Involver

"Involver" meets the listener smack at the point where Sasha’s 2002 artist album "Airdrawndagger" and the future of electronic music collide. He is the DJ that rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North of England's explosive early 90’s club scene and has for the last 10+ years consistently sold out every venue, festival, and club that has been honored to witness his legendary performance abilities. And now "Involver" emerges. This is Sasha’s first mix compilation in nearly five years and his first full length release since "Airdrawndagger." It is unlike any album that has ever been released in that it completely and perfectly integrates the concept of the DJ mix compilation and the standard Producer/Artist album. Every single track on this album is an original Sasha remix, re-creation or production that has been exclusively recorded as an original piece for this project. He called upon some of his closest friends and peers including Felix Da Housecat, UNKLE, Spooky, and Ulrich Schnauss and asked for permission to recreate, especially for this album, one or more of their songs and they all agreed. In essence, Sasha has become the embodiment of what it means to be "involved" in electronic music on every level. Quite purely, he has taken on a new persona; integrating the DJ and the Producer, he is now the INVOLVER.


Pure, weightless elegance, Involver is true to its title, as Sasha comes up with a mesmerizing stunner. Two years after the lukewarmly received artist record Airdrawndagger, the Welsh waxman and frequent John Digweed co-collaborator has retreated into remix territory, but with a twist. In an effort to meld songwriting ambition with his feather-light touch behind the decks, 10 stellar tracks were totally remade in-studio, not just blended together. The result sounds livelier than dagger, putting Sasha's superb instinct for dance flow to work. Still, despite the presence of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" stomper, it's a very even record; themes patiently recede and resurface from the bubbly bottom of the mix. The warm, warbling melody from Petter's "These Days," for example, reappears long after you think it's vanished for good, lifting U.N.K.L.E.'s "What Are You to Me?" into hypno-dance orbit. Songs like Spooky's "Belong" and Lostep's "In a State" breathe the same air, rising and falling with interlocking rhythmic poetry. It's a daze of a record, ideal company for moody afternoons spent staring up at wispy clouds and vapor trails. –Matthew Cooke