Max HeyraudSara Landry hailing from Texas has been soaring through the industrial techno scene within the last couple of years. Sara has nailed down a clean-cut yet raw techno sound that’s become symbolic with parties such as Possession and Raw.
Releases on Raw, Techno Germany, Crisis of Man, and more are sealing Sara Landrys name as one of the fastest rising stars in industrial techno today. Sara has garnered respect from industry tastemakers and lobbyers such as such as Possession, Perc, 999999999, I Hate Models, Amelie Lens, Nico Moreno, VTSS, SPFDJ, Shlømo, Cera Khin, DYEN, Adam Beyer and more.
2021 has seen Sara take her climb up the spectrum of the techno community to new heights, starting the year off with a bang as she released an EP with French heavyweights Raw, with Nico Moreno on remix duties. Following on from this Sara released a mammoth EP with Techno Germany that came with great acclaim. The Texas native also nailed down mixes on lauded platforms; BCCO, 6AM Group, Boiler Room’s Hard Dance series and more. Check out Sara’s Hard Dance mix here.
Sara’s ambitions to peruse her passion of presenting her uncompromising sound of thundering industrial techno to the world took a new turn this year as she presented her new label Hekate. The imprint is named after The Greek goddess of witchcraft and wild places, Hekate was created to pay homage to the divine feminine.
Congrats on the birth of your new label HEKATE, what inspired you to take up the new venture?
I wanted to own my masters, independently flesh out my creative concepts, and have the ability to take whatever creative risks I want without having to filter that through someone else.
How would you describe the sound of HEKATE?
Witchy warehouse techno.
You have previously spoken about how HEKATE was named after the Greek Goddess and you wanted to pay homage to the divine feminine, would you care to expand on this and to why this may be personal to you?
I think that techno, especially on big speakers, can be a really transcendent experience, and I wanted to create a space that allowed me to explore that freely. I also have been so impressed and inspired by the other emerging women acts in the scene, and love the way that the female perspective influences notions of groove and power. HEKATE was created as a space to celebrate unique perspectives, the power of the feminine, and the transcendent power that techno can have.
Many platforms you feature on are European based, do you find it challenging progressing in a scene that is largely European based?
In some ways, yes, but I’ve had wonderful experiences working with all of the platforms I’ve worked with, and I think I’ve been accepted because I bring fresh ideas, a different perspective, and a highly developed technical skillset.
You are giving your first master class this month, how did you find preparing for this new challenge?
I’ve been teaching for a while now and I’m really excited about the master class! Mostly it’s just been back end clerical work to handle the logistics; the teaching part itself is very fluid and straightforward.
Did you find any source of inspiration while delving into some of your older productions with more of a reflective mind-set?
I can’t listen to my old music since all I hear is what I would change or what I now perceive to be “wrong.”
Your interpretation of techno can lean to a more playful and poppy side of things at times, what would you say to the techno purists or internet trolls that may turn their nose down at this style of techno?
I don’t care what they think; I make music for me. I have a lot of respect for the origins of techno and the groovier tracks, and believe there’s a time and a place for everything. But the thing I’ve noticed about the “purists” is that they tend to be middle aged male keyboard warriors who complain the loudest when they see women having fun and experimenting with new ideas. I like variety. I like experimentation. I like to make things fun and throw in the unexpected, via weird bootlegs, pop culture references, and inside jokes. That’s what makes my music unique and authentic to me. I would rather take risks, sound like me, and create an experience you can only get during an SL set than spend my career pandering to misogynists who will always find something to complain about because they’re upset that I am outperforming them.
You’ve been playing out a heap of unreleased tracks recently, when can we expect to see some fresh Sara Landry material?
Well I had two big releases I’ve been playing a lot slotted for September/October, but those have been pushed back due to vinyl production delays. I have a remix out Sept 24 on Moments In Time, and then will have other tracks and remixes out before the end of the year.
Lastly can you give us an idea on where you would like to take Hekate in the future?
I have a lot of ideas and I’m not allowed to discuss all of them, but I will obviously continue building out the label and the community around the label, as well as moving more in the direction of self-curated live events, like I’ve done in the past with KLUBHAUS.
Sara Landry adds her unique energy to her latest release, which is the remix of Rudosa’s ‘Passive Submission’, by upping the tempo and adding a dirty acid line to the main motifs for that essential mid-90s squat party mayhem. You can purchase it here.