Sandhy Sondoro performing on #trashtory event held by Green Smile Indonesia

 Sandhy Sondoro, was born on the island of Java, Indonesia. Came from a musical family, where the house provide the likes of American pop, folk, Jazz and blues tunes coming from his Mother’s or father’s guitar everyday. Those were the joy that shaped his talents . It is not traditional Indonesian music that influenced him but rather soul and blues. Sandhy Sondoro is not only an excellent singer, song writer, and guitar player he also has many other talents like drawing and cooking. In Indonesia Sandhy Sondoro started to play in a band at high school. They did mostly covers of Van Halen and Mr. Big or The Black Crows. At the age of 18 he went to visit his uncle in California and stayed there for a while. Over a year later he went to Germany to study architecture. He first had to improve his German proficiency to be admitted at the university. He graduated in interior design but his passion for singing and playing the guitar was stronger than the wish to work in an office.His first experience as a street musician was gained in Biberach on the Riss in Baden Wurttemberg in 1996. The international flair of Berlin attracted him and inspired him. In 1998 he moved back to Berlin and started his career as Sondoro singing and playing the guitar in bars, clubs and in the metro. His famous song Down on the streets was inspired by the experience gained in Berlins metro. He performs also in famous theatres like the House of World Cultures in Berlin, plays at music festivals like at the Bode museum isle festival. He has fans in Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and many other places in Germany.

+Sondoro Music "Because I'm a natural born singer. I can't do anything better, it's what I do best."

"I'm a big fan of African-American musicians with their blues and soul music. I always sing songs the way I want to sing them, with my own character," he says, adding that if the legendary BB King happened to drop by one day, he would be delighted to write a song with him. He developed as a self-described "all-round musician", spending many years jamming with musicians in jazz bars in Berlin and other cities in Europe.
Recognizing his great talent, some African-American musicians in Berlin encouraged Sandhy to take the next step and make his breakthrough.
His talents began to attract wider attention when he took part in a talent show, created by prominent entertainer Stefan Raab, that aired on German TV two years ago. The aim of the program was to fi nd young musicians.

His participation in the competition also opened up the way for further opportunities in a number of shows such as House of World Cultures in Berlin. The release of his debut album Why Don't We, in early April 2008 marked Sandhy's entry into the music industry. The album contains 12 songs in English.
His first single "Shine", for which he collaborated with duo DJs, Ibiza and Dublex Inc, was soon in the radio charts in major European cities such as Berlin, Madrid and Paris.
It was a good start, but Sandhy was not about to rest on his laurels. He continued to try new things, including competing in New Wave, an international music competition for young singers, in Jurmala, Latvia.

+Sondoro Music "But I have changed my mind. Being a musician is much simpler. All I have to do is bring my guitar and sing."

"I'm not really the kind of person who is crazy about participating in American Idol-like contests, but I took the opportunity as a way of getting free promotion. Besides, I love Indonesia and I wanted to promote the country at the international level."
He had little idea of winning, although he admitted he wanted to. "But in any case, *I thought* I would benefi t from the atmosphere of the contest and from working with professional artists," he says.

In the competition, he proudly performed his own song, "End of the Rainbow", for the judges.
The song and his performance captured the judges' attention; he ended up sharing fi rst place in New Wave with a Ukrainian singer.
The victory gave him the opportunity to realize one of his dreams: to tour the world.
"I'd like to share my songs with people *everywhere*, so that they can enjoy my music," Sandhy says.


Articles and writings:
The Jakarta Post: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/10/sandhy-sondoro-the-newborn-world-singer.html
Last FM: http://www.last.fm/music/Sandhy+SonDoro

Camera used is Canon 5D Mark II,  buy it here: http://amzn.to/2sHh6oW