- Event: ”Fundacion” Los Angeles Opening party.
Line up:
-Main room: Sasha, Kazell.
-Upstairs patio: John Do + Justin Gourley (Basic/Giant/Avalon)
Event date: Saturday, December 18th, 2004
Venue: Avalon, Hollywood.
After having enjoyed the pleasure of interviewing Dj Sasha himself a few hours before, the excitement of the night that was to come ran through my veins as though it was my life source. First of all, you have to understand the excitement that exuded from Sasha himself about his renewed found love of Deejaying through the Ableton software and the custom controller (*wait till you feast your eyes on this fucking thing!!! I dream about it every night since Sasha showed me the images of the prototype on his laptop) that will make it all come together as a mixer does and much, much more. And that is exactly the point, Sasha’s new medium of Deejaying can offer a lot more to him as a Deejaying, more than just simply playing other people’s tracks, he reinterprets everything live and plays according to the atmosphere, after all, isn’t this what Sasha is know for? …Putting on the right track at the right moment was what was done before, now he can manipulate each moment of each track. I don’t know about you but this system sounds quite practical and much more creative, quoting Sasha: “ It creates the smokescreen and magic that was the excitement of going to a Dj show in the early 90’s when Dj culture was on the rise”.
The problem of the lack of magic lies in the plain fact that we, the consumers are also the artists, we almost know too much in that when a Dj does something behind the decks, it isn’t surprising anymore, we know where it’s going and how it is done. Only a few Deejays manage to create truly unique shows, like James Zabiela mesmerizes crowds through his original turntablism. Even if other Djs equally embrace this software, each one’s reinterpretation of a track would be different, like a live remix. Unfortunately due to minor finalizations and fixing of glitches here and there, Sasha’s custom controller was not completely ready at the time of the interview (patience kids!), but meanwhile Sasha has been mastering laptop Deejaying with the resources he has available to him(Ableton’s Evolution assignable knob mixer) and I believe he’s found his groove even without the controller.. Not to dwell on something I can’t show evidence of for too long (you’ll just have to trust this reviewer and wait), but Sasha’s custom controller is a serious Weapon of Mass Musical Construction which will guarantee years of magic behind the decks…I mean screen.
It was a warm Saturday evening in Hollywood, The line outside of club Avalon was long but there was a strange calm and quiet to this crowd, perhaps the people were nervous because they waited until the day of the show to buy their tickets at the box office and they might sell out as they waited…perhaps they wondered what they were getting themselves for Xmas or maybe it had just hit them that the one and only Sasha was in their town once again for the opening of His residency (Fundacion) and getting ready to unleash the deadliest beats in the industry and wondering what they had done to deserve such an honor of having him back every month for at least the next 6 months (I know that’s what I was thinking!!!).
The Basic crew (comprised of Justin Gourley and Dj John Do) rocked the upstairs patio with their unique throbbing tech sound, the patio is located at the spider club (like a mini club within a club) part Avalon. This area is usually frequented by local return clubbers who are not star struck by the big Djs, it feels as though most people know each other and the music being played which makes for a laid back and sexy environment, the fact that this area is open air with a closable roof brings back the freedom of smoking a cigarette whilst still listening to nice tunes (California and New York have a no smoking indoors in public facilities policy).
In the main room, the decorations were simple with two screens on either side of the Dj booth and a “never-before-seen” circular screen which displayed images inside and out (look at photos of the show for this). Local Dj hero Kazell (originally from Manchester) was the opener for Sasha and he did so with great musical responsibility, the crowd enjoyed the sounds but for some odd reason, the club decided to place Kazell on a individual booth directly facing the main booth on the balcony. Some were disappointed because it was difficult to see Kazell and they thought the music was a recording, which robbed Mr. Kazell of the acclaim and respect he should have received for such a funky set.
Finally around 1:00 a.m. Sasha appeared behind the main Decks, his set up comprised of two “back up” pioneer Cdjs, an Allen and Heath mixer, two evolution mixers taped together and his laptop with the Ableton software. His set started in signature Sasha form with a slow building track leading into a progressive track which brought smiles and erect index fingers. None of the tracks played throughout his set were recognizable, which brought a much needed mystery back to the music, there were moments when it seemed as though I recognized “this” sample or “that” beat, but it would quickly disappear to form a new track. Sasha’s Deejaying seemed much more comfortable than the last few times he was in town, the technique behind the mixing was unparalleled, he seemed inspired and happy behind the decks which resonated in the music. The crowd responded in accordance with pumping fists and extravagant displays of euphoria (people sometimes engage in some surreal behaviors as the music entrances them that have to be seen to be believed).
The tone of the end of the night had that Ulrich Schnauss “on my own” (Sasha mix) track featured on his Involver album, the rolling bass lines, electro break beats are a mere human descriptions which fail to capture their true nature. The word which has been used for the phenomenon heard that night is one used often but rarely correct, we seriously got ‘Rocked!! !”. And I don’t mean it an Mtv generation fake punk type rock, I meant that Led Zeppelin rock (please don’t be confused with the fact that he actually played Led zeppelin music, the music embodied that old rock feeling) that makes everyone do those Billy Idol lips and pump their fists in a rhythmic fashion. Sasha ended his set around 5 a.m. with a huge gem of an encore by Vector 13 track “Rise” (Algorhythim records), this action puts the reputation of Sasha into perspective, it’s a track that is not necessarily new but its great, and most Djs would have never thought of making it their encore track, but Sasha’s intuition and creativity is in such focus it was natural that he play that track. And as the tracks ascending vocal makes us close our eyes in awe and the continuous bassline drops, there is a bittersweet feeling that the show is over and we’ll have to wait a month until we can experience Sasha’s musical deliverance again (lucky us) but a overwhelming feeling of joy about we just witnessed.
Overall this was by far the best Sasha performance I had seen in years, I could not ask for a better Xmas present (a gift that keeps on giving for the next 6 months at least) and that Sasha’s presence in Los Angeles should awaken a local scene that has the clubs, the warehouses, the financial resources, the Djs and the crowd and energy it needs for success.