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sasha interview on Gu
copy & paste job....
EXCLUSIVE SASHA INTERVIEW.
The big news is this: Sasha’s back, planning a new mix for Global Underground. And he’s going to remix, re-produce and recreate every single damn track on there. We caught up with him during a rare studio break to find out where his head’s at.
Tell us about what you’re planning for this new Global Underground mix.
“I thought it would be a more interesting project if everything was to be re-edited, produced or remixed by me. It blurs the lines between artist album and mix album - and makes it more interesting from everyone’s point of view. Some of the tracks are going to be remixes, others will be bootlegs – just taking tracks and re-editing. By doing it like this, I really feel it’s a step forward, it gets my creative juices flowing - and it feels like a natural continuation from my artist album.”
This is your first mix album for three years. Why now?
“I feel like it’s time. ‘Airdrawndagger’ [his solo artist album] took up so much of my time, such a chunk of my life, I feel like this part of my career needed attention. I feel like people out there needed to know where my head’s at.”
So where is your head at?
“It’s been a strange year for electronic music and DJ culture. Worldwide things are very healthy, but the view the press are taking, especially in the UK, is that they’ve given up on it all. There’s definitely been a backlash against superstar DJ and superclubs, but people have jumped on the bandwagon to give us a bit of a pasting. I think that will pass. The culture won’t go away. But the honeymoon period is definitely over. Electronic music and DJ culture has permeated so much stuff it’s become invisible. People are ready to say, ‘Rock music’s back, DJ culture is dead.’ But you have to keep reinventing yourself - one chapter is over, and the next phase is kicking in now. The best club’s around right now are all the little clubs, all the out of the way places.”
Why did this happen?
“The culture shift is one. The superclubs building these empires and not paying attention to what was going on on their doorsteps. DJs playing abroad. It was just an adjustment. Things were out of hand around 2000. The fees were out of hand. Everyone assumed it was going to go on forever, they didn’t look at what people’s experiences were like when they came through the door.”
Where do you feel the music is at right now?
“Listening to music right now, I think there’s some very exciting music out there. There’s a lot of exciting producers. Right now, the 80s influence is pretty mental. Ulrich Schnauss is a good example – his album is between Charlie May, Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. This last year has been the year of the bootleg, there’s been brilliant soundclash bootlegs. People haven’t been afraid to shove different genres together.”
So dance music is moving on.
“Music’s lightened up, it’s moved on from the chin stroking progressive days. That dark sound when we were doing Twilo has definitely moved on.”
How will your Global Underground mix reflect this?
“I want it to be a bit more eclectic than perhaps my other CDs. And not necessarily be worried about this super smooth continuous club mix. I’m interested in something that jumps tempos and stuff, it’s not going to sound like a standard club mix.”
Are you still jetting off all over the world?
“Worldwide, things are busy as hell. I’m pretty much booked ‘til next Summer. I’ve pretty much got the next 18 months planned out.”
How did ‘Airdrawndagger’ do?
“For an instrumental album without any singles, it did well. It did about 150,000, which is pretty fucking good. The press were really behind it in a lot of places.”
How do you feel about coming fourth in the DJ Magazine Top 100 poll?
“The top three DJs play a certain stadium filling trance sound, I don’t think my music comes close to that, so I’m really happy about it. There is definitely a gulf, perhaps even in age group, between who Tiesto and Van Buren play to and the people John [Digweed] and I play to. Tiesto’s playing stadium gigs to 25,000 and selling them out. I think in general we’re holding our own, considering the state of affairs out there. I’m quite happy to be up there. Every year I think this year they’re going to turn on me, but it hasn’t happened yet!”
Finally – why Global?
“I think Global is a really important brand for dance music. They’ve been really important in my career. Global Underground were a really important part of putting DJ culture around the world. Anytime anyone does a GU CD they pull out all the stops. The series has got a real quality to it. It’s an important brand for dance music. When I wanted to do a mix compilation they were the first people I thought of.”
Interview: Richard Murphy
new sasha gu on the way....fuckin sweet
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