On Loop

It’s been a while since he was last in India,but international DJ and producer Sasha says he is ready to make up for it. “I was in India in 2005. After that there was just too many engagements,” says Sasha,a trifle apologetically,as he kicked off his Burn DJ Sasha tour last evening in Delhi ,at the F Bar and Lounge. The 40-year-old also unveiled Burn Mix,a limited edition CD,produced by Burn Energy Drink,that contains nine original electronic music tracks composed by music enthusiasts in the country. The tracks,put together by seven DJs were chosen after an online initiative that invited budding DJs and producers to send in their music. Delhi ‘s Sahej Bakshi,also known as Dualist Inquiry,won the over-all competition and has two of his tracks,Urchin and Pariah ,in the album. “One of the best things about electronic music is that there is so much new talent—it keeps things fresh and exciting. I’ve always felt that local talent should be promoted,” says Sasha.

He would know. Alexander Paul Coe (his birth name) was only 22 years old when he was drawn to electronic dance music (EDM) and taught himself to mix. Back in the late 80s,Manchester was the bedrock of acid house and he found himself at The Hacienda,the most famous music club of the time. “I started out by playing at illegal parties and raves and began to build a bit of a reputation,” says Sasha. But the club suffered because of the increasing rise of violent crimes at the venue ,and Sasha shifted to Longton,a two-hour drive away from Manchester . The crowd followed him there and it wasn’t long before he was voted as one of the top 10 DJs in the world by the readers of the well-known popular music magazine,DJMag. Sasha has stayed in the list since 1997.

Though he has been acknowledged as a pioneer in using audio engineering techniques,Sasha recalls a time when things were not so savvy. “I used to work with vinyl for hours,” he recalls. “Today,computers and audio technologies have become more stable,but I find that I am moving back to a simpler set-up,” he adds. For the Burn tour,Sasha is using a CDJ-1000,a mixer,an effects machine and keeping it real.

He will travel to Mumbai and Bangalore next.