Sandwell District Artist Bio

Sandwell District are one of today’s forerunner Techno collective acts. With support from all quarters (they count Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Norman Nodge and the Berghain crew, Laurent Garnier, Jeff Mills, Sleeparchive, Speedy J, among their many devotees) they have not just blurred the boundaries of techno, but have dissolved them and re-built it in their own unique image…

As stalwarts of the hugely influential Downwards Label, Function and Regis have been breaking down and re-arranging the D.N.A of conventional dance music for over a decade. Sandwell District however is very much it’s own animal and although it shares many of it’s ideals and energy with the iconic Downwards, it is very much a label of the here and now. As Beatportal recently put it, “Influential British techno label Downwards are causing waves with their new imprint Sandwell District, as is Marcel Dettmann, Shed and Sleeparchive, who have all picked up where Downwards left techno in the late 1990s.”

According to Discogs, their releases span 2009 to 2013. Members were David Sumner, Juan Mendez, Karl O’Connor, and Peter Sutton.

Unfortunately, Juan Mendez (aka Silent Servant) died on January 18th, 2024. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.