Henry Saiz is the creator of a style that is a combination of his love for all things electronic with a deep passion for art. His music, as well as his work as a sound designer for film and TV has always been marked as forward thinking in approach and groundbreaking upon delivery.

Henry’s influences range from those genres through the full range of electronic music and even to metal, indeed he used to play in a black metal band. He has curated and currently plays in a live band nowadays that is much better suited to disco dancing and tours with them when not recording or DJing.

Henry’s constant growth across the globe has enabled him to spread his music to new audiences and is without a shadow of a doubt one of the brightest prospects the underground realm has to offer today.

“The only way to keep true to my own style is continually changing it, evolving.”

Could you tell us how it all started for you? How did you realize that that’s what you wanted to do professionally?

Since I was a child I’ve always had a special relationship with music. Luckily, my parents have good taste in music so I discovered artist such Vangelis and Mike Oldfield when I was very young. My older brother has also always been passionate about music and he even worked several years as a DJ . When I was a teenager I started playing bass and I had several bands of different genres, but my most important project was black metal oriented. Later I began to study sound engineering and I became interested in the unlimited possibilities of technology. Something I loved about producing electronic music was the creative control that it allowed me. I’ve always knew that my ideal profession should be related to music and after many years of hard work my effort began to be recognized.

What sort of projects did you work on?

I did three cartoon series for Disney and Nickelodeon. I did a lot of commercials and a lot of things for advertising and some documentaries and some design for TV shows. It’s really, really fun to work on that. But, at the end of the day, you are not doing art, you’re doing the things they’re asking for. Of course you put your creativity into it, but the final word is from a guy in a suit in Los Angeles who may say “this sound is not good for business.” It’s well-paid and it’s a great job, but I felt like I really needed to focus on my own music, so I stopped working for them. Now I’ve started doing some ghostwriting for some pop and R&B artists in the UK, which I love. [It’s] really mainstream commercial music like Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue—I love them. I’m also doing some selected films and TV series.

You’ve managed to incorporate vocals into a lot of your work. How important do you think vocals are to a track?

Yeah I’m playing with vocals a lot lately. Vocals are such a great way to put something unique and special on a track, and it’s also a strong form of communication because obviously the message reaches the listener faster and more straight than an abstract sound.

You have the experience of performing in various different places. Would you say you prefer playing in clubs and warehouses or at the festivals and open air parties?

It’s very difficult to choose between the two options. Each one has unique things that I love. When you play in a club there’s a very intimate and special atmosphere and usually the public who go to clubs is people who follow your work. Festivals are also an incredible experience; during the festival days you feel part of a tightly knit community and it’s like you’re transported to a new planet. A few days ago I played with my band at Glastonbury and I can say that the experience is unlike anything else I’ve done before. In addition, festivals are also a very good opportunity for showing your work to a new audience.

When did you start tinkering with production and making your first tracks?

I was listening to lots of Warp Records at the time I was in a black metal band. If you like metal and you like this energy, you can feel almost the same with extreme electronic music and experimental music. So I started to try and figure out how these guys did all this fucking crazy music and all this complexity and technical epicness. The first electronic music album I did by myself was probably ’96 or ’97 I think. It’s funny because it sounds like it could be a new record on Warp or something like that. It’s proper experimental electronic music. I think I have good technical skills now because I started with something really complex in the beginning. I’m going more minimalistic and slow. Sometimes I think I should release these early albums on my label for fun. Maybe I’ll do it someday.

When did you start to play as a Live Performance? Do you prefer to play this way instead of a DJ set

I used to play live before DJing, but I decided to play only live with my band, my music is too complex for only one person on stage, and also I love the band feeling. I love both experiences, can’t decide.

What are your thoughts on the electronic music scene today?

The EDM hype is definitely going down and evolving to something better I think, nobody can predict where all this is going but the fact is lots of people are starting to listening to electronic music because of the hype and then they are moving to let’s say more authentic styles within dance music and discovering artists like me, so that’s good. I don’t really follow any trend and I always do what comes from my heart and feels honest so I actually enjoy what I do instead of focusing on being “cool” and “trendy”.

Your musical language is one that is pretty difficult to describe, yet one that is very simple to enjoy. What do you love the most about your musical style and why? What artists have helped define your current sound?

The thing I’m proud the most about my music is I believe I’ve created my own style and people who know my music can easily recognise me. I think nowadays, it’s important to have your own voice and personality and make honest quality music. Regarding my influences, I have a huge range of musical sources of inspiration. I’m extremely open minded when it comes to music, and I naturally mix all those influences in my music. If I have to mention a few, I’d say all kind of electronic music genres dance related or not, Scandinavian Pop, synth pioneers, Progressive Rock, metal, Classical music, RnB.

Talk to us a bit about your label Natura Soris, what’s the concept?

The concept is short and simple: you, and most importantly, your music have to be unique and honest. This was an approach I started this label with and that’s the approach this label follows until now. It´s important for us to treat our artists not as ´music delivering employees´, but as friends, who share the same passion and similar interests, who have something to say through their music, who constantly evolve and do not limit their creativity, and who aim to make this world a better place through their art. Things were a little slow with the label this year will all the album madness, but next year it turns 10, so we´re preparing all sorts of special things to celebrate.

How do you go about creating a sound that has that evocative power to bring you back to a place in time?

That’s an extremely complicated question. For me, it’s still something magical, sometimes that just happens for some reason that’s beyond us. When a song takes someone to a particular time or place within their memory, it’s a co-creation between them and the song. This is not something I necessarily create when I’m writing the song, it’s a product of my creation, and each listener will have his or her own co-creation.

Where do you find your inspiration and all the enthusiasm?

I know all that is too much to handle and sometimes is really hard. But I couldn’t keep that pace if I wasn’t passionate about my job. The satisfaction I feel when I compose a new track or those moments when I’m enjoying music with my audience always remember me that it worth all the effort.