Born and raised in the Danish countryside, Søndergaard picked up the drums at eight, first playing in bands with local friends long before he ever thought about conservatories or competitions. His upbringing balanced the quiet of farmland with pockets of art and theatre: his mother worked in visual arts, his father was an actor, and his sister played vibraphone. That mix of rhythm, performance, and image has shaped the way he listens and composes today.

After earning his bachelor’s in Denmark and completing a European jazz master’s between Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris, Søndergaard settled in the Netherlands, ready at last to make something entirely his own.

Musically, Søndergaard draws inspiration from the experimental German and European scenes, including artists such as Christian Lillinger, Punkt.Vrt.Plastik, Kaja Draksler, Jonas Vestergaard, Petter Eldh and Florian Herzog, Leif Berger, whose complex rhythmic and atonal languages resonate deeply with him.