Huge Sasha and Digweed fan. They will forever be gods on Mt Olympus. But I do agree their music is dull. Digweed can still get a party pumping and Sasha (who is our favorite of the duo) had this special gift of twisting your brain with the most unique/abrstract sounds, followed by some melodic heaven. Nowadays, Sasha's just been playing this dull LNOE stuff. Thank goodness Digweed was always there to get the dancefloor pumping again.
Although dull, my favorite part about seeing the duo is all the old school folks that come out watch/hear them play. All the retired party people who chuck up the money for a babysitter and get to relive some of their finest moments.
SYSTEM-J
quote:
Originally posted by djthunderbird
Well, its not like its a black & white situation.
Some other sounds of dance music can have pretty busy drops with different noises and melodies driving the energy on top of the low end. The sound that I was describing mostly relies on kick+bass to deliver the energy. It also has to do with the space that is left in the mix for these sounds to stand on their own. Its a sonically simplified form of electronic music, effective on the festival floor, but can get rather dull after a while.
But it's not very effective. It's boring. I've got absolutely no problem with stripped down dance music provided it's percussively interesting and the basslines makes you move. I might not listen to much of it at home, but I love a good techno smash up on a club system.
When I last saw Sasha and Digweed, everything they played had plodding, mechanical rhythms with one-note bass. The guys who were warming up for them were also playing pretty stripped down techy stuff but they really had the crowd frothing at the mouths, and then S&D came on and just flattened it.
The simple fact is they're old and their crowds are old, they've got media empires with the clothing and the radio show and the ten disc special edition CD release with bonus disc of ambient field recordings of John Digweed's washing machine. They get huge crowds regardless wherever they go because they're dance music's equivalent to Star Wars: we all remember the magic from our youth and we keep buying the ticket hoping we'll get just a taste of it again, even though deep down we already know it'll be . There's no excuse for this. There is much better dance music being made and much better DJs playing it. What they're playing is this half-arsed, plodding, enervating, middle age fodder.
camshaft
quote:
Originally posted by 72hrpartyanimal
Huge Sasha and Digweed fan. They will forever be gods on Mt Olympus. But I do agree their music is dull. Digweed can still get a party pumping and Sasha (who is our favorite of the duo) had this special gift of twisting your brain with the most unique/abrstract sounds, followed by some melodic heaven. Nowadays, Sasha's just been playing this dull LNOE stuff. Thank goodness Digweed was always there to get the dancefloor pumping again.
Although dull, my favorite part about seeing the duo is all the old school folks that come out watch/hear them play. All the retired party people who chuck up the money for a babysitter and get to relive some of their finest moments.
Yeah man, I'm with ya, hard for them to do too much wrong in my eyes, I'm biased for sure. Hoping it's an old school crowd in Dallas next month. Reading a lot of comments on their B2B sets over the past year and quite a few people coming out of retirement to see them again, saying it's their best sound in years...
I agree most of the LNOE stuff isn't my bag, especially some of the Franky Wah or Marsh stuff, just not my thing. Or it gets too much into Tale of Us/Mind Against/Bicep territory for my liking.
I've been a lot more into what's on Bedrock lately. I don't know if I'd go see Sasha solo right now but I'd go to Diggers in a heartbeat. (I missed him when he came to Portland last year!) Clips of his Outernet set in London from March are pretty driving/pounding so hoping for more of that. Their B2B Bristol and Toronto sets earlier this year sounded more dynamic - though anything is better than a festival set, those have been hugely disappointing (to me at least).
Jack, I don't entirely disagree with you, definitely some truth to that. I mean, I'm right in that middle age target audience, ha. Who are you listening to instead?
Thanks, will check him out, not familiar. Been listening to your mixes since way back and always appreciate your recommendations, especially for this genre.
szm
quote:
Originally posted by the-sixth
lmao, Im sure you'll enjoy this one as well.
some of these youtube comments are primo. To be fair it does sound like one of those cookiecutter uplifting trance tracks slowed down a bit. Its all about contrast and context I guess.
@varde23
2 months ago
its complete stolen from Activa!!!!!!
@paulstrike7466
2 months ago
Sasha Is The G.O.A.T We are truly bessed to be alive during his time here on earth to hear and experience this music He is a musical Angel sent here from heaven above Thank you God and Thank you Alexander Paul Coe from Bangor Im eternally grateful emoji emoji emoji
junglist
quote:
Originally posted by djthunderbird
Not disagreering with You guys here but I think that the sound that they play pretty much boils down to what the crowds today are expecting. The emphasis is on very clear kickdrums and basslines that sound great on a proper PA system. The buildups and drops are made to emphasize the basic and clinical beats. Long & evolving musical progressions are not really 'IN' today.
Mr Game+Watch
Call me a boomer but I'm digging his recent stuff. Especially liked him delving a bit into breaks during the pandemic years. His recent Anjunadeep set with Marsh gets regular play from me. Maybe not on the cusp of innovation like he was in the 90s, but this new stuff is still doing it for me.
72hrpartyanimal
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Game+Watch
Call me a boomer but I'm digging his recent stuff. Especially liked him delving a bit into breaks during the pandemic years. His recent Anjunadeep set with Marsh gets regular play from me. Maybe not on the cusp of innovation like he was in the 90s, but this new stuff is still doing it for me.
Would you mind sharing the link to that set?
sh33p
quote:
Originally posted by 72hrpartyanimal
Would you mind sharing the link to that set?
SYSTEM-J
Digweed is currently in hospital with a serious case of pneumonia and has had to cancel his upcoming dates. There's something seriously wrong with the universe if notorious caner and latter day porker Sasha outlives him.
camshaft
Yeah man...flew into Dallas for the S&D B2B tomorrow, found out last night about Diggers. Hope he's OK. Just going to be Sasha tomorrow. Edit: he's on for a 4-hour set!
