Over the past decade, Frankey & Sandrino have quietly built Sum Over Histories into one of electronic music’s most emotionally resonant imprints. Known for championing music for the “closed-eyes dancers,” the label has carved out a space where melancholy, hope, light, and shadow coexist on the dancefloor. 

As they celebrate ten years with the ‘Path Integral X compilation’ – featuring contributions from a carefully curated circle of artists and their own track ‘Matar’ – we caught up with Sandrino to reflect on the label’s origins, the spirit behind its sound, and the philosophy that continues to guide it forward.

WWD: Welcome back to When We Dip! Huge congrats on a decade of Sum Over Histories! When you listen back to your earliest releases now, what do you hear – innocence, intention, or something else entirely?

Thank you so much. When we started the label, to be honest, I never imagined it would run for ten years. It began as a very innocent, maybe even naive idea to simply release music that I felt deserved to be out in the world. 

And in a way, that’s still exactly the same today.

The spirit behind choosing a track hasn’t really changed over the years. If a piece of music touches us, then we feel it should be released no matter what style or genre it is.

I guess over time something like a signature sound has developed, but it was never intentional. It’s not something we tried to create; it just naturally happened along the way.

WWD: You’ve always described the label as music for “the closed-eyes dancers.” In a culture that increasingly rewards visibility and immediacy, what does it mean to you to champion something more inward and introspective?

Kevin Di Serna’s “Faro” is still a track that perfectly represents the label to me. emotional, deep music for closed-eyes dancers. No big peaks, no pretentious breakdowns, no unnecessary drama, just music that moves through your soul.

A very important aspect in the music we sign is a sense of duality. The balance between light and darkness, a certain melancholy that I’m always looking for. There can be sadness and depth in the music, but there should also be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel, something that gives you hope to hold on to.

The emotions in this kind of music are not necessarily the ones people consume in a quick post or in a brief moment during a gig. It’s something more inward, something that reveals itself when you really take the time to listen.

WWD: Let’s talk ‘Path Integral X!’ When you were shaping this compilation, were you looking back at ten years of history or drawing a line forward?

I do think it still fits within the label, but for me personally, each time we work on a compilation, it naturally grows in a more futuristic direction.

When compiling these releases, it’s only when the circle feels complete and the concept makes sense as a whole that we say, “Okay, this is it.”

Every single track on the compilation could easily stand alone as an EP. Yet each track plays a key and essential role within the compilation. Every track carries the same weight, and it’s only together that the release truly makes sense as a cohesive whole. 

WWD: There’s a real sense of contrast shining through the VA – light and shadow, intimacy and scale. Was that the goal from the outset or did that duality naturally emerge from the artists you worked with?

I think that sense of contrast is what gives music its balance and triggers something deeper, rather than just being heard superficially.

When I listen to a track, I decide at that very moment: “Okay, I feel the sadness and I allow myself to feel it, but then there’s hope. Oh yes, it gives me hope. It gives me something. It gives me strength and power.”

Our personal intention is always to keep this spirit of duality alive in the music.

WWD: This is also the first time one of your tracks, ‘Matar,’ appears on a Sum Over Histories compilation. After so many years spotlighting others, how does it feel to step into this collective space?

This is also the first time a Frankey & Sandrino track, ‘Matar,’ appears on a Sum Over Histories compilation. It probably should have happened much earlier, it just never did.  Not because we didn’t want it to, but sometimes we’re just very slow.

It wasn’t planned this way; it simply happened.

WWD: Sandrino, as the driving force behind A&R, what makes a track unmistakably Sum Over Histories? How hard is it to surprise you these days?

The moment of truly surprising us with music isn’t actually that difficult, it just takes time. 

Out of maybe 200 demos, one really stands out as exciting and unexpected, while the others, unfortunately, all sound the same.

Sometimes you can tell a track has an agenda behind it, or that it’s completely designed. a product rather than something coming from within.

Being inspired is great, but the key is turning that inspiration into something for yourself, to express yourself. That’s what makes a track original, and ultimately, what makes it surprising.

WWD: Do you find yourself taking bigger risks now or protecting the label’s DNA more carefully?

I don’t think it’s about taking bigger risks. The music we release will always stay true to what we believe in and love, there are no compromises. Some tracks may work better than others, but each one is just as important to us. So risk isn’t really part of the equation; whatever makes us happy and whatever we love will always find its place on Sum Over Histories. I guess that’s our DNA.

WWD: Ten years in…what still gives you goosebumps? Either from the label/performing perspective – or both!

Ten years in…honestly, I never imagined reaching this milestone with a label, and it makes me really proud and happy. especially to share it with our label manager Marina 

I’m really looking forward to the next chapter: discovering more music, releasing it, and seeing how people react, what they feel, what they hear when they listen to our music.

WWD: You’re taking the music straight from release day on February 27th into an All Night Long at Stereo the very next night. Was this timing intentional?

Actually, the timing was not something we planned, it just happened, and the funny thing is that one of the tracks from K.eem, actually, he gave us an USB the last time we played at Stereo, and now we’re releasing his music. And by the way, it’s a very beautiful, amazing track, and this one would be a track which I think stays the test of time and will remain for us or remain with us for longer. Life is beautiful isn’t it?

WWD: What makes Stereo a room you trust for a moment like this and what does it draw out of you as a duo that other venues might not?

There’s really no secret that we truly love Stereo from the bottom of our hearts. For our music, we honestly don’t think there’s a better place out there. Everything is just right: the crowd, the sound system, and the people running the venue, all with the right intention and heart in the right place. It all comes together to make Stereo absolutely unique. So, yeah we just love it.

WWD: What does the next decade look like for Frankey & Sandrino and Sum Over Histories?

Honestly, I’m looking forward to the next ten years. It remains very exciting, and I feel more motivated than ever to release music and keep the label moving forward.

WWD: Cheers to the next ten years and thanks for the chat, Sandrino 🙂 

Thanks!

The ‘Path Integral X’ VA is available here.