INTRODUCING: ERIK SANDERS
The stoic nature of Erik Sanders is often juxtaposed against his choice of appearance. For modern-day artists, branding and showmanship go hand in hand. Erik spent the past few years developing the tools that he believes sets him apart: music and fashion. In anticipation of his upcoming debut project ‘BREATHE’, we shared space and discussed his story in depth.
Interview — MATHEW SIEBUHR
Photographs — SEAN PYKE
Fashion Stylist — ALLY-ROSE
How are you feeling after the single release and with the upcoming album drop approaching?
I think the main thing I’m feeling right now is super eager. My manager has just been enforcing the importance of making everything line up and make sense. In terms of time frame, since the announcement of this album to now, I’ve managed to record a whole other albums worth of content, and its so much more progressed compared to ‘Breathe’, so I’m just eager hey.
It sounds like you’ve got enough content to potentially drop a double album?
Well initially the aim was to drop a Halloween EP, but we had to retract and just chill, and we’ll probably go with singles after that. We’ve got so much music right now and I feel like - kinda 08’ Lil’ Wayne and Gucci Mayne hard drives. I’m not kidding when I say I have so many songs, and as a team we just had to restructure it and put out the project and put a sh*t ton of singles. I don’t want to act like I don’t care about the project because I’ve got to, we’ve put a lot of effort into it, but yeah - just eager man.
I haven’t had many conversations with artists who would admit to that. Where, you’re so self observant with your development where you can compare the new work with the older work and already see the progress. What’s the vibes with the new stuff?
When ‘BREATHE’ comes out, people will see what I was doing - because BREATHE was all recorded last year. They’ll be able to see what I was trying to do, and then they’ll see what it’s formed into. Like I was saying at the listening party, I really wanted it to sound energising, like a driving experience, and I feel like the new songs really capture that as an experience. I’ve always been fascinated with arcades and like, Japanese car racing games. I always paid attention to rave music and shuffle music because of the energy. So with the new songs, we’ve create a lot of the melodies and beats to be energising. BREATHE feels like I’m about to do something.
“I want to be seen as a pioneer in the cultural aspect of things, where music and fashion comes together.”
— ERIK SANDERS
Everybody has obstacles to overcome within the creative scene, what’s been the biggest challenges for you?
A lot of people don’t know my story in that, they don’t know where I came from or why I look the way I look. I kinda wanted to fuck my life up as a teenager - I was just a knucklehead. As cliche as that is coming from where I’m from, that was the reality at the time. I didn’t give myself many options in my personal life, but after all that sh*t, I became a fashion student at Uni. And then eventually I just said “f*ck it, Ima rap”. The biggest challenge was finding a balance between the hood sh*t that I love, but I also love the newer nostalgic, pop style sh*t.
The current popular format of Aus hip hop is drill, and it often becomes the ‘lowest hanging fruit’ for artists to try that style. What makes you so confident in going against the grain?
I always say to my manager that it’s so perfect for drill to be the biggest thing right now. I don’t have 10 other rappers in my ‘lane’ that sound like me. I want to be seen as a pioneer in the cultural aspect of things, where music and fashion comes together. We’re yet to see that over here in Australia.
Was it initially a marketing goal in that aspect to try and excel in fashion? Or was it just something you pursued because of interest?
I was probably 18 or 19 when I did it. I hadn’t even fully decided I wanted to make music, I only properly decided to pursue music when I came out with ‘In the Air’ with AllDay. I could always rap, I was always rapping, but I was a super fan and a super consumer of shit and that’s what makes me who I am. I’m a super fan of sport, I’m a super fan of artists, I’m a super fan of designers. It wasn’t really a conscious decision, but now that I think about it, it’s helped me so much. I’m gonna be coming out with my own merch, and I want my mercy to snowball into my own brand.
We haven’t really had a hip hop artist that transcends beyond ‘more than just music’, do you see that as a challenge in itself?
100%, I mean even when we chose the name ‘Erik Sanders’, we wanted that sh*t to ring off like ‘Mr T. I loved Mr T growing up because of how they branded him, and you can put him anywhere and he stands alone. I wanted to have that same affect as a rapper.
I think a big concern is boxing yourself in as a brand, and putting limits or capacities to where you can be consumed as a product, is that something you try and avoid?
Yeah for sure, my biggest critic is my mum and my dad. I’ll be in the car with my mum or dad and I’ll show them my new demos like - “what do you think of this?”. If my mum likes the majority of my songs, I’m cool with that. Like if my boys f*ck with this, my mum f*cks with this and my friends f*ck with this? Then I know it’s something that a lot of people can see what I was trying to achieve.
I wanna know what it is that you hope younger listeners get out of your music?
Man, I think the main thing I want people to get out of this, is like: when I was watching Jay Z ‘Girls Girls Girls’. When I saw that, it kinda made me figure what I wanted to be and who I was in that moment. So when I put my stuff out there, I hope it has the same type of effect. I know I’m not going to be here forever, I just want to try and create something that will be here forever.
MAKING OF THE SHOOT
FOLLOW ERIK SANDERS
TEAM CREDITS
Photographs — SEAN PYKE @sean.pyke
Fashion Stylist — ALLY-ROSE @aally.rose
Interview — MATHEW SIEBURH @mateo_tololo
LOCATION — H86 STUDIOS | SIX DEGREES STUDIOS