Today we’d like to introduce you to Darius Sanders.
Darius, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Germany — my dad was in the Air Force — and we moved to Texas when I was six. Even before I picked up an instrument, I was drawn to instrumental music (specifically funk, jazz, R&B and Hip-Hop) and beats — from around age 5, that’s what I gravitated toward more than anything with lyrics. So in a way, production was already in my ear before I ever touched a saxophone.
The sax came at 11, and it became my main instrument through high school, where I played jazz band, concert band, and marching band — three very different disciplines that each taught me something different about timing, tone, and playing well with others.
Around that same time, I got into DJing and became a founding member of my high school’s DJ club. That’s really what pulled me into production — I started thinking in terms of beats, transitions, and building tracks rather than just playing sheet music. It also connected back to that early love of instrumentals; I’d been discovering that world since 2011, digging through SoundCloud and finding producers like J.Robb, ROM, Deekapz, Flwr Chyld, Monte Booker, and the rest of the Soulection camp. That sound was a huge influence through college and on how I approach production, so when a beat I collaborated on with one of my influences, KMB, eventually got featured on Soulection, it felt like coming full circle.
After college in 2021, I co-founded Hubbledvision, a local artist community, alongside JM Blay-Tofey, Simmon Belaineh, and Julian Smith. It was really about digging into every facet of what it means to be a local artist — the work, the process, the scene — during what felt like a real renaissance period for Texas artists.
Musically, my biggest touchstones are Thundercat, Kaytranada, Kiefer, and Robert Glasper — artists who blur the line between jazz musicianship and modern production the same way I’m trying to.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has been not. As a single child, primarily raised by a single mother with limited resources, I had to try to do a lot with a little. In and out of college while struggling with self-esteem and confidence issues leading to severely underestimating my own gifts along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work in AV Operations Management at a notable Broadcasting Company. I have been working toward eventually working in Audio Technology to utilize my professional knowledge with my passion for the science of sound and music. I have been freelancing in AV for 5 years now. I formally went to college for Business management and communications.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’ve always believed in the philosophy of “All progress is good progress,” or simply Progressions. I named one of my creative series after this philosophy because I used to think that if I missed a deadline for a project or work of art, there was no point in continuing or that I had failed. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every step is just as important as the last leading you one step closer to your goal. Everything is worth pursuing and I try to remember that in everything that I do, no matter how big or small.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__thereheis__
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/77tatqmFWLk
