San Holo Opens Up On Connecting Through Music and Love for Atlanta [INTERVIEW]
By Anastasiia & Stephen Riddle
In a music scene that’s constantly moving forward and always searching for that next sound, the next artist, the newest content, it can get exhausting even for fans to keep up with. To be “in the moment” and enjoy what’s in front of us is an ideal most people strive to achieve, but oftentimes easier said than done.
Sander van Dijck, better known as San Holo, has helped many of his fans achieve this through what he has since labeled “Existential Dance Music” (EDM).
With honest lyrics showing true human emotion, his albums take listeners through stories of life’s ups and downs. And now he’s bringing his very own Existential Dance Music Tour to Atlanta for us to experience these ebbs and flows as one collective existential moment!
We had a chance to “be in the moment” with San Holo for a chat about his music, moments he appreciates, and what it means for him to have fans connect personally to his music.
Atlanta EDM: How did you get started in music and did you always envision bringing a live element to your sets?
San Holo: I started as a guitar player when I was 13 years old. I used to play guitar and at some point, it got a little bit stale and boring, and that's when I started discovering beats, making beats, and that kind of brought me to the whole EDM world.
Atlanta EDM: Yeah, sounds like it was a natural transition.
San Holo: Very natural transition. And the funny thing is, when I started making beats and making EDM, a lot of my guitar friends were like, what are you doing? What is this electronic nonsense? Why don't you focus your talent on real music? And years later I'm playing guitar on stage with my new live show. It's been really funny how that developed.
Photo by San Holo
Atlanta EDM: Mental health has become a focal point with many artists over the past few years. In what ways has being able to showcase honest emotions through your lyrics and production helped with your mental health and further your career?
San Holo: I think mental health as a topic is obviously very important, but it was never a choice for me to start advocating mental health per se. It comes to me very naturally. I write about my experiences, I write about real things in life. I write about the lows in life. I write about the highs. And basically, all my music is kind of about navigating through the lows and highs of life. And you can hear it in my songs. “I just want to see the light,” it's all about finding peace. “We rise, we fall,” it's about the lows and highs of life. I got another song called “One Thing.” The lyrics are, “I'm searching all the world for one thing, always chasing after something,” which is what we all do as humans. We all chase something. Mental health is kind of just like if I'm writing about my personal experiences, navigating through this crazy life that we all live, it automatically kind of goes about our struggles and our wins. I think it's all just very honest and real. And you asked also how it furthered my career. I guess people resonate with that. I think we all want to feel connected, and I feel like perhaps people feel seen in my lyrics or my songs in some type of way. That means a lot.
Atlanta EDM: Yeah, absolutely. While social media is important, it can create burnout quicker than ever. Not all comment sections are as positive and kind as yours! What are some positives these platforms can provide artists with that may get overshadowed by the stress of creating content?
San Holo: If you use it the right way, it's a really great tool to share who you are with your followers. I try to be as transparent as possible and as honest as possible about my emotions to my followers. 20 years ago, you didn't have that. You weren't able to really get to know the artist on a deeper level. And I think social media definitely provides that possibility. But what people have to realize is that social media will always be social media, it's never going to be the full truth. The biggest plus side of social media for me is my ability to interact with the people who follow me and listen to my music. They could send me a message or a question about a certain song, and I can directly answer it to them. And I personally check my DMs all the time. And if I see something interesting or someone has a beautiful story about how a certain song helped them through something, I love hearing those stories. So, there is a closer connection between the artist and the audience in that sense.
Atlanta EDM: Have any interactions with your fans through meetups or online ever helped influence any of your tracks?
San Holo: I think on a bigger scale, touring and getting to meet different people from different walks of life, different cities, different cultures, different countries, has completely shaped me as a person. It's like music has shaped me so much. Touring the world has a hundred percent changed me as a person, it opened me up to different cultures, different people, different perspectives on things. And of course, also seeing how some of these songs that I wrote, how personal people experienced it. To see someone touched by your music is a really beautiful thing because I'm like, oh, I'm being honest with my music here. I'm expressing my emotions. And apparently, someone relates to that and connects to that. So it kind of gave me the confidence also to keep doing what I do, because it's all real. Emotions are real. It's a little bit crazy when you release a song, it's just yours. It's just mine. And then you put it out into the world and then suddenly it's not yours anymore. It's like “of the people,” and everyone has their own story with it. It's their own. It's beautiful.
Atlanta EDM: That is beautiful! From intimate venues to the world’s largest main stages to your very own tours, what are some aspects that you appreciate and look forward to from each type of show?
San Holo: Oh, so festivals are great because the energy is a whole other level. It's just a huge ball of energy. That's what festivals are. And then in the smaller venues, I love them because I can see people's faces and I can see their expressions. I can see people cry. If you are at a really big festival, sometimes you can't even see the crowd. So that's a whole different kind of experience and energy. I love all types of shows because I play my own music regardless of whether I'm on a big EDM stage or a small venue.
Photo by San Holo
Atlanta EDM: Whenever you’re checking upcoming tour dates, what’s something you look forward to when you see “Atlanta” is soon?
San Holo: Oh, in the past years, I've only had great shows in Atlanta. Of course, you know how people always scream “ATL HOE” in Atlanta?
Atlanta EDM: Yes. *laughs*
San Holo: The first time I ever played Atlanta; I stopped the music. I thought something was wrong. I was like, what are they saying? And I've never heard of it before. I’m from Holland too, so it's even a bigger cultural difference. I was like, what's going on here? *laughs* Now, the energy in Atlanta is amazing. I have never had a bad show in Atlanta. People turn up.
Atlanta EDM: So, what was your favorite song to write from the new album?
San Holo: It's the last song, “A Moment of Truth,” kind of the closing chapter of the whole album, the closing song. And I really wanted to throw it back to the early San Holo days, with like the drop. It's a very old-school San Holo-sounding drop, and I just wanted kind of bring that back. And I wrote a whole story about this person. The album starts with the question, “Who am I?” And I don't know who I am. That's kind of the main topic of the album. And at the end, this person realizes that she's not her anxiety and she's not her fears, and she's not her thoughts. So, she goes down this list of all the things she's not and realizes that she can't define it because it's a feeling that you can't describe. It's basically about finding the light, and then at some point, she's like, “And even after all this time, I just want to see the light.” And that light for me kind of means inner peace, just being here and now, being at peace.
Atlanta EDM: Lastly, so what can your Atlanta fanbase look forward to in 2024, and do you have any messages for them?
San Holo: What can they expect? Well, they can expect a really existential show on Friday, I'm going to bring my whole production there. It's going to be a special show. And 2024? Generally, what you can expect of me is obviously more music. I'm always making music and I don't think I can announce any festivals yet, so I can't say much about that. But I hope everyone knows that I love Atlanta. I really do. Otherwise, I wouldn't come there every year.
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