Noel Sanger shows there’s no substitute for experience on this enaging 90-minute mix…
A Florida native with a career spanning nearly three decades, Noel Sanger is no stranger to the progressive house and trance sphere. Starting on classic imprints like Limbo and Release Recordings, he went on to work with artists like Erasure, Nadia Ali, John Taylor of Duran Duran, and Markus Schulz.
Today, he runs Dissident Records, a label boasting tracks from artists like Kamilo Sanclemente, Jamie Stevens, Gai Barone, and more.
On this Balance Selections mix, the veteran shows his pedigree with a tight mix of contemporary prog. Featuring tracks and remixes from Lemon8, Michael & Levan, Stiven Rivic, Ruben Karapetyan, and more, this is 90 minutes of class.
1. Graffick – Black Light {1988}
2. Eric Lune and Juan Sapia – Deliverance {Proportion}
3. Ed Steele – Because Of You (NS Edit) {Sprout}
4. Brann [AR] – Deep Pressure {Freegrant}
5, Essco – Jah (Original mix) {Pro B tech}
6. Underher – Lovin You (a Capella) {IAMHER}
7. Wolfram – Control (James Beetham Remix) {Late Night Music}
8. Sean Harvey – SpacialIzed (Keebin Van Reekin Remix) {Mango Alley}
9. Stereolynk – Inside Your Mind (J Lauda Remix) {Dissident}
10. Michael & Levan, Stiven Rivic – Never (Noel Sanger Remix) {Kunai}
11. Kiz Pattison – It’s Got Me (Lemon8 Remix) {Dissident}
12. Moderat – Bad Kingdom (a Capella) {Monkeytown Records}
13. ZAC – Estrela {Sprout}
14. Ruben Karapetyan, Maze 28 – Cosmic Dot (CID Inc Remix) {Mango Alley}
15. Zuccasam – Who Loves {Dissident}
16. Joman – Nirmata (Ranj Kaler Remix) {Dissident}
Name: Noel Sanger
Location: Orlando, FL
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Alias/Producer name: Noel Sanger
Labels affiliated with: Dissident Music. Armada, Spinnin, Black Hole, Coldharbour, Mute, Freegrant.
Music was always a part of my life. My dad was a drummer, guitarist, and lead singer of several regional bands, so it was always a foregone conclusion that I’d do something with music. I was writing songs as young as eight years old. I played guitar and sang in amateur rock bands throughout my teens until I discovered house and techno in my early twenties. That was all she wrote.
I was a radio DJ in the early 1990s and had some freedom to create specialty shows on certain nights. I teamed up with a local goth/industrial DJ named Jimmy for an alternative show on Tuesday nights.
We started hearing some new sounds that really caught my attention, specifically 808 State “Cubik” and Eon “Spice.” This was a new world of sound, and I was never the same. Haha, I suppose I’m dating myself a bit there as well…
I don’t really remember my first clubbing or raving experience, but I do remember the first time I heard real, proper underground house music.
It was my 21st birthday, and my DJ mentor, a friend named Jackson Taylor who also worked at the radio station with me, took me to Warsaw Ballroom in Miami where David Padilla (a Miami legend!) was playing. It was all deep, dubby, Sound Factory NYC type stuff. I had never heard anything like it.
I listen to a wide range of music outside of dance music. I’m super inspired by Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie, Apparat/Moderat, and Depeche Mode. I love a lot of the old metal stuff like Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche.
Lately, I’ve been listening to some modern rock with classic vibes, like Rival Sons, and I’m loving this Canadian duo called Crown Lands who are like the second coming of Rush.
Oh yeah, I love Rush like it’s my job. But I also enjoy fun, poppy indie rock stuff here and there, like this new band called Durry. (If I listed all the producers and DJs that move me… we’d be here all day, and I’d still miss a few!)
I’d have to say 2023’s “Fearless” by Crown Lands. On the dance side, I found Danny Tenaglia’s GU last year to be quite nice!
My studio setup is all in the box, mainly for the convenience factor, meaning, everything is virtual/software.
I have a motorized sit-stand desk so I can move around when I am writing music, and I can take my Macbook with me anywhere to work on music.
I use Eve Audio SC207s and the Slate VSX headphone/studio modeling system which I couldn’t recommend more. It’s amazing.
My home DJ setup is just a Pioneer all-in-one unit, and I just prefer to use the standard CDJs when I play out.
I was doing this in the 90s, and I had my share of schlepping 60 pound record boxes through airports. I’m quite content to bring USBs now!
I’m excited about the next six months of releases on my label, Dissident Music! We have upcoming tracks from myself, Ranj Kaler, Kiz Pattison, Lemon8, Seth Vogt, Oona Dahl, Abstrakt Digital, Zuccasam, and many more.
I also have some other projects in the pipeline, including remixes for other labels and a commercial project with some good friends featuring some nice vocals, and those tracks are being shopped right now.
Additionally, there are upcoming collaborations with Focus FL, Ranj Kaler, Indro Sartorio, and more. I have a side project of non-dancefloor electronica and ambient, with an album that is almost done.
I’m just now getting active again as a DJ—I played more last month than I did in all of 2023. We just started a Dissident Music night in Orlando, which is probably going to be quarterly, and I plan to start up Dissident Radio again as well. For the first time in over a decade, I am available internationally as well.
I made the mix in Ableton, as I usually do, adding a couple of sneaky edits and dropping in a few cheeky a capellas to add a little flavor.
There are some upcoming Dissident releases on there that I am really excited about, as well as my remix of Michael & Levan, Stiven Rivic from last year, which got a lot of positive attention.
It might be Noel Sanger ‘Falling Upward‘ (Original Mix) as I feel it brings together so much of my past, present and future.
Ha! Too much pressure on this one- I like too many widely varied things to choose just one!
I’m not even sure the last time I watched a full movie, yes that is quite sad isn’t it!
Ted Lasso and Schitt’s Creek loom large in my recent enjoyment
Anywhere there are mountains!
