked ourselves and a few other artists which he thought were pushing a fresh sound around London at the time. The idea that we were asked to be a part of something from scratch which we could grow with appealed to us massively.
You are both working on new productions at the moment, when will they be released, and how do they differ from the music that you DJ?
Yeah we are realeasing our first e.p under IFIDOTA music… we are both newer to the production side of things so its been a big learning curve… we know what sound we want to create but almost been like writing a book but not knowing how to use a pencil!… if you catch my drift. but we are happy withour first release… it is similar to the sounds we usually play… one track is bit more techy with electronic sounds and the second has a slightly more organic housey vibe with lots of drums- perfect for summer.
You can catch Sandeman & Mr Dickie and the rest of the Ifidota crew + Secret Special guests + The Back To Front Records crew at Family Affair this Saturday (20 June) at Platinum, 23-25 Paul Street, London, EC2A.
Don’t be left out of the Family!
Words: Anna Wharton
