Global Underground 13: Ibiza

Sasha

From the Enchanted Dance Floor Mecca of Ibiza Comes . . .

It takes more than a massive record collection to keep a dance floor in motion for hours on end. There's skill involved. And killer timing. And heart. All of that is in play on this craftily segued two-hour marathon of adrenalinerush rhythm assembled by British DJ Sasha (real name: Alexander Coe). Recorded in 1999 to commemorate a particularly torrid stint at Space, a nightspot in the Spanish resort of Ibiza, it's ridiculously invigorating dance music that offers perspective on key details of the mixmaster's art.

The recording is not live. As with other titles in the Global Underground series, it replicates, exactly, the sequence of tunes patrons heard Sasha spin in Ibiza. Working from the original song list, Sasha executes elaborate long-distance surges and sudden switchbacks with a smoothness that isn't always possible in performance. He begins the night like he knows people are just waking up; the first few tracks are low-key and almost ambient, simmering for minutes before anything as businesslike as a kick drum appears. The beats grow more insistent, and after an hour or so, Sasha is deep into his trancemaking tricks, juxtaposing wooferpushing bass lines against dreamy textures against intricate percussion polyrhythms.

Each groove is plenty intricate. But Sasha, arguably the most musical DJ to emerge from the electronica boom of the 1990s, thinks big picture: Weaving BT's "Fibonacci Sequence" into FOB's "The Fly" into his own wriggling approximation of ecstasy, "Xpander," Sasha uses the transitions between each piece for fuel, and winds up hitting high-velocity peaks that pretty much smash to smithereens the notion that DJs aren't musicians. Very few conservatory-trained types could conceive of, much less execute, what Sasha achieves here.

Genre: Electronica
Released: 1999, Global Underground
Key Tracks: BT's "Fibonacci Sequence" into FOB's "The Fly," "Xpander," "Mercury & Solace," "Stage One," "Sacred."
Catalog Choice: Sasha and Digweed: Northern Exposure.
Next Stop: John Digweed: Bedrock
After That: Various Artists: Café Del Mar, Vol. 5.
Book Pages: 674–675