World number two DJ Sasha dazzles Jakarta at Stadium<\/p>\n
Joseph Mangga, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was 2.30 a.m. and the crowd was getting very restless at
\nStadium. They had already heard DJ Deny from Bandung, who opened
\nthe show at 10 p.m., followed by Ministry of Sound DJ Jan Carbon,
\nwho bombarded the hall with melodic swoops of spacey tribal
\ngrooves for nearly three hours.<\/p>\n
But Sasha, the star attraction who was originally billed to
\nstart at 1 a.m., was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n
Sasha is the famed British DJ who's been ranked second in the
\nworld by DJ Magazine for the last two years. He won the Best DJ
\naward at the 2001 MUZIK Magazine Dance Awards. He also produced
\nremixes for top popular artists, including the Chemical Brothers
\nand the Pet Shop Boys, not to mention his staggering rendition of
\nMadonna's megahit Ray of Light.<\/p>\n
Sasha is known as the man who has produced numerous critically
\nacclaimed remix collections, both for Global Underground, and in
\ncollaboration with his close friend and fellow DJ magician, John
\nDigweed.<\/p>\n
Yes, Jakarta's clubbers were full of high expectations,
\nespecially since Sasha had supposedly once promised to play
\nIndonesia back in 2001.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, those plans were scuttled following a car
\naccident that left the DJ with a perforated left eardrum. But the
\nspin-master finally made good on that promise on Dec. 27, or did
\nhe?<\/p>\n
For everyone at Stadium was asking the same question, "Where's
\nSasha?"<\/p>\n
The black T-shirt clad Indika Radio staff shifted nervously in
\nthe club's fourth floor foyer, as newly arriving clubbers mistook
\nDJ Carbon for the belated superstar. The circulating rumor was
\nthat he had arrived from Singapore extremely tired and partied-
\nout, and was still recharging his batteries at the Borobudur
\nHotel.<\/p>\n
Although Carbon was giving his best, the fans were getting
\nvery edgy as they tweaked open their third bottle of
\nKratingdaeng. Just as the dreaded words "no-show" were crossing a
\nfew people's minds, a procession of security and black shirts
\nmuscled their way to the DJ booth with a skinny-looking dude
\nlugging a couple of hefty record crates.<\/p>\n
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Sasha has entered the building!"<\/p>\n
Wearing what looked like an eagle-winged Harley-Davidson T-
\nshirt, the master cued up his first record and the crowd
\nresponded handsomely!<\/p>\n
Finally, there he was -- one of the greatest and most revered
\nDJs to ever spin the planet -- performing live in Jakarta. By the
\ntime Sasha, dubbed a man whose sonic collages are so
\nextraordinarily emotional and spiritually uplifting that Mixmag
\nMagazine once bequeathed on him the saintly title of son of God,
\nsettled into his sixth track, a second wave of uncertainty
\ngradually swept across the room.<\/p>\n
The music was good, quite good, but just a little too noisy,
\nharsh and bashing. The bass was also distorting, the treble was a
\nbit tinny and the themes were all a bit atonal and dark.<\/p>\n
What was going on? Could this be all the great Sasha -- the
\nreputed king of cosmic flow -- has under his belt? Have we all
\nbeen hoodwinked by media hype into believing this man to be
\nsomething more? After a very unimpressive first hour, I was not
\nthe only one beginning to look about despairingly and mutter, "Is
\nthat all there is?"<\/p>\n
Then suddenly, as if somebody had flicked a switch, a deep
\nrich synthesized track with a warm soothing melody washed over
\nthe auditorium with awesome clarity. The mood instantly
\ntransformed, as magical swirls of lush, multicolored sound swept
\neveryone into mindless bliss.<\/p>\n
Sasha, the sly old dog, had been playing possum the entire
\nfirst hour. It appears he intentionally pulled the crowd down
\nfrom a cloud of overexpectation with lackluster tracks and
\nmixing, before unleashing the full whack of his musical genius
\nand very best vinyl.<\/p>\n
What followed over the next two and a half hours can only be
\ndescribed as pure DJ-ing artistry -- smooth, roller-coastering
\nsonic waves of emotion that unfurled and orchestrated the feeling
\nof everyone into one huge collective soul. He covered all the
\nmusical bases, masterfully blending tracks of progressive trance,
\nhouse and breakbeat, as well as a few teasing tidbits from
\nAirdrawndagger, his recent down-tempo album of all original
\nmaterial.<\/p>\n
If you've never heard him in person, it's hard to explain how
\nSasha's emotive DJ-ing skills are just a notch above most other
\ntop DJs.<\/p>\n
By the time dawn was slowly breaking in Jakarta, any doubts
\nabout Sasha's purported greatness were fully put to rest. As he
\nplayed his last track -- a blasting remix of Underworld's Rez --
\nhe raised an LP high over his head and was greeted by a sea of
\nenormous smiles.<\/p>\n
After the set, Sasha was having so much fun hanging with the
\nJakarta crew that he managed to miss his mid-morning flight to
\nKuala Lumpur. He was able to catch a later flight, but he left a
\nhuge chunk of his heart right here in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
I think the odds are very good that we'll all get a chance to
\nhear his very special magic again next year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/world-number-two-dj-sasha-dazzles-jakarta-at-stadium-1447893297",
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