Story

Rufio Sandilands started at the piano. Trinity College of Music in London, classical and jazz foundations — the kind of rigorous early training that shapes how someone hears everything after it.

The pivot came fast. He left to join Palladium, a Virgin Records-signed band, then moved into production and songwriting full-time — racking up collaborations with Ellie Goulding, multiple X Factor champions, and K-pop crossover act Shinee. Millions of records sold. The fundamentals were locked in.

Next came i see MONSTAS. A dance music project that caught the ear of Skrillex and landed on his OWSLA imprint before graduating to Interscope and Polydor. The years that followed were spent performing in clubs, raves and on the largest festival stages worldwide — the project living large in the space where club culture meets arena ambition.

Then a reset. iZNiiK arrived as something more atmospheric, more considered — and the tastemakers took notice. Repeat appearances on Spotify's New Music Friday, Apple Music World Record picks, The Face. Critical recognition that felt earned rather than engineered.

The most recent chapter has taken him to Hollywood. Working alongside Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer, Sandilands has contributed to some of the most high-profile productions in recent memory: Dungeons & Dragons, Gran Turismo, Black Adam, Life on Our Planet, F1: The Movie, and Season 4 of Euphoria.