Music is a kind of art, but not everyone engaged with it can be called an artist. We live in a copy-paste world, where one and the same idea goes on indefinitely, where instant tracks come and go faster than you manage to remember them, and where hyper-production is a reality where rarely anyone wants to spend more than a few months on creating a work. Alexander Coe is one of the few.
Much could be written about Alexander himself, but it is enough to google his nickname under which he became famous, and which he shares with millions of people of different nations and religions, to understand what greatness he is. The first page the search engine will refer you to is the one that mentions Sasha with the “dj” attribute in front of the name. I don't want to go any further and mention that he has been at the very top for more than a decade. There is no need. Everyone knows who Sasha is.
It is a difficult task to live up to expectations, especially if they are huge. After the legendary compilation released for the cult label Global Underground, GU 13: Ibiza, hordes of fans fell in love with the progressive sound in house music. Everyone hoped that every next edition signed by Sasha would be even better or at least on a par with the famous "thirteen". A heavy burden.
If you pick up a disc with the letters "involver" written upside down (or maybe Sasha is written upside down?) And look at the list of tracks on it, nothing will attract your attention too much. Yes, you know who the performers are, you've heard their tracks before, but… Only ten tracks were on the compilation. There is something wrong. And why there is not a single remix anywhere? You will find out the answer by looking a little better at the disc or by listening to it. Each and every track is remixed and behind every is Sasha's name, so the question is whether this is actually a compilation or a production work.
The involver opens Talk Amongst Yourselves, which is a great addition to the psychedelic ambience of Dorset Perception. The track signed by Shpongle, behind which are the big names of the psy trance scene Raja Ram and Hallucinogen, take you far from the clichés that were already present on the scene at the time, and which will reach their peak a few years later. These Days and What Are You To Me are so conceived that it is almost impossible to determine when one stops and the other begins. Later, there will be attempts by certain DJs to separate these two tracks and play them individually, but in the end it came down that these tracks are seen as mashup, although it never was.
The melancholy of the vocals emanating from the UNKLE duo was the starting point for Sasha to make his own vision of their production. Thus, two remixes were created for In A State, both signed by Sasha. One has a sad sound that is further enhanced by piano accompaniment with a slight calm. It can only be heard in a limited edition package as a single, and the other has found its place on the original Involver, with amazing cut vocals followed by a melody with high modulations. It is interesting that Sasha cut the vocals into countless parts and then started merging them separately.
Smile is one of those tracks that have an exceptional text and a very good concept, but which had their real success in someone else's vision. The drama line that Sasha brought into it, the gradual construction and the climax that is reached only after the seventh minute, make no wonder this track is in the middle of the compilation. After all, it was this track that initiated the construction of the entire Involver concept.
Spooky's Belong is just another track that was created a few years before the release of this disc and which Sasha dragged around his case at numerous performances, to finally shape it to his liking, in a way that fits as part of the puzzle which he composed over the years and eventually presented under the name Involver.
Phil K and Luke Chable, gathered behind the Lostep project, once sent Sasha their demo called Burma, and he privileged them with his remix of the track, including it later on this legendary release. Sasha once said that he fell in love with Burma at the first hearing, in the original version, but he still wanted to weave a part of himself in it.
The disc is closed by two creators facing a completely different target group. While Felix da Housecat built his name on Chicago’s new wave of house music, Ulrich Schnauss is one of the acclaimed producers in ambient environment. Sasha put them together in such a way that they link perfectly, bringing the disc to an end, leaving no feeling of incomplete. It is noticeable, from this perspective, that Watching Cars Go By had a great influence on future creators of electronic music, especially Marcus Schossow, who used the motif of a computerized female voice for his big hit Mr White even to the point of certain motifs and lyrics they almost coincide, so it could be said that Marcus actually made a sequel to this track. Sasha rounded off the whole story by inserting a sample of the legendary track Smack My Bitch Up, just to tickle the imagination. Switching from this to the last track is just a story unto itself. Sasha raised the beat from 132 to an incredible 560 bpm and then turned it to 140 to mix On My Own. What to say, it's Sasha!
Sasha managed to do a timeless work with Involver. One of those discs that you never get bored of and in which you can always recognize new moments. The release of the sequel has been waiting for a full four years. Electronic music forums are full of speculation when it will come out. As for me, Sasha doesn't have to hurry. The 2004 involver will be in my player for a long time.
Sasha - Involver
01. Grand National - Talk Amongst Yourselves 10:22
02. Shpongle - Dorset Perception 9:31
03. Petter - These Days 2:54
04. Unkle - What Are You To Me? 4:07
05. The Youngsters - Smile 9:33
06. Spooky - Belong 7:38
07. Unkle - In A State 5:39
08. Lostep - Burma 12:02
09. Felix Da Housecat - Watching Cars Go By 8:11
10. Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own 7:42
Text originally written on the 16th of April 2008 for Pulseone, a portal of electronic music
Much could be written about Alexander himself, but it is enough to google his nickname under which he became famous, and which he shares with millions of people of different nations and religions, to understand what greatness he is. The first page the search engine will refer you to is the one that mentions Sasha with the “dj” attribute in front of the name. I don't want to go any further and mention that he has been at the very top for more than a decade. There is no need. Everyone knows who Sasha is.
It is a difficult task to live up to expectations, especially if they are huge. After the legendary compilation released for the cult label Global Underground, GU 13: Ibiza, hordes of fans fell in love with the progressive sound in house music. Everyone hoped that every next edition signed by Sasha would be even better or at least on a par with the famous "thirteen". A heavy burden.
If you pick up a disc with the letters "involver" written upside down (or maybe Sasha is written upside down?) And look at the list of tracks on it, nothing will attract your attention too much. Yes, you know who the performers are, you've heard their tracks before, but… Only ten tracks were on the compilation. There is something wrong. And why there is not a single remix anywhere? You will find out the answer by looking a little better at the disc or by listening to it. Each and every track is remixed and behind every is Sasha's name, so the question is whether this is actually a compilation or a production work.
The involver opens Talk Amongst Yourselves, which is a great addition to the psychedelic ambience of Dorset Perception. The track signed by Shpongle, behind which are the big names of the psy trance scene Raja Ram and Hallucinogen, take you far from the clichés that were already present on the scene at the time, and which will reach their peak a few years later. These Days and What Are You To Me are so conceived that it is almost impossible to determine when one stops and the other begins. Later, there will be attempts by certain DJs to separate these two tracks and play them individually, but in the end it came down that these tracks are seen as mashup, although it never was.
The melancholy of the vocals emanating from the UNKLE duo was the starting point for Sasha to make his own vision of their production. Thus, two remixes were created for In A State, both signed by Sasha. One has a sad sound that is further enhanced by piano accompaniment with a slight calm. It can only be heard in a limited edition package as a single, and the other has found its place on the original Involver, with amazing cut vocals followed by a melody with high modulations. It is interesting that Sasha cut the vocals into countless parts and then started merging them separately.
Smile is one of those tracks that have an exceptional text and a very good concept, but which had their real success in someone else's vision. The drama line that Sasha brought into it, the gradual construction and the climax that is reached only after the seventh minute, make no wonder this track is in the middle of the compilation. After all, it was this track that initiated the construction of the entire Involver concept.
Spooky's Belong is just another track that was created a few years before the release of this disc and which Sasha dragged around his case at numerous performances, to finally shape it to his liking, in a way that fits as part of the puzzle which he composed over the years and eventually presented under the name Involver.
Phil K and Luke Chable, gathered behind the Lostep project, once sent Sasha their demo called Burma, and he privileged them with his remix of the track, including it later on this legendary release. Sasha once said that he fell in love with Burma at the first hearing, in the original version, but he still wanted to weave a part of himself in it.
The disc is closed by two creators facing a completely different target group. While Felix da Housecat built his name on Chicago’s new wave of house music, Ulrich Schnauss is one of the acclaimed producers in ambient environment. Sasha put them together in such a way that they link perfectly, bringing the disc to an end, leaving no feeling of incomplete. It is noticeable, from this perspective, that Watching Cars Go By had a great influence on future creators of electronic music, especially Marcus Schossow, who used the motif of a computerized female voice for his big hit Mr White even to the point of certain motifs and lyrics they almost coincide, so it could be said that Marcus actually made a sequel to this track. Sasha rounded off the whole story by inserting a sample of the legendary track Smack My Bitch Up, just to tickle the imagination. Switching from this to the last track is just a story unto itself. Sasha raised the beat from 132 to an incredible 560 bpm and then turned it to 140 to mix On My Own. What to say, it's Sasha!
Sasha managed to do a timeless work with Involver. One of those discs that you never get bored of and in which you can always recognize new moments. The release of the sequel has been waiting for a full four years. Electronic music forums are full of speculation when it will come out. As for me, Sasha doesn't have to hurry. The 2004 involver will be in my player for a long time.
Sasha - Involver
01. Grand National - Talk Amongst Yourselves 10:22
02. Shpongle - Dorset Perception 9:31
03. Petter - These Days 2:54
04. Unkle - What Are You To Me? 4:07
05. The Youngsters - Smile 9:33
06. Spooky - Belong 7:38
07. Unkle - In A State 5:39
08. Lostep - Burma 12:02
09. Felix Da Housecat - Watching Cars Go By 8:11
10. Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own 7:42
Text originally written on the 16th of April 2008 for Pulseone, a portal of electronic music
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