Sasha

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 that can do both and Sasha is the leader of the pack. Ever since he stepped behind the decks at the legendary Shelly’s in Stoke back in the late 80’s, that magic touch has made Alexander Coe one of the most famous, most revered DJs on the planet.

This Saturday Sasha will perform back-to-back with John Digweed for the first time in 6 years at the STREETrave 20th Birthday Party. We managed to catch an EXCLUSIVE chat with Sasha ahead of this weekend so read on to find out what he’s got to say…….
Where in the world do we find you today?I’m in London; I’ve just got back from a little family holiday to recover from my summer exploits.

How’s the summer been for you this year?
It’s been great; I’ve really enjoyed it this year. Ibiza has been really good, although the numbers were down on the island a little; I really enjoyed my time there this year.  I played a couple of dates for Carl Cox at Space and the terrace at Amnesia for Cream and they were all great.  I also played a lot of really interesting, unique gigs this summer in Europe such as the Pure Future Hacienda Festival in Trakai Castle in Lithuania with John, which was amazing.

Are you looking forward to another Streetrave set at The Arches?
I am looking forward to it, I love playing The Arches.  It’s one of my favourite places to play, as a DJ you can’t really ask for much more it’s one of the best crowds to play to anywhere in the world.

You’ve played at The Arches for Colours & Streetrave on many occasions over the years, any particular stand out memories/stories you’d care to share?
I’ve got quite a few stories, but not sure if I should share them or people would be in trouble! As I said it’s always great playing in Scotland, whether it’s on my own or with John, Ricky always really looks after us and the crowd is always so warm and responsive.

Do you remember your first gig with Streetrave?
Yeah, I think it was in an ice rink! Wow, that’s taking me back! The October gig will be the first time you and John have played back-to-back at The Arches in over 6 years, does that make it a little extra special?Wow, has it really been that long? Of course that makes it more special, John & I have had more gigs with each other this year compared to past years. Playing with John is always a great experience as we have such a comfort zone with each other when we’re in the DJ booth and I think that reflects in the sets as we bring out the best in each other.

What is it about the two of you that’s led to the partnership behind the decks working so well over the years and still being as successful today?
I don’t know, it’s an unspoken thing really. John & I never sit down and talk about music or plan our sets; we pretty much keep our cards close to our chests when it comes to what we’re going to play. I guess we’re always trying to out do each other, there’s definitely a healthy bit of competition involved as to who’s got the latest track and remixes.

Do you discuss what each of you is going to play in advance or do you just go with it on the night and find it’s a winner?
No, we never talk about it. Even when we’re on a tour bus together for five weeks in America we never talk about it. We just get into the DJ booth and see what track each of us will bring out the box.

What do you think has been the reason Streetrave has stood the test of time?
You’ve got to talk about Ricky’s devotion to what he’s doing and the energy he puts into his work.  He’s got great relationships with a lot of the DJs, he’s always supported us for example and people love coming up to play for him.  He’s the driving force behind it and his team keep everything moving forward. 

You are at the forefront of technology when it comes to DJing, where do you think things are heading next in the scene?Technology wise the new CDJs have just came out and a lot of people are excited about that. I’ll be getting my hands on them this week so I’ll get to see what the fuss is all about. Every 6-12 months something new comes out and it’s great keeping up with technology. I’m still using Ableton but maybe I’ll be incorporating CDs back into my sets.  I still love playing off CDs, it’s a totally different experience behind the decks, so we’ll see what happens.

Do you think it’s a bad thing that some DJs starting out don’t even attempt vinyl/CDs anymore and skip to the latest computer technology?
I think that’s bad, I think everybody has to learn to mix records together, whether it’s with CDs or vinyl.  I think if you just jump straight into Ableton and try and learn how to DJ that way you would definitely lose an important step, as the way you programme a set with vinyl or CDs is different to the way you would programme a set on a computer. At the end of the day it’s what comes out of the speakers that counts though, so I’m not really sure where I stand on that.

How are things going at Emfire?
Pretty quiet really as I’ve not really been in the studio much since In2volver. We’ve got a load of tracks ready and half finished that need some more work but I haven’t had any quality time in my studio. Hopefully in January I’ll be heading back into the studio and I’ll see where that takes me.

Are there any plans to release another album or compilation soon?
We’re talking through plans at the moment so we’ll see what the next big thing will be soon.

What are your top 3 Streetrave tracks for October?
Ooh, I don’t want to give that away but we’ll definitely be pulling out some classics!

And finally, what should the people at The Arches expect from you on October 3rd?
We’ll take people back a bit and pull out a few classics, but John & I don’t like to get too nostalgic in the DJ booth so we’ll be playing the latest tracks we can get our hands on too.