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Sasha (DJ)

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Sasha <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Sashah1.jpg
Sasha at a performance with Lee Burridge on April 27, 2006
</td></tr>
Background information

<tr><td>Birth name</td><td colspan="2">Alexander Coe</td></tr><tr><td>Also known as</td><td colspan="2">Sasha</td></tr><tr><td>Born</td><td colspan="2">4 September 1969</td></tr><tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Hawarden, Wales, United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">House
Trance
Progressive house
Electronica
Breaks
</td></tr><tr><td>Occupation(s)</td><td colspan="2">Disc jockey
Record producer</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1989 – Present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Deconstruction
Boxed
Ministry of Sound
</td></tr><tr><td textalign="top" style="padding-right: 1em;">Associated
acts</td><td colspan="2">Sasha & John Digweed</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">http://www.djsasha.com/</td></tr>

Sasha (born Alexander Coe on September 4, 1969), is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house in the late 1980s and became a central figure in the development and popularisation of electronic dance music. He partnered with fellow DJ John Digweed in 1993, touring internationally and producing a series of mix albums.<ref name="amg-sd">Birchmeier, Jason. Sasha + John Digweed biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.</ref> Through their track selection and mixing techniques, Sasha and Digweed were instrumental in the evolution of progressive trance and house.<ref name="virgin">McGeachin, Nick (2004-09-24). Sasha: His Life, The Music & Neil Young?. Virgin Megamagazine.</ref>

Sasha has produced multiple UK-charting singles<ref name="chartstats">UK Chart rankings. Chartstats.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-07.</ref> and has remixed tracks for such artists as Madonna and The Chemical Brothers. His remixing earned him a Grammy nomination for his 2004 remix of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By". Sasha's remixing and production often combine electronic genres, making it difficult for critics to pinpoint a single variety of music as Sasha's.<ref name="PS-fundacion">Jones, Simon (2006-05-19). Sasha - Fundacion: NYC. Progressive-Sounds.</ref> This was most prevalent on his debut artist album Airdrawndagger, which surprised many critics with its unusual cross-genre style.<ref name="ps-add">Jones, Simon (2002-07-03). Review of Airdrawndagger. Progressive-Sounds.</ref>

Sasha worked with younger DJs and producers such as Brian Transeau and James Zabiela, greatly affecting their musical styles and techniques. Through his use of Ableton Live, Sasha helped popularise modern technological innovations among DJs who formerly relied on records and turntables.<ref name="prefix">James, Colin. Sasha: No rest for the world's last 'rock-star deejay'. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.</ref> Despite the changing trends in electronic dance music, Sasha continues to attract crowds at dance clubs.<ref name="djmag">DJMag Website. DJMag. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.</ref> As of late 2006, Sasha is on an intercontinental tour and gathering material for future mix albums.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Sasha was born in Bangor in 1969, but spent most of his youth with his mother in the Welsh town of Hawarden. Sasha's early musical tastes were primarily Top 40 pop music, including bands such as The The and The Police.<ref name="bbc-wales">Sasha speaks. BBC Wales. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.</ref> After an "idyllic childhood", he passed the entrance exam for Epsom Public School at age 17.<ref name="bbc-wales"/> However, he did not like Epsom and left before completing his A-Levels. Instead of continuing his schooling, Sasha moved to Bangor to live with his father and stepmother. Sasha's stepmother forced him to take piano lessons, which he disliked them at the time; however, Sasha ultimately found the lessons to be beneficial to his music career.<ref name="soundrevolt">SoundRevolt biography. SoundRevolt. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.</ref>

Sasha became aware of electronic dance music through Manchester dance venue The Haçienda in 1988.<ref name="djtimes">Dresden, Dave. Interview with Sasha. DJ Times. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.</ref> Drawn to acid house music and the rebellious attitude he associated with it, he made weekly visits to Manchester and soon moved to nearby Disley.<ref name="ra-feature">Sasha - Standing the Test of Time. Resident Advisor (2004-10-18).</ref> Sasha purchased many acid house records and began to teach himself how to mix. At a club Sasha frequented, a local DJ announced he was looking for other DJs to travel with him on a regional tour. Sasha volunteered and made his first DJ appearance in nearby Stockport. Sasha retrospectively said of his debut, "I'd never even touched a Technics: I thought the pitch control was the volume, I didn't even know where to plug my headphones in! I'm sure I was absolutely horrendous." <ref name="soundrevolt"/>

  • "Magic (John Digweed's 3D Mix)" (1994) (file info) — play in browser (beta)

    </li>

  • Problems playing the files? See media help. </li> </ul> </div> </div> Sasha soon found himself in debt due to the low pay he received for performances and the large number of records he bought.<ref name="djtimes"/> In order to finance his record collection, he performed at illegal warehouse raves in the Blackburn and Blackpool areas. With the assistance of another local DJ, Jon DaSilva, Sasha secured work DJing at The Haçienda. At The Haçienda, Sasha refined his ability to beatmatch and learned key mixing from DaSilva. Though he enjoyed playing at The Haçienda, in 1991 Sasha left for the club Shelley's in Stoke-on-Trent.<ref name="djtimes"/> There, he established part of his signature sound by mixing euphoric trance music with hard techno and emotional a cappellas.<ref name="soundrevolt"/> Because of his increased popularity and visibility at Shelley's, Mixmag featured Sasha as the first DJ on the cover of Mixmag, where he appeared under the headline "SASHA MANIA - THE FIRST DJ PINUP?".<ref name="ra-feature"/> While continuing to DJ, Sasha began production on several dance tracks of his own. Sasha released his first single "Appolonia" under the name BM:Ex (Barry Manilow Experience) with producer Tom Frederikse on Union City Recordings.<ref name="bbc-bio">Sasha biography. BBC (2006-07-06).</ref> After DJ-ing at Shelley's for several years, Sasha left his residency due to increased gang violence in and around the club. As a result of his growing reputation, Sasha was offered work in several London and Australian clubs.<ref name="djtimes"/> Instead, he accepted a consistent spot in the DJ rotation at Renaissance. Later in 1993, Sasha produced "Together", his first single under the name Sasha. "Together", which he produced with Danny Campbell for Pete Tong's FFRR, peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #57. With this success in hand, Sasha began a series of records for Deconstruction Records with the singles "Higher Ground" and "Magic" (for which Digweed performed a remix) as well as The Qat Collection with Frederikse and vocalist Sam Mollison.<ref name="discogs-sasha">Entry for Sasha. Discogs. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.</ref>

    [edit] Digweed era

    Image:Renmixcollection.jpg
    Main article: Sasha & John Digweed

    In early 1994, Sasha partnered with fellow Renaissance DJ John Digweed.<ref name="djtimes"/> Sasha and Digweed honed their DJ-ing skills, often performing in tandem and focusing on track selection and technical mixing abilities. Pleased with Sasha and Digweed's performances, Renaissance had the duo compile the triple CD mix album Renaissance - The Mix Collection and released it on the club's own Renaissance Records label.<ref name="djtimes"/> The album featured tracks from artists such as Leftfield, Fluke, and 2 Bad Mice, as well as original productions and remixes from Sasha and Digweed. The Mix Collection was released soon after Sasha's April 1994 departure from Renaissance. Following his success at Renaissance, Sasha was again featured on Mixmag with the tag line "SON OF GOD?", though he resented the accolade.<ref name="lastnight">Brewster, Bill (2000). Last Night a DJ Saved My Life. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3688-5.</ref> After touring together for two years, Sasha and Digweed became "true superstars"<ref name="amg-sd"/> with the release of their double CD Northern Exposure on mega-label Ministry of Sound. Around this time, Sasha began his recurring mentorship and partnership with fellow producer BT with the album Ima.<ref name="djtimes"/> As well as providing guidance for BT, Sasha produced a "euphoric" and "introspective" 42 minute rendition of the album for a second "bonus" disc.<ref name="roughguide">Bidder, Sean (1999). The Rough Guide to House Music. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-85828-432-5..</ref> Sasha continued to advance his own production work by pairing with vocalist Maria Nayler to produce the single "Be As One", which reached #17 on the UK singles chart.<ref name="amg-sasha">Prato, Greg. Sasha biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref>

    • "Xpander" (1999) (file info) — play in browser (beta)

      </li>

    • Problems playing the files? See media help. </li> </ul> </div> </div> In 1997, Ministry of Sound released Northern Exposure 2, Sasha and Digweed's next double CD entry in their Northern Exposure series. To support the album, the duo toured internationally, defining the sound of trance music in the late '90s.<ref name="amg-sd"/> After extensive touring, Digweed and Sasha took up residency at New York City's famous Twilo nightclub, where they would often DJ for up to nine hours per night.<ref name="bbc-bio"/> In 1998, Digweed and Sasha released separate mix albums on Boxed as part of the Global Underground series, with Digweed's Global Underground 006: Sydney and Sasha's Global Underground 009: San Francisco, which drew from Sasha's experience of touring on the West Coast of the United States. That same year, both DJs formed their own record labels; Sasha created Excession Records and Digweed created Bedrock Records. Excession Records released fewer than ten records, the last of which was in 1998; however, this led Sasha to found the management agency "Excession: The Agency LTD." Excession remains a booking agency for many popular DJs including Hybrid, Nick Warren, Steve Lawler, James Lavelle, and Desyn Masiello.<ref name="excession">Excession LTD Website. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.</ref> Sasha reached more mainstream audiences with his remixes of Madonna's "Ray of Light" and Gus Gus's "Purple" for their single releases. His success in pop music led to Sasha scoring the music for the PlayStation video game Wipeout 3.<ref name="djmixed-wipeout">Interview with Rockstar Games and Psygnosis. DJMixed.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.</ref> In 1999, Sasha and Digweed reunited in the studio to record their third edition in the Northern Exposure series: Northern Exposure: Expeditions.<ref name="amg-sd"/> In addition to mixing and DJ-ing, Sasha joined Charlie May of Spooky to produce the Xpander EP,<ref name="amg-spooky">Cooper, Sean. Spooky biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.</ref> which many clubbers still view as "one of the greatest trance tracks of all time".<ref name="manual">Snoman, Rick (2004). Dance Music Manual: Toys, Tools, and Techniques. Focus Press. ISBN 0-240-51915-9.</ref> He used the title track as a centerpiece for Global Underground 013: Ibiza, his second Global Underground release. Sasha continued his collaborations with BT on the track "Ride", which was released as a single on Yoshitoshi Records and on BT's Movement in Still Life. Soon after, he worked with Underworld's Darren Emerson on the single "Scorchio", Sasha's first charting single in four years. In between touring and producing original material, Sasha and Digweed released the mix album Communicate in 2000, prompting them to temporarily leave their Twilo residency in order to promote the album with a United States tour. Communicate had mixed reviews including Spin, who stated that despite a "few stellar moments, [Communicate] is ultimately a let-down". LAUNCHcast, too, described Communicate as "boring and lackluster" and that it "stalled in a monochrome world of dead beats".<ref name=launch>Review of Communicate. LAUNCHcast (2000-12-07).</ref> During the late 1990s, the increased popularity and visibility of "superstar DJs" led to the creation of superclubs such as Cream and Gatecrasher. However, by 2003, the popularity of electronic dance music languished. The Guardian's pop critic Alexis Petridis attributed the "terminal decline" of dance music to its over-commercialisation by big-name DJs, such as Sasha, as well as their demands for increased fees for performances.<ref name="petridis">Petridis, Alexis (2003-08-21). Cynical, exploitative and banking on ecstasy to mask the rip-off. The Guardian.</ref> Though dance music had been declared "dead" by many figures in the dance industry, Sasha continued to tour despite the closing of many superclubs, including his resident club Twilo in May 2001.<ref name="gillan">Gillan, Audrey (2003-08-21). Super DJs forced off the dancefloor. The Guardian.</ref>

      [edit] Delta Heavy Tour

      • "Breezer" (2002) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
        • Sasha's collaboration with Junkie XL, "Breezer", was one of Sasha's tracks of choice during the Delta Heavy Tour.

        </li>

      • Problems playing the files? See media help. </li> </ul> </div> </div> After the closing of Twilo, Sasha and Digweed embarked on their ambitious Delta Heavy Tour of the United States in 2002. Featuring veteran tour producer Kevin Lyman and opening act Jimmy Van M, <ref name="ps-deltaheavy">Turner, Ben (2006-02-07). Sasha & John Digweed - Delta Heavy: A DVD Documentary. Progressive-Sounds.</ref> the tour covered 31 cities and played to 85,000 people.<ref name="newsweek">Juarez, Vanessa (2006-02-03). DJ Sasha on Dance Music's Glowstick Culture. Newsweek.</ref> The appearances, complete with laser shows and video production, were more akin to rock concerts than typical DJ events.<ref name="ps-deltaheavy"/> This was new for the DJ-ing scene and compelled other DJs to host similar concerts.<ref name="ps-sashainterview">Sasha interview. Progressive-Sounds (February 2006).</ref> A DVD of performance highlights, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage was later released as Sasha & John Digweed present Delta Heavy by System Recordings.<ref name="ps-deltaheavy"/> Ben Turner, creator of the DanceStar awards, retrospectively described the Delta Heavy tour as "a landmark moment for electronic music".<ref name="ps-deltaheavy"/> Though the duo of Sasha and Digweed never explicitly split up, demanding schedules and frequent independent touring prevented them from substantial collaborative efforts for a long period after Delta Heavy.<ref name="gighit">Sasha interview. Gighit.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-26.</ref>

        [edit] Post Digweed

        In the later half of 2002, Sasha began collaborations with big beat artist Junkie XL on the single "Breezer."<ref name="psjxl">Progressive-Sounds Interview with Junkie XL. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.</ref><ref name="discogs-breezer">Entry for Beauty Never Fades/Breezer. Discogs. Retrieved on 2006-09-26.</ref> Junkie XL, along with Charlie May, also assisted Sasha on his first album of original material, Airdrawndagger.<ref name="amg-add">Swan, Glenn. Airdrawndagger review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-08-21.</ref> Airdrawndagger took several years to produce due to Sasha's desire for the album to be "as near to perfection as possible."<ref name="ps-btinterview">Jones, Simon (December 2001). BT interview. Progressive-Sounds.</ref> A March traffic accident in which Sasha suffered a perforated ear drum further delayed the album's production. Though the accident temporarily impaired his hearing, Sasha drew inspiration for the album from his ordeal. Sasha managed to finish production on Airdrawndagger and it was released with much fanfare in August 2002. However, Airdrawndagger was "received with a lot of head scratching", as Sasha described it, which he attributed to the unexpected combination of genres. The album did not feature the heavier "club sound" of Sasha's previous mix albums and instead bore a closer resemblance to ambient music.<ref name="virgin"/> Airdrawndagger generally received favorable reviews,<ref name="metacritic">Airdrawndagger Metacritic reviews page. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref> though critics noted it for not being as consistent and well produced as his DJ mixes. Sasha himself described it as "a selfish, slightly self-indulgent record", though he maintains that he is still "happy with it to this day."<ref name="washingtonpost">Harrington, Richard. "Master Manipulator Keeps It Spinning", Washington Post, 2006-03-31.</ref> Some critics, however, called it "sleepy", including E!Online who described it as being "more in league with Yanni than Moby".<ref name="eonline">Review of Airdrawndagger. E!Online. Retrieved on 2006-06-21.</ref> To encourage listener's interest, Sasha held an amateur remix contest for the album's first single, "Wavy Gravy".<ref name="djsasha-wavygravy">WAVY GRAVY REMIX CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED. Djsasha.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref> Because of the contest's success, Sasha released elements of all Airdrawndagger tracks on his website to be downloaded and remixed by fans.<ref name="ra-addnews">Sasha's Freedom of Airdrawndagger. Resident Advisor (2003-02-24).</ref>

        After the release of Airdrawndagger, Sasha took young DJ James Zabiela "under his wing." Sasha introduced Zabiela to the CDJ1000 and signed Zabiela to the Excession talent agency.<ref name="psjz">James Zabiela - Alive Review. About.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.</ref> The two toured the United States together, which extended Sasha's influence to already popular American DJs such as Kimball Collins.<ref name="lastnight"/>

        Image:Sashaspooky.jpg

        Sasha signed with Global Underground to do another standard mix album in 2004, but he found the process of creating a normal mix album unrewarding.<ref name="lacitybeat-build">Romero, Dennis (2004-06-24). Building a Better DJ. Los Angeles CityBeat.</ref> Instead, he decided to combine his production and DJ-ing talents for a mix compilation that resembled a "real" album – that is, one featuring original material.<ref name="bbc-wales"/> Sasha's next studio album, Involver, was "a fusion of mix album and production record", consisting mainly of Sasha's reworkings of tracks by other artists.<ref name="amg-sasha"/> For this project, Sasha explained that he "tried to take all the separate sounds to all the tracks [and recombine them], and it allowed me to mix the tracks together on a much deeper level."<ref name="sfweekly">Reeves, Mosi (2004-06-30). Don't Speak. SF Weekly.</ref> To accomplish this, Sasha sequenced the album using Ableton Live<ref name="apple">Schaal, Tilmann. DJ Sasha: Crossfade into the Digital Domain. Apple.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref> as well as Logic Pro.<ref name="lacitybeat-build"/>

        In 2005, Sasha produced his next album Fundacion NYC, which was based on his nights DJ-ing in New York at the Fundacion club nights. It was the first album to be mixed using Sasha's Maven controller, which he co-developed with Ableton.<ref name="djmixed-fundacion">Sasha Fundacionnyc Mix. DJMixed.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.</ref> Fundacion NYC received positive reviews for its originality, though JIVE Magazine found it "too complicated for the ear".<ref name="jive-fundacion">Review of Fundacion. JIVE Magazine (2006-06-22).</ref> Sasha has commented that he is pleased with the album and plans on making an entire series of Fundacion albums.<ref name="groovetickets">McCarthy, Zel (2005-05-31). One More Time: Interview with Sasha. Groovetickets.com.</ref> The next year, Sasha released 10,000 copies of a June 2006 DJ set for sale using Instant Live, making him the first DJ to use Instant Live's licensing and publishing services.<ref name="billboard-live">Paoletta, Michael (2006-05-24). Sasha Plans Live DJ Mixes. Billboard.</ref> While continuing to regularly DJ, Sasha is working on material to produce another Involver mix and the next Fundacion mix.<ref name="4clubbers>Woodcock, Clare. Sasha Interview. 4clubbers.net. Retrieved on 2006-08-15.</ref> Global Underground announced that Sasha's Involver 2 will be released in 2007.<ref name="gu-19">Global Underground Newsflash. Global Underground (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>

        Though frequent performing kept them apart for several years, Sasha and Digweed announced that they would be reunited for a few Australian performances.<ref name="psdigweed2006">Jones, Simon (2006-08-10). John Digweed Interview. Progressive-Sounds.</ref> In November 2006, the duo performed at several venues including Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.<ref name="djsasha.com">Sasha tour dates. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.</ref> Sasha's current tour has destinations in North and South America with several dates for a trio of UK performances.<ref name="djsasha.com"/>

        Sasha lives and runs a music studio in New York City, though he also maintains a house in London.<ref name="virgin"/> He is married and brings his wife with him on his frequent tours.<ref name="newsweek"/> Sasha finds the constant touring to be physically tiring, though he feels that he thrives on it.<ref name="trackitdown">Skrufff, Jonty (2005-07-02). Sasha's Secret of Superstar DJ Success. Trackitdown.net.</ref> While fans may regard Sasha to be a DJ "hero", he is uneasy with fame; Sasha considers himself "shy at heart" and is typically uncomfortable discussing his personal life.<ref name="sfweekly"/> He has mentioned on numerous occasions that he is so busy with DJ-ing and production that he rarely has any free time. However, when Sasha does have free time, he enjoys watching football, cooking, and sampling the cuisine of the countries he visits.<ref name="djfix">Schoenbohm, Kevin; Jules Mari (2006-08-31). DJFix Interview. Djfix.com.</ref>

        [edit] Musical genres

        Image:Sasha2.jpg

        Influenced by the early sound of The Haçienda, Sasha began his career playing acid house records. By the early 1990s, he had moved towards a more European house music style,<ref name="bbc-bio"/> though by the time of his Shelley's residency he had begun to experiment more with American house and other styles he described as "happy". His tastes further developed as he moved to Renaissance, and he began to incorporate the popular house music sounds of Moby, Spooky, and Leftfield. Sasha's second Digweed collaboration, 1997's Northern Exposure, was described as "epic house",<ref name="djtimes"/> and subsequent releases went on to feature the progressive trance sound of artists such as Sven Väth, Matt Darey, Tilt, and Armin Van Buuren. Along with his Xpander EP, his mix albums of the late 1990s were distinguished by their progressive house influence.<ref name="rollingstone"> (2004) Nathan Brackett: Rolling Stone Album Guide, 4th Edition, Fireside, 718. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.</ref> In Sasha's constant rotation around this time were records by artists such as Space Manoeuvres, BT, and Breeder, as well as Sander Kleinenberg's single "My Lexicon".

        The 2000 album Communicate saw the duo's work move towards a deeper house music sound and featured tracks by Morel, Mainline, and Jimmy Van M. This shifted focus away from the melodic themes of previous releases in favour of a stronger emphasis on the bassline.<ref name="rollingstone"/> The Delta Heavy Tour and Airdrawndagger marked a dramatic shift in style and introduced the influences of ambient and electro music to Sasha's work. These influences led to his use of strong melodies with minimal percussion and breakbeats on Sasha's artist album. Involver was primarily a fusion of breakbeats and progressive house characterised by UNKLE and Lostep. With 2005's Fundacion, Sasha's new style was mostly progressive house and electro-house tracks with work by James Holden, Tiefschwarz, and Swayzak.<ref name="PS-fundacion"/> Because of his success with progressive house, Sasha has commented that he feels people try to "pigeon-hole" him into playing the genre. Rather than calling it progressive house, Sasha considers his most recent material to be between house, trance, and breaks,<ref name="kidzworld">Kidzworld interview. Kidzworld. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.</ref> though Sasha has stated that he prefers not to associate himself with a specific genre of music.

        [edit] Techniques and technology

        Image:Sasha front1.jpg
        Sasha attributes his success as a DJ to his technical skills and his ability to "connect with his dancers".<ref name="lastnight"/> During performances, he tries to maintain a balance between new and experimental material while ensuring "the party is still rockin'".<ref name="newsweek"/> His spontaneity carries over to studio work, where Sasha typically only possesses a vague idea of the tracklist for the album when he begins creating a new mix album.<ref name="fundint">Blue, Ben. Sasha - Fundacion NYC Interview. Retrieved on 2006-07-08.</ref> Because of this, his albums never turn out exactly how he expects them to.<ref name="fundint"/>

        Sasha is renowned for applying new music technologies to his studio work and live DJ-ing. He and John Digweed used Pro Tools for mixing their compilation albums, unlike their live performances where they used turntables and records. For their remixes, however, they used an Atari ST (which was considered obsolete at the time) with Notator software.<ref name="remix">Gerrish, Bruce (2001). Remix: The Electronic Music Explosion. ArtistPro.</ref> For recent albums such as Fundacion NYC, Sasha used Ableton Live for sequencing, partially on account of Pro Tools' higher price.<ref name="djfix"/> In live performances up to the late 1990s, Sasha exclusively performed using records. Before he started using the CDJ1000, he had previously had his digital music specially cut to acetate before each tour at great expense.<ref name="washingtonpost"/> Once he integrated CDs into his live act, Sasha operated CDJ1000s with Allen & Heath mixers and FireworX.<ref name="virgin"/> While he is now known for heavily utilizing audio technologies, Sasha was one of the last DJs to begin using CDs for live performances. Sasha began DJ-ing with Ableton Live in his live act as well, using it in tandem with turntables. Having exploring its functionality, Sasha found he could perform entirely through Ableton Live. He then co-developed the "Maven" controller, which he uses as a physical interface to the Live software.<ref name="fundint"/><ref name="ps-sashainterview"/> During DJ sets, clubbers often believe he is playing new, unheard remixes; in fact, he is often playing modifications of tracks created in Ableton.<ref name="apple"/> Sasha most often uses the built-in Ableton plugins, preferring their superior stability and performance over third party plugins.<ref name="fundint"/> For the first public performance of Involver material, Sasha used a PowerBook running Ableton,<ref name="macworld">DJ Sasha talks Macs and Ableton. Macworld. Retrieved on 2006-06-26.</ref> but has since shifted to a setup including an iMac G5 and Ableton Live.<ref name="apple"/> Despite Sasha's insistance that Ableton Live allows for greater creativity and spontaneity, "vinyl purists" have accused him of taking much of the challenge and mystique out of DJ-ing by using software in performances.<ref name="prefix"/>

        In addition to new DJ-ing technology, Sasha has found that the internet has greatly affected the way he uses and obtains tracks for performances. Formerly, he used to hunt through record shops for new records; now he regularly receives new tracks from producers and labels via the internet.<ref name="ps-sashainterview"/> These tracks, which number in the hundreds each week, are edited by Sasha and others for use in his live DJ sets.<ref name="ps-sashainterview"/>

        [edit] Popularity and honors

        • "Watching Cars Go By (Sasha Remix)" (2004) (file info) — play in browser (beta)

          </li>

        • Problems playing the files? See media help. </li> </ul> </div> </div> Sasha has remained consistently popular among dance music fans. He has been voted into the top ten DJs in the world by readers of DJMag every year since 1997, including finishing #1 in 2000, and #2 to partner John Digweed in 2001.<ref name="djmag"/> At the annual Winter Music Conference, Sasha has won the "Best Techno/Trance 12"" award for the Xpander EP and "Best CD Compilation" awards for Global Underground: Ibiza and Involver. He was also nominated for "Best European DJ" and "Best Remixer".<ref name="wmc">Winter Music Conference Website. Winter Music Conference. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.</ref> At the 1999 Ericsson Muzik Awards, he received an award for "Outstanding Contributions to Dance Music".<ref name="bbc-ericsson">Sasha tops DJ poll. BBC News (2000-11-20).</ref> Sasha has been nominated as the top DJ in his genre every year since 2000 in the DJ Awards, but has yet to win. In 2005, the Grammy committee debated whether Involver was eligible for nomination as Best Electronic/Dance Album. The Recording Academy decided that the album was eligible, though Involver failed to receive a nomination from the full academy.<ref name="lacitybeat-groove">Romero, Dennis (2005-02-17). In a Grammy Groove. Los Angeles CityBeat.</ref> However, Sasha did receive a Grammy nomination for his remix of "Watching Cars Go By" by Felix Da Housecat, which was featured on Involver.

          [edit] Selected discography

          Albums:<ref name="billboardcharts">Billboard Chart rankings. Billboard. Retrieved on 2006-06-07.</ref>

          Singles/EPs:<ref name="chartstats"/>

          DVD:

          [edit] Notes and references

          <references/>

          [edit] External links

          Official

          Biographies and related

          Other

          Persondata
          NAME Alexander Coe
          ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sasha (stage name)
          SHORT DESCRIPTION Popular disc jockey of electronic music
          DATE OF BIRTH September 4, 1969
          PLACE OF BIRTH Hawarden, Wales
          DATE OF DEATH
          PLACE OF DEATH
          es:Sasha (DJ)
          Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Sasha_%28DJ%29"
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