Name: Antonio Sánchez
Occupation: Drummer, percussionist, composer, mixing engineer, producer
Nationality: Mexican
Current release: Antonio Sánchez teams up with Michael League and Pedrito Martinez for their album Elipsis, out via GroundUp.
Pure drum recording recommendations: Solo recordings by Max Roach, Jack DeJohnette, Milford Graves, and contemporary percussion ensembles that explore space and form rather than just virtuosity. Also, traditional recordings from West Africa and Cuba—those are masterclasses in time.
Recommendations for Barcelona, Spain: Park Güell by Anton Gaudi. Magical place in Barcelona.

If you enjoyed this Antonio Sánchez interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook. There is also an Elipsis Instagram account.



What captivated you about drums: sound/noise or rhythm?

For me it was never an either–or situation. What grabbed me early on was energy.

Drums were the most direct way I found to interact with sound physically. Before I understood rhythm intellectually, I felt momentum, weight, air moving. Drums let me participate in music immediately, with my whole body, not just my ears or my mind.

Rhythm came later as a language; sound was the doorway.

Is your perception as a listener connected to touch, vibration, and movement?

Absolutely. When I listen to music, my body reacts before my brain analyzes. I feel tension, release, density, space.

Even when I’m listening to harmony or melody, I’m aware of how it moves, how it breathes. My internal pulse adjusts. Sometimes my breathing changes, sometimes my muscles engage or relax.

It’s a very physical experience—even when I’m sitting still.

What was your first drum set like, and what are you using today?

I was heavily into Stewart Copeland and The Police so naturally I wanted something like he used. So my mom got me a blue Tama Swing Star. Then I started adding things to it to make it as big as I could. When I got into Neil Peart, it was impossible to play.

Nowadays I play Yamaha drums. Been playing them for over 25 years. My main kit is a Phoenix which is such a powerful instrument. It sounds amazing in the studio.

“The equipment is an expression of the way you play.” Your take?

I agree with that completely. Gear doesn’t give you ideas—it reveals them. Equipment reflects choices you’ve already made musically. You gravitate toward sounds that match your identity, not the other way around.

If you rely on equipment to define you, that’s a problem. If it helps articulate who you already are, that’s healthy.

Cultural traditions in your playing?

I’m deeply influenced by Afro-Cuban and Mexican rhythmic concepts, but also by jazz, rock, contemporary classical music, and electronic music. I don’t approach traditions as vocabulary to quote, but as ways of thinking about time.

Each culture teaches you something different about groove, hierarchy, repetition, and freedom. I try to let those ideas coexist rather than imitate any one tradition literally.

Main challenges in your development?

Patience and listening.

Early on, I wanted to play everything I could do. Learning restraint—how to serve the music rather than impress—was huge. Playing with musicians who were far more experienced than me forced that lesson fast.

What helped most was playing constantly, in many contexts, and recording myself relentlessly. Recording doesn’t lie.

Physical sensation of playing drums?

It’s a full-body experience. Groove lives in my core—breathing, balance, posture. Emotionally, there’s both tension and release happening all the time.

The best moments feel like alignment, when effort disappears and time feels elastic. That’s when playing becomes less about control and more about trust.

Relationship between harmony, rhythm, and melody?

They’re inseparable. Rhythm exists inside harmony, and melody has rhythm embedded in it.

Non-percussion instruments contribute enormously to groove through articulation, phrasing, and dynamics. A bass line can define time more strongly than a drum pattern.

Rhythm is collective.

Has composing affected your drumming?

Without question. Composing forces you to think structurally and emotionally. It teaches you proportion. As a drummer, that awareness helps me understand when not to play, or when to shift perspective.

Writing music expanded my drumming far more than practicing chops ever did.

Drummers as bandleaders—what changes?

When the drummer leads, rhythm often becomes a narrative element rather than just a foundation. There’s usually more attention to form, texture, and development.

The drummer isn’t “supporting” anymore—they’re shaping direction. That can open up different kinds of musical conversations.

Timbral and textural possibilities of drums?

I think of the drum set as an orchestra, not a single instrument. Touch, stick choice, tuning, placement—all of that matters.

Silence is part of texture, too. Sometimes the most interesting sound is what you choose not to activate.

Technology’s impact on rhythm?

Technology has expanded our rhythmic imagination enormously. Drum machines and sequencers have taught us new forms of precision and repetition—but also highlighted what humans do differently.

I use technology as a compositional and conceptual tool, not as a replacement for feel. The contrast is the point.

Physical strain and creativity?

Strain is real, and ignoring it is dangerous. Awareness, technique, rest, and conditioning are essential. When your body is compromised, creativity suffers.

Longevity requires humility—knowing when to slow down, adjust, or change habits.

What makes drums sound great on record and live?

Context. Great drum sound isn’t about size or volume—it’s about definition and intention.

On record, clarity and balance matter. Live, projection and interaction matter. In both cases, tuning, touch, and listening are more important than microphones or processing.

Drums as therapy or healing tools?

Because they’re immediate and physical. You don’t need theory or language to engage.

Rhythm regulates breathing, movement, and focus. That’s powerful. Drums reconnect people to their bodies in a very direct way.