50 cents of SASHA

[Richard Thomas]

The Son Also Rises: Known throughout the world for his transcendental, marathon sets, Alexander “Sasha” Coe defined a generation of ravers. As dance music undergoes its next metamorphosis, this DJ and producer looks to reinvent his superstar status.  

   

By Richard Thomas|

The author Herman Melville once said, “Life is a voyage that’s homeward bound.” To your average DJ, this quote rings true. For the world’s most in-demand, it’s wishful thinking. Home is where you hang your itinerary. There comes a time, however, when home—both in the literal and figurative sense of the word—becomes a necessity, not just a luxury.

Although he has a place in London and a pied-à-terre in New York, Sasha has dug his heels into a cozy plot of land on the Florida coast. The property sits no more than 40 feet from the water’s edge, and he clears his head with a run nearly every morning. He keeps company with a rotating series of house guests, as well as two Asian Leopard Cats who, like their owner, can be described as a “nocturnal, reclusive, endangered and unusually skilled breed.” The pantry is stocked with ample amounts of coffee and Marmite, as well as enough cooking utensils to satisfy his every culinary desire, of which there are many. It’s a picture perfect home, surrounded on all sides by staggering numbers of old people driving old cars very, very slowly. “I’m basically in retirement central here,” Sasha laughs. “When I’m at the house, I’m safe and it’s fine. It’s just whenever I leave I’m like, ‘What the hell am I doing living here?’”

It’s the first time Sasha has ever consolidated all his personal and professional belongings under one roof. Over 30,000 records occupy the newly constructed “tunes room,” and every storage bin he’s ever filled now resides at this one address. After spending the better part of 15 years traveling, the 34-year-old DJ and producer has assumed all the responsibility that comes with having a different type of residency—the kind with a mailbox and a garage. And for good reason. The scene he’s come to call his own has been tarnished by plummeting economics, affordable software and a healthy bit of cynicism. The magic has been compromised. It’s time to fall back and regroup.

“Something new needs to happen,” Sasha stresses in a calm yet impassioned tone. “Things got so purified they’ve been blanched out [and] had the life sucked out of them. The days of ten-hour sets of dark instrumental music at Twilo has had its time. We’re on the cusp of moving DJing into a new area we’ve dreamt about for years. Being able to remix and re-edit songs on the fly in the club. The DJs that don’t get on this are going to be left behind.”

Razor wit, boundless charisma, and an undeniably British sense of humor (though he was born a Welshman) make Sasha an engaging personality. He’s also an extremely sensitive perfectionist, which can lead to periods of acute emotional duress both inside and out of the studio. But he’s always known what he wants. What’s more, he’s made sure to surround himself with people who can help him achieve his goals. It’s no big secret. When asked for a list of current influences, he name-checks his team. Whenever he speaks about remixing and production, he uses “we,” not “I.”

“When I first got into DJing, remixing was my thing,” he says. “Between ’91 and ’95 we did a lot of early vocal stuff that crossed over into the charts in England. It was like a production line. I didn’t do any hands-on work with the equipment. I’d just come in with my boxes and constantly play records for the engineer and programmer. ‘I want this bass sound, I want that noise there.’ We would put mixes together in two days.”

With loads of studio expertise at his disposal, it was a fantastic if not naïve way of making records. Then Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston came calling, and the machine began to smoke. Sasha wanted to twist things away from the commercial edge; sink the pop hooks deeper into the mix. When his engineer refused, the team fell apart, leaving the superstar adrift in a sea of manuals and MIDI cables. So he did what anyone in his position would do. He bought an entire studio.

“The biggest mistake I ever made,” he says. “I got into this whole cycle where I’d buy the [gear] magazines every month. [I thought] The reason we didn’t have the right sound was because I didn’t have this new box. I was buying new bits of equipment when I didn’t even know how to work most of the stuff in the studio.”

“He did the classic DJ thing,” Charlie May admits. “He went out and bought all the equipment, but needed everybody else to help him do it. But by the end of [Airdrawndagger], he was really hands on, and I think that’s what got him excited about doing this mixed CD. He realized, ‘Hang on, I can do it better.’”

At the close of 2003, Sasha took stock of his surroundings, upgrading everything from his management team to his studio. With programs like Ableton Live and Final Scratch, DJs could free up the brainpower they used to match beats and refocus that energy on programming and re-editing. Artists like Richie Hawtin and Josh Wink have turned simple performances into performance art simply by improving their technology. Shortly after the release of his debut artist album, Airdrawndagger, Sasha took the first step in this new direction. On his website (www.djsasha.com) he made available for download all the pieces, in multiple file formats, to every track on the album. Over the past six months, he’s taken that concept to a whole new level.

Sasha’s goal was not to create a monstrous follow-up to his original material debut, but to keep the ball in play with a project he felt would simultaneously sharpen his production skills and enliven his club-going contingent. He set aside 30 days to create a single-disc, DJ mixed recording for the Global Underground imprint; the label that helped sow the first seeds of superstar DJ culture. The word crunching for the project title alone ate up at least 30 days. The master was delivered just before this issue went to press. “I generally don’t like repeating myself once I’ve done something,” he says with a bit of a laugh. “It was a cool mix. It just wasn’t enough.”

Despite having an arsenal of completed tracks from top shelf contributors at his disposal, Sasha began to chip away at the material, sucking out vocal bits, softening breakdowns, and rerecording specific instruments to his liking. The deeper he got, the more essential the source files became. If he didn’t possess the building blocks for a certain track, he asked for them. The cooperation and goodwill he received surpassed even his greatest expectations.

In the end, he had collected enough raw data to completely re-edit every track on the disc. Not quite an artist album, but definitely unique to his three previous Global Underground releases. The finished product, titled Involver, features Sasha’s exclusive remixes of Spooky, Grand National, Felix da Housecat, U.N.K.L.E., Junkie XL and others, all woven together with a uniform aesthetic not unlike that of Airdrawndagger.

“He’s one of the most talented people I’ve worked with, mainly because he knows exactly what he wants,” explains producer Charlie May, who has assisted on both Involver and Airdrawndagger. “That’s a crucial element.”

He still prefers company in the studio, but he no longer requires the tutelage he once did. The knowledge he’s gained from the musicians he’s kept around him—Charlie May, James Holden, Simon Wright, Tom “Junkie XL” Holkenborg—has given rise to a new sound that incorporates every last one of his influences in a more mature fashion. The breakdowns are patient, not epic, and individual notes are spaced out and given sufficient breathing room—a smarter sound crafted by a smarter composer who’s gotten a healthy leg up without losing his bearings. Not an easy task for someone who was once referred to behind the decks as the “Son of God.”

“From an awareness point of view, he’s probably the biggest DJ in the world,” says oft DJ partner John Digweed. “There isn’t a country on this planet who hasn’t heard of him. But he’s got his head down at the moment and he’s very focused. He put his whole life, body and soul into [Airdrawndagger], and I think that made him realize what he can achieve. I think he’s realized he can achieve more.

No one feels this more than Sasha himself. There’s no difference between what comes out of the speakers and what comes out of his heart. Every facet of his life is exposed to the same set of inluences. In the end, setting standards becomes not just a matter of artistic fulfillment, but of personal responsibility.  

“I think I’ve found a way to excite myself again,” he shares. “I want to start throwing curveballs into my DJ sets like I used to. I really do feel it’s time to shake the fucking tree, take some changes, and throw some life back into it.”

Essential Mix: Sasha’s Ultimate iPod Playlist
Bill Laswell
Sacred System (Dub Chamber 4)
A beautiful dub album with vocals by Gigi. There is really nothing much to say about this album except that it starts and ends with exceptionally beautiful vocal tracks. “Ethiopia,” in particular, is an amazing piece of music.

Gigi
Illuminated Audio
Laswell has also done a dub translation of this album similar to what he did with Bob Marley and Miles Davis. This one relies so much more on vocals, though it’s really great just to put on around the house and listen to from beginning to end. I heard that Gigi was Bill Laswell’s wife, but I’m not sure about that.

ESG
A South Bronx Story
I thought this album was a hoax at first because it seemed to come completely out of the past with a hard-to-believe story attached to it, but it’s real and it’s one of the best after-party records ever. It was three young women from the Bronx in the early to mid-’80s who started a funk dance band. They were actually the first band to ever play the Hacienda in Manchester, and some of this album was produced by Martin Hannett, who also produced Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays. ESG is still around and they play in New York from time to time. This album was a huge influence on punk, funk, rap and dance. Public Enemy sampled it.

Peter Gabriel
Long Walk Home Soundtrack
Once again, Peter Gabriel really shines as an outstanding composer for film. I haven’t seen the film yet and I almost don’t want to because I’m afraid it will change how I feel about the music.

Blonde Redhead
Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
This is a really quirky album with interesting arrangements and a very unique sense of fun to it. The female singer from Japan has a very cool demeanor, and the overall vibe is jazz punk. The two guys in the band are from Italy, so a lot of the songs on the album seem to be searching for their own origins. It’s hard to tell where the album is going and where it’s coming from. It’s almost as if Radiohead weren’t a bunch of boffins from England.

The Pixies
Surfer Rosa
One of the most raw and suddenly inspired late punk albums of the ’80s. The sense of urgency and frustration on this album is like no other album I have. It sounds like a dirty knife cutting through the speakers with a wicked sense of humor.

Talking Heads
Remain in Light
This is the band at the peak of their powers. Produced by Brian Eno with a small cast of extra musicians on it, from Adrian Belew to Robert Palmer. It really is such a strong album, even after all these years.

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground and Nico
This is simply one of the greatest most experimental classic albums of all time. Lou Reed’s songwriting is brilliant. A masterpiece. The executive producer was Andy Warhol. I lost my virginity to the song “Heroin” and still had six minutes left over!

Tin Hat Trio
The Rodeo Eroded
I’m not even sure what to say about this album. It has an almost country feeling to it at times, but it’s really pushing the boundaries of that genre, if can even be called that. There’s a cover of the old Ray Charles song, “Willow Weep For Me,” that has Willie Nelson doing the vocals. That’s the only track with vocals, I think. The instrumentation is so strong that it feels like every instrument is a vocal. Really great musicianship. Unlike any other album I have.

Rickie Lee Jones
Evening Of My Best Day
She’s an American legend. I first heard her voice sampled through that Orb record [“Little Fluffy Clouds”]. We might be looking at doing something with her; bring her into the electronic world at some point.

Worldly Comestibles
"Confessions of a hardcore foodie"
---------------------------------------

UNITED KINGDOM
Mr. Chow
151 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7PA
It’s been there since the ’60s and has pop art on the walls. It’s got such a wicked vibe to it. Chinese food, but presented in a brilliant way.

Gordon Ramsey
68 - 69 Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HP
Even if you eat that food just once, it’s the culinary equivalent of the best blowjob you’ve ever had.

UNITED STATES
Il Buco
47 Bond Street, New York City, 10012-2450
Every time I go back to New York we seem to end up in there. It looks like it’s been there for 60 years. They have these huge tables, so you can go there with a big group of friends and make loads of noise and plow through some wine.

AUSTRALIA
Tetsuya’s
529 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
You end up eating 25 courses, but they’re all mouthfuls and it’s all incredible food.

Bill’s
443 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
The produce they have in Australia is phenomenal. This place does great breakfast and lunch.

[involver]

When an ordinary person is recognised at a young age for doing extraordinary things, it is easy to be misunderstood. Sasha, a musician in every sense of the word, may have fallen into that media led trap in the past, but now at 30 years young he forges ahead with projects that will finally allow people to understand who the man behind the myth really is.

The best DJs know that Djing is first about being able to read people and then about being able to tap into that human experience and take it on a journey. Sasha has always been noted for being a master at this, and although his style is described as "Progressive Trance" with a good presence of House and break beat elements; his music has always reached beyond those record store titles, thus separating him from his contemporaries. Sasha creates and plays music that gives emotion a chance to speak. It is this universal appeal that he has tapped into that has established his strong fanbase around the globe.

This ability to capture sounds on a universal level was most recently called upon when he was asked to write all the music for Sony Playstation¹s biggest game release of 1999, "Wipeout 3". Sasha wrote 5 original tracks to soundscape the game. "Wipeout 3" won not only the best racing game award, but best game of the whole show.

His special touch has also recently been called upon by The Chemical Brothers, who singled him out as the only artist asked to remix a track ("Out Of Control") from their new album. "I just dubbed it out to a style like I would play, the elements and sounds that the Chems used were so good that I didn't want to change them at all", Sasha reports on making the mix. Sasha's resume of chart topping remixes also earned him a request from Madonna in 1998 when he was asked to remix "Ray Of Light" and "Substitute For Love/ Drowned World".

Do not be mistaken, this kind of recognition does not happen overnight. Born and raised in a small town in Wales, Sasha was exposed to Motown records when he was just a baby and it was in the home that his talent for playing the piano was developed. His first exposure to house music was at Manchester's Hacienda,he played along the deep house and tech house tunes to warm up the crowds; just as dance music exploded into the summer of love. This impact encouraged his move from Wales to Manchester. His first exploration into Djing was when a DJ in a local pub announced he was looking for people to play club dates. Sasha volunteered and now says that he "had about 30 records and basically just blagged it".

After honing his deck technique, Sasha's first big break came when he was offered a residency at Stokes legendary club Shelly¹s. When all the other DJ's were playing US House, Sasha's style was much more uplifting, and he encapsulated clubbers with his mixture of piano led Italian House whilst playing acapella tracks over the top. This combination alongside a wide variety of anthems kept dancefloors full and elevated Sasha to hero status.

Shelly¹s was the launch pad for the residency at Renaissance, where Sasha created his niche and helped forge a new style in UK house music. At Renaissance two major things happened; Sasha mixed the first ever UK DJ mix album and he met John Digweed which cemented the partnership known as "Northern Exposure". Over the past couple of years, Sasha and John have played together on five continents, have mixed 3 "Northern Exposure" albums which have sold to over 1 million people worldwide.

This special brother like relationship that Sasha and Digweed have on the decks, is what landed them the monthly residency at New York¹s "Twilo", following in the footsteps of Vasquez and Tenaglia. This residency has reached cult status in New York, and after going strong for over two years, it will continue well in to the millennium.

Although Sasha has clearly reached a celebrity status, it¹s his generous personality, his love for his peers and of course his completely candid humour that has enabled him to maintain such a likeable high profile in the often-fickle world of club culture. Always one to share what comes his way, Sasha invited long time friend and collaborator BT to take part in what he called "one of the most amazing musical experiences in my life". He is referring to his experience out at Peter Gabrielle¹s Real World studio in 1998 where Sasha explains in a mixer article, "we were in there for a week and were just going to do one track (during Real World¹s annual recording week where artists from all over the world are invited to Bath to record at the famous studios). "There were so many talented musicians around and the vibe down there was incredible. People were walking in, hitting things, strumming things, and slapping their goats! There were mad African people everywhere. We ended up recording five tracks and finishing four".

Since then of course, Sasha has gone from DJ to superstar status in America, where "Sasha" is a household name for many teenagers and his and John's residency has continued to provide the launchpad for British dance music into New York and beyond. The sound of Twilo: deep, pumping late night .h.o.u.s.e. is encapsulated on 'Communicate', Sasha and John's joint mix album for INCredible. Modern club anthems like Trancesetters 'Roaches' and Trisco's Muzak all blended in the late night, early morning way that New York's clubbers have come know and love.

Earlier this year, a gruelling three month tour has taken their sound further out into deepest America, preaching a gospel of repetitive beats and imaginative mixing from coast to coast, and right through the mid western heartland of the States. A punishing gig-a-night schedule that must make nights like the opening of Space in Ibiza in June seem like a holiday by comparison. This summer has also seen Sasha move back into releasing his own music, collaborating with the former Underworld mainstay, DJ Darren Emerson on 'Scorchio'. A fast, deep pulsing tech-house track with a cheeky hint of Latin summer carnival, 'Scorchio' sums up everything that's best in Sasha's music: deep, intelligent music that still retains a sense of fun and works best out in the middle of the sweaty dancefloor.

For Sasha, music is his first love, and what gives him a buzz is being able to share his music with others. From his presence at those all too talked about after hour parties where his special impromptu sets are heard, to his signature always present child like antics that leave people wondering if he has modelled his life after Peter Pan, to his DJ sets at clubs around the world, all lined with the backdrop of his own productions, Sasha leaves trails of memories, melodies and stories wherever he goes. These are the things that have been, and will continue to be remembered and passed on for years. And that is what legends are made of.
sometimes sasha takes his chilly beats into the chill rooms and get off from the main arena of the rave or clubs party.

[seno]

When an ordinary person is recognised at a young age for doing extraordinary things, it is easy to be misunderstood. Sasha, a musician in every sense of the word, may have fallen into that media led trap in the past, but now at 30 years young he forges ahead with projects that will finally allow people to understand who the man behind the myth really is.

The best DJs know that Djing is first about being able to read people and then about being able to tap into that human experience and take it on a journey. Sasha has always been noted for being a master at this, and although his style is described as "Progressive Trance" with a good presence of House and break beat elements; his music has always reached beyond those record store titles, thus separating him from his contemporaries. Sasha creates and plays music that gives emotion a chance to speak. It is this universal appeal that he has tapped into that has established his strong fanbase around the globe.

This ability to capture sounds on a universal level was most recently called upon when he was asked to write all the music for Sony Playstation¹s biggest game release of 1999, "Wipeout 3". Sasha wrote 5 original tracks to soundscape the game. "Wipeout 3" won not only the best racing game award, but best game of the whole show.

His special touch has also recently been called upon by The Chemical Brothers, who singled him out as the only artist asked to remix a track ("Out Of Control") from their new album. "I just dubbed it out to a style like I would play, the elements and sounds that the Chems used were so good that I didn't want to change them at all", Sasha reports on making the mix. Sasha's resume of chart topping remixes also earned him a request from Madonna in 1998 when he was asked to remix "Ray Of Light" and "Substitute For Love/ Drowned World".

Do not be mistaken, this kind of recognition does not happen overnight. Born and raised in a small town in Wales, Sasha was exposed to Motown records when he was just a baby and it was in the home that his talent for playing the piano was developed. His first exposure to house music was at Manchester's Hacienda,he played along the deep house and tech house tunes to warm up the crowds; just as dance music exploded into the summer of love. This impact encouraged his move from Wales to Manchester. His first exploration into Djing was when a DJ in a local pub announced he was looking for people to play club dates. Sasha volunteered and now says that he "had about 30 records and basically just blagged it".

After honing his deck technique, Sasha's first big break came when he was offered a residency at Stokes legendary club Shelly¹s. When all the other DJ's were playing US House, Sasha's style was much more uplifting, and he encapsulated clubbers with his mixture of piano led Italian House whilst playing acapella tracks over the top. This combination alongside a wide variety of anthems kept dancefloors full and elevated Sasha to hero status.

Shelly¹s was the launch pad for the residency at Renaissance, where Sasha created his niche and helped forge a new style in UK house music. At Renaissance two major things happened; Sasha mixed the first ever UK DJ mix album and he met John Digweed which cemented the partnership known as "Northern Exposure". Over the past couple of years, Sasha and John have played together on five continents, have mixed 3 "Northern Exposure" albums which have sold to over 1 million people worldwide.

This special brother like relationship that Sasha and Digweed have on the decks, is what landed them the monthly residency at New York¹s "Twilo", following in the footsteps of Vasquez and Tenaglia. This residency has reached cult status in New York, and after going strong for over two years, it will continue well in to the millennium.

Although Sasha has clearly reached a celebrity status, it¹s his generous personality, his love for his peers and of course his completely candid humour that has enabled him to maintain such a likeable high profile in the often-fickle world of club culture. Always one to share what comes his way, Sasha invited long time friend and collaborator BT to take part in what he called "one of the most amazing musical experiences in my life". He is referring to his experience out at Peter Gabrielle¹s Real World studio in 1998 where Sasha explains in a mixer article, "we were in there for a week and were just going to do one track (during Real World¹s annual recording week where artists from all over the world are invited to Bath to record at the famous studios). "There were so many talented musicians around and the vibe down there was incredible. People were walking in, hitting things, strumming things, and slapping their goats! There were mad African people everywhere. We ended up recording five tracks and finishing four".

Since then of course, Sasha has gone from DJ to superstar status in America, where "Sasha" is a household name for many teenagers and his and John's residency has continued to provide the launchpad for British dance music into New York and beyond. The sound of Twilo: deep, pumping late night .h.o.u.s.e. is encapsulated on 'Communicate', Sasha and John's joint mix album for INCredible. Modern club anthems like Trancesetters 'Roaches' and Trisco's Muzak all blended in the late night, early morning way that New York's clubbers have come know and love.

Earlier this year, a gruelling three month tour has taken their sound further out into deepest America, preaching a gospel of repetitive beats and imaginative mixing from coast to coast, and right through the mid western heartland of the States. A punishing gig-a-night schedule that must make nights like the opening of Space in Ibiza in June seem like a holiday by comparison. This summer has also seen Sasha move back into releasing his own music, collaborating with the former Underworld mainstay, DJ Darren Emerson on 'Scorchio'. A fast, deep pulsing tech-house track with a cheeky hint of Latin summer carnival, 'Scorchio' sums up everything that's best in Sasha's music: deep, intelligent music that still retains a sense of fun and works best out in the middle of the sweaty dancefloor.

For Sasha, music is his first love, and what gives him a buzz is being able to share his music with others. From his presence at those all too talked about after hour parties where his special impromptu sets are heard, to his signature always present child like antics that leave people wondering if he has modelled his life after Peter Pan, to his DJ sets at clubs around the world, all lined with the backdrop of his own productions, Sasha leaves trails of memories, melodies and stories wherever he goes. These are the things that have been, and will continue to be remembered and passed on for years. And that is what legends are made of.
sometimes sasha takes his chilly beats into the chill rooms and get off from the main arena of the rave or clubs party.

woowwww