For Your Eyes: Exclusive Interview with San Holo

2018 was a massive year for Dutch DJ, San Holo. Between writing and releasing his first album, album 1, and pulling together an international tour, it was extremely busy, but also super rewarding.

Releasing a full-length album is not common practice in the EDM industry, but San Holo’s indie background had him determined to tell a complete story the way only an album can. He wrote and recorded the entire album in less than 7 months, creating an intimate time capsule of his life in 2018. The focus: love, of course. San Holo tackled the way love means something different to each of us, and the dissonance that it can create between people.

In his quest to tell this story while bridging the gap between indie and EDM, San Holo developed a clear concept for his sounds. He wanted to incorporate real instruments and knew exactly how he wanted each to be used, even if that meant breaking from tradition. For instance, he spent 2018 listening to the instrumental rock group, Explosion in the Sky, as inspiration as he worked to move the guitar sound from shedding solos to mellifluous accompaniment.

His dedication to creating something new definitely paid off. album1 is a gorgeous, genre-defying album that’s really resonated with fans. And while he’s smack in the middle the album1 bus tour, San Holo is already writing new music. We cannot wait to see what he creates next!

Until then, check out our interview with San Holo below and jam out to album1 and all the rest of his music on iHeartRadio!