CityLife

Sasha still puts super into clubs

OLD SKOOL: Sasha

WHEN The Chemical Brothers immortalised the phrase ‘superstar DJs’ in 1999, the nod to their own heritage was obvious.

Few DJs played as big a part in creating that legacy as DJ Sasha.

A pioneer in the evolution of progressive trance and house music, Sasha has been at the forefront of electronic music for over two decades, renowned for his innovative work as DJ, producer, songwriter and mixer.

Unsurprisingly, Greater Manchester is an important part of the Sasha success story.

Not only was Stockport the scene of his first ever live performance but, inevitably, belonging to the Hacienda generation, Factory’s fabled Manchester club had the same profound effect on Sasha’s life as it did on thousands of others.

The Summer of Love, particularly, is remembered with great fondness.

“I was a complete raver back then,” he laughs. “I was the first person in at 9pm, just watching how the DJ would build up the set. The new stuff he used to play between 9pm-12am was my favourite part of the night. I used to be obsessed with it, I loved it.

“Acid House really caught my imagination. My brother used to like electronic stuff, but I was never into it.

"But all that changed. I loved going to see it played out live, seeing how the music would affect people. I just became completely obsessed, and I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

The obsession would eventually become his work. Once confident enough to implement his own style, Bangor-born Sasha began to DJ at illegal raves around the north west, eventually gaining an illustrious slot on Hacienda nights under the tutelage of Jon DaSilva.

Prominence followed upon leaving the club, where Sasha’s reputation grew in correlation with the trend of superclubs, such as Cream, in Liverpool.

Sasha was a permanent fixture at all the clubs during their mid-90s heyday, prompting Mixmag to label him ‘the first DJ pin-up’.

Indignant

Yet the rise and subsequent decline of the superclub left many commentators questioning the state of dance music, leaving Sasha and other big name DJs open to criticism for the over-commercialisation of the scene. However, Sasha is indignant.

“It needed to happen. Some bad things started to occur at a few of the places, and it had to change. The free parties, the smiley face, the drugs were all part of the excitement, but once it became so popular, all that commercial stuff was necessary.

“Once the Criminal Justice Bill came in, everything had to change.

“It put paid to the parties, and we had a responsibility to everyone that they were safe. We needed to make sure an ambulance was there, that people were being looked after. We had to start running it like proper gigs.

“It’s a very different thing nowadays. At the start of the '90s, it was a phenomenon when it kicked off. It was a social movement, something new and exciting. It’s still great today, but it’s different.

“We are treated like acts now; we have managers, agents, promoters. We’re like artists, people come to see the DJ, and they have fans, like a band. And as long as people want to hear us play, then it’ll carry on.”

This month sees the start of Sasha’s summer tour which includes, much to the delight of old-time ravers, some club dates with fellow seminal early '90s DJ and ex- touring partner John Digweed, with whom he was part of the Renaissance club night phenomenon.

“John and I played abroad, but it has been ages since we played in the UK.

"We just kind of neglected it. So we thought it was time to go back to some of our old club haunts, like Cream. John is a good friend, and a legendary DJ. It’s going to be amazing.”

It begins what Sasha calls ‘mad season’, which will see him spend the summer travelling to far flung places such as Lithuania and Bulgaria, as well as Creamfields, in Cheshire, over the August Bank Holiday weekend, in the name of giving people a night out to remember.

“Every summer is like this now. It’s a global thing these days. It’s great to go to these places and connect with people, and the response is always incredible.

“It just shows, as long as people want to have a good time, you’ll have a DJ.”

Creamfields takes place in Daresbury, Cheshire on Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30.