Sasha - Xpander [1999]

Gijs

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Jul 2, 2020
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I like the dark progressive vibes in Xpander actually. As for the other tracks of the EP: they certainly aren't bad in any way, but it's unfortunately not the type of trance I prefer to listen to.
 
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Katadunkass

The Banhammer
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Jun 27, 2020
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And for people who don't know, Sasha played it live a couple of years ago at Barbican


“Who is this Sasha then?” asked the Barbican ticket office, as a friend desperately tried to get a ticket. “We’ve never seen an event sell so quickly and we’ve never heard of him.” Well, they have now.

After the worry, the fretting, the rehearsing, the practicing and the rave bootcamp, Sasha and cohorts turned the Barbican into their personal triumph. Not bad for an idea that, not so many months ago, appeared to be a DJ’s folly.

It was quite unlike anything he’d undertaken in his 30 year DJ career. To help him, he pulled together a team that included longtime collaborators Charlie May, Dennis White, Dave Gardner, with technical help from Barry Jamieson and behind the scenes advice from the immensely experienced Tommy D – who’s worked with everyone from Right Said Fred to Jess Glynne – and whose wife Rosie Danvers led Wired Strings for both shows. Alongside this core team, orchestral percussionist Joby Burgess and vocalist Julie Daske were added, as well as a plethora of guest singers that included John Graham and Abigail Wyles.

It was a show of two halves. The first half, contemplative, abstract, yet with a surprising intensity, delivered a perfect iteration of 2016’s Scene Delete, with twelve compositions drawn from the album and a previously unheard tune, Interstellar, sandwiched in the middle. The livelier second half was a mixture of Sasha favourites, opening with Gothika and including crowd favourites Belfunk and Wavy Gravy, with three of his remixes – Battleships, Smile and Every Love That Ever Was – before finishing the evening with a sympathetically reworked version of Sasha classic,
Xpander, a powerful climax to two very special shows.
 

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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Belfunk is beyond amazing. Inspired Planisphere perhaps?
 

Progrez

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Jun 17, 2022
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Belfunk is beyond amazing. Inspired Planisphere perhaps?
Not just planisphere but a lot of other tracks by Airwave.



 
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May 4, 2022
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Masterpiece from the big man. Baja is class too. Whole EP let’s be honest, he tuned into something and delivered legendary results.
 
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Quethas

Member
Jul 15, 2020
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Finland
Well I made a mention of this in Heaven Scent topic...
I thought the track was great back then, I still think is. It is a track I will occasionally play. It does not reach the heights of Xpander for an example, but it is still a fine example of the peak of Global Underground.
Xpander is one of the most influential electronic tracks for me. It has stayed around ever since I heard it for the first time in Wip3out. This is surely in my top10 of all time.

Also I FINALLY bought the whole EP last year. I am not too fond of single releases to be honest, but if the EP is longer than many albums, it is well worth of money. Rabbitweed is my pick from the other tracks. I just love those punchy breaks.
 

Progrez

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Jun 17, 2022
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Do I really have to screenshot the rules for you?
What rules? I thought the whole point of music was artistic freedom. Trance was always a feeling genre and this track is a progressive house record, Mention Trance music to sasha and see how he will react to it he will run away to the next room.