Sasha - Fundacion : NYC

Having embraced the groundbreaking Ableton Live technology several months ago, Sasha´s career has been revolutionised, a transition that started with the remix album project ´Involver´. Since then he has intergrated the software into his live gigs, with the aid of a custom built one of a kind controller he calls ´The Maven´ allowing him manipulate, edit, and remix tracks on the fly to create a totally unique experience at each and every gig. This has been showcased via his Fundacion nights in New York and Los Angeles, and also via his regular appearances at London´s Fabric, and his latest CD for the Global Underground takes us right to the heart of the dancefloor and gives us a first hand insight into the Fundacion experience. For the details on this forthcoming album, including comments from Sasha, check out this preview, with a review to follow shortly ahead of it´s release in mid June.

Sasha - Fundacion : NYC

"Fundacion : NYC is a snapshot of my recent residencies in New York and LA. It captures the spirit and the sound of the Fundacion night." - Sasha

Sasha´s Fundacion residencies at New York´s Crobar and Los Angeles´ Avalon have been part of an overall renaissance in club land. He´s been able to experiment with a revolutionary new DJ set-up that began with his ´Involver´ album, which was released through Global Underground a year ago.

"´Involver´ was my experiment with Ableton, my remix project. It really pushed the capabilities of Ableton in the studio. ´Fundacion : NYC´ captures what I can now do with Ableton in a live capacity, this is my mix album." - Sasha

Created over a period of months, ´Involver´ utilized the Ableton computer mixing system. It inspired Sasha to ditch the traditional Technics decks and CD players and take Ableton on the road. To do this, he and a technician friend worked for months creating a bespoke, state-of-the-art mixing console that Sasha has nicknamed ´The Maven´. This one-of-a-kind custom designed controller, along with Ableton Live software and an Apple G5, enables Sasha to sample, loop, layer and re-edit live in the booth and has transformed his DJing.

"It´s like a live performance every night. It´s the ultimate DJ experience." - Sasha

Completed in just a few days, ´Fundacion : NYC´ is the sound of Sasha´s Ableton/Maven set-up in live action and enables Sasha to mix some of the coolest electro-house sounds around with forgotten classics he has revived and reworked. Sometimes as many as five tracks come together at once to create completely new interpretations – though Sasha´s innate ability to clarify and streamline sound means things never get over-crowded. Instead ´Fundacion´ captures a great DJ having the time of his life.

"It´s completely re-energised me again. I´m jumping up and down in the DJ booth, and people can feel that on the dance-floor, they know." - Sasha

A brilliant example of just what Sasha has been able to do using the Maven can be heard on ´Tides´. This is one of the most complete transformations of any track on ´Fundacion : NYC´. Originally a downtempo, acoustic soul number by oddball German trio Beanfield, from their 2004 album ´Seek´ - it was then given a sparse remix by Detroit techno maestro Carl Craig. Sasha in turn has rebuilt Carl Craig´s rework into something epically melodic, yet still cool as ice.

"It´s a fantastic record, but the original is just a kickdrum and a bassline, very stripped down, very minimal. For my kind of sets it didn´t have the energy." - Sasha

After a six-month residency in the States, Sasha will be taking his Fundacion night to Ibiza this summer – the third location to host the Fundacion experience. The newly re-furbished Space is to be Sasha´s home for five Thursdays this summer starting on 28 July until 25 August.