Before I started spinning, I went on
the dancefloor and watched everyone. They were all smiling
and happy. It was almost like everyone's inner child was coming
out. And I thought 'Wow... this is what I wanna do. I want
to create this.'" Sandra Collins (Sweater, 1997)
Put simply, Sandra Collins is one of the US's finest Progressive
House and Trance DJs. Dubbed "The Trance Goddess",
Sandra has captured the imaginations of dance floors around
the globe with her driving beats, hypnotic grooves and mesmerizing
melodies. Her rare ability to combine a powerful groove for
the body and an elevating journey for the mind continues to
win the loyalty of fans throughout the world and looks set
to make her one of the biggest names in global dance music
today.
Sandra's ability to inspire the crowd stems back to her early
years. Born into a famous Las Vegas show business family,
Sandra is no stranger to the spotlight. She began DJing in
Phoenix in 1989 and demonstrated a rare flair for working
the dance floor. Her talent was soon recognized in the underground
scene and her name became synonymous with ground breaking
parties including the historic New York "Storm"
raves with Frankie Bones and The Fifth Column with Josh Wink
in 1992.
Sandra's relentless passion for dance culture led her to
Los Angeles in 1992. Here, she again proved herself as one
of the originators of the underground sound with three year
residencies at LA's legendary "King" and "Sketchpad"
afterhours. During this time, Sandra was a regular guest DJ
on Powetools 106FM, as well as helping to set up the first
US office for the German Trance label Eye Q - Harthouse. From
1995 to 1998, Sandra also held a three year residency at LA's
most popular weekly "Metropolis" alongside Doc Martin
and former partner in crime Taylor. It was here that Sandra
befriended Sasha and played alongside greats such as Carl
Cox, Chemical Brothers, Paul van Dyk and Orbital... just to
name a few. Sandra's popularity continued to soar over the
years as she DJed to enthusiastic audiences across the US
and overseas. Whether doing international tours of Australia,
New Zealand and Canada, or headlining the US Electric Highway
Tour with the Fluke and the Crystal Method, Sandra was more
in demand than ever before. Having DJed in a Coca-Cola commercial
and graced the cover of 'XLR8R' magazine, she has also been
featured in Urb, Option, Jump, BPM, Sweater, Mixmag, UHF and
Fix magazines.
In addition to extensive touring, Sandra found time to record
her first mixed CD "Lost in Time" on Fragrant Music
in 1997. Described by Option magazine as "A beautiful
sensual journey through the realms of hard house and trance
by one of America's best known DJs", the CD continues
to receive rave reviews throughout the US and was grounds
for her nomination as "Outstanding Electronica Artist"
in California's BAMMIE Awards and "Best Trance DJ"
in the forthcoming 1998 Global DJ Awards. Continuing her growth
as an artist, Sandra has also begun recording her own tracks.
Her spectacular first release, "Ode to Our" b/w
"Red" through Fragrant sold out in Europe and the
US in one day and was named Trance Release of the Month in
XLR8R magazine.
With fervor continuing to grow about Sandra's scorching sets,
she was invited to move to New York and take up a residency
at the prestigious Twilo in early 1998. It is here, alongside
fellow residents Sasha & Digweed, Paul van Dyk and Carl
Cox that Sandra Collins has firmly entered the upper echelon
of international DJs... where she is destined to become a
key player in the global dance scene due to her profoundly
positive attitude, driving creative force and monumental sets.
Sandra's popularity continued to soar over the years as she
DJed to enthusiastic audiences across the US and overseas.
Whether doing international tours of Australia, New Zealand
and Canada, or headlining the US Electric Highway Tour with
the Fluke and the Crystal Method, Sandra was more in demand
than ever before.
Sandra has become an ambassador for American trance, she
landed on the covers and pages of every major U.S. dance music
magazine, as well as in magazines like Spin, Gear, Urb, Option,
Jump, BPM, Sweater, Mixmag, UHF and Fix
Continuing her growth as an artist, Sandra has also begun
recording her own tracks. Her spectacular first release, "Ode
to Our" b/w "Red" through Fragrant sold out
in Europe and the US in one day and was named "Trance
Release of the Month" in XLR8R magazine.
Her ability to be both a crowd-pleaser and connect emotionally
with her audience won her the daunting opening night slot
at Woodstock '99. Spinning after Moby, she admirably held
her own with a six hour set in front of the 80,000 mostly-neophyte
dance music fans, and by the end of her set had by all published
accounts won them over.
Now with residencies at Chicago's "Crobar" and
Las Vegas "Utopia", Sandra is one of the progressive
dance music's most in-demand DJs, travelling to raves and
clubs across the country and around the world, from Little
Rock to Lima, Peru and now finally Finland.
Now with Tranceport 3, Sandra marks the first time an American
(and woman) has been behind the decks for the genre-defining
trance series. Following up the global trance introduction
of Paul Oakenfold's Tranceport 1, and the deep, end-of-the-night
vibe of Dave Ralph's Tranceport 2, Sandra's installment turns
up the emotions and lets the melodies and beats pulse with
a vibrance that's somehow both introspective and anthemic.
Tranceport 3 is, like her life, a journey to places both
brightly familiar and darkly exciting, mapped out by progressive
underground anthems and new tracks of her own that point to
the future of trance, in America and the world. The journey,
as always, is as much ours as it is hers.
