SASHA's 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;
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 reached cult status
in New York, until the closing of Twilo in 2001.
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 "Sarsha" 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.
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.
There are DJs who turn up, play records and make people dance.
And there are producers who make the dancefloor-igniting records
those DJs will kill for. There are very few people in dance
music who can do both and Sasha is the leader of the pack. Ever
since he rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North
of England's explosive early 90s club scene, that magic touch
has made Alexander Coe one of the most famous, most revered
DJ on the planet.
It's because of what he can do with music - the way he can
make good records sound better, great records sound awesome,
and everything he plays into his own. The way his mixes take
elements from across the spectrum of electronic dance, from
trance, breaks, progressive and deep house, and create a languidly
hypnotic liquid groove. The way his understanding of both melody
and momentum can tease, taunt, and en-trance a dancefloor before
unleashing a record that will have people not just leaping up
and down but bursting with emotion. 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 it
is this universal appeal that he has tapped into that has established
his strong fanbase around the globe.
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 stepmother forced him to take lessons. At the time, he hated
them, but after his first studio session - and this is typical
Sasha - he phoned her to say thank you. His first exposure to
house music was at Manchester's Hacienda; just as dance music
exploded into the summer of love. One visit and the young pony-tailed
Sasha was hooked. "The smoke machine, the strobe lights,
everyone trance dancing, wearing bandanas and smiley T-shirts,"
he smiles now. "It definitely had a fuck-you attitude compared
to the rest of pop music." 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 Shelly's.
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. And,
lets not forget, in a world where the DJ had too often been
bespectacled nerds, here the headline DJ had the looks and charm
to match his growing following. In classic rock n' roll style,
here was a star that boys wanted to hang out with and girls
wanted to get just that little more bit close to.
Shelly's 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'.
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 York's "Twilo", following
in the footsteps of Vasquez and Tenaglia.
The first DJ cover star - on Mixmag in early 1991 - the still
shy DJ was freaked. "I was so used to going to places and
just hanging out. Suddenly there was a stream of people coming
up," he recalls. "Of course it's bound to happen.
You go to Liverpool and you're the first 'pin-up' DJ and you're
going to get shit. Frankly, It still weirds me out." Today
he still remains shy at heart. "I'm not very good in social
situations where I'm put on the spot," he says. "Like
meeting new people, small talk. Just never been good with that."
It's this contradiction - the coyness that Alexander Coe has
when it comes to being Sasha, that's at the core of the Sasha
myth.
Although Sasha has clearly reached a celebrity status, it's
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. Sasha has gone from DJ to superstar status in America,
where 'Sarsha' is a household name for many teenagers - a gruelling
three month tour took 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.
There followed a move back into releasing his own music, collaborating
with the former Underworld mainstay, DJ Darren Emerson on 'Scorchio'.
For Sasha, music is his first love, and what gives him a buzz
is being able to share his music with others. Soon after 'Scorchio'
came the first concrete proof of the long-awaited, debut Sasha
longplayer
'Airdrawndagger' took his nose for the dancefloor's g-spot
and combined it with the ears for a heartstring strumming melody,
a smile inducing hook and dirty great b-line to create a 69
minute symphony that sounds as wistfully enchanting doing the
hoovering at home as it does reaching for the lasers on Saturday
night. Like the best Sasha DJ set you ever heard, it has melancholy
mixed with euphoria, downtempo introspection mixed with jump
n' shout excitement.
Across the 11 tracks, there's the time and space to reflect
his love for music that rarely gets the chance to shine in clubs,
whether that's punishingly gnarly breakbeats or glittering modern
classical film scores. It's a symphony for all ravers that grew
up but never grew out of chasing that buzz. A record of a journey
that began, as so many did, in the smoke and strobes of Manchester's
Hacienda nightclub and has now taken him to Midwestern stadia
and around the globe.
And that's an award-winning journey. The Delta Heavy Tour that
consisted of Sasha, John Digweed and Johnny Van M and took in
35 gigs between March and May last year was recently awarded
Best Dance Event at the Dancestar Awards 2003. It was a series
of gigs that took DJing into unprecedented waters - two mammoth
tour buses, visuals by the company behind hit movie 7even's
intense opening credit sequence, and crowds of up to 15,000
clubbers crammed into arenas, warehouses and theatres across
the United States. The success was such that Sasha and the boys
will be back on the road to do it all again, bigger, better,
badder come Spring next year.
After a summer of dates across the globe, including sets at
Homelands, Creamfields, Dance Valley, and hosting a stage in
the forest of the Mount Fuji Festival, Sasha has been in the
studio again, working on new plans and ideas, and most recently
remixing the forthcoming UNKLE single. Expect a few surprises
over the coming months, for the man simply refuses to stand
still.
