Superstar DJ Sasha plays his first ever Christchurch gig, on a 2-date New Zealand tour.

Superstar DJ Sasha plays his first ever Christchurch gig, on a 2-date New Zealand tour as part of the worldwide launch of his debut album, 'Airdrawndagger'

In dance music circles, Sasha's name conjures near mythological references and fond memories of unforgettable gigs at destinations around the world. What punctuates Sasha's skills as a DJ is his capacity to not only incorporate diverse genres and styles, but to transcend them by infusing his music with pure emotion.

Sasha's talent is matched only by his passion, which has seen him become one of the world's true superstar DJs

Airdrawndagger sounds unlike anything Sasha has released, but at the same time, it manages to sound completely like Sasha. Newer fans may be surprised by the lack of progressive-house anthems a la "Xpander" or "Scorchio," and the presence of moody, beatless soundscapes and dark, evil-sounding nu-skool-breaks tracks. But anyone who has followed Sasha's career since his earliest acid-house remixes and first original tracks as BM:Ex, through his efforts as a DJ defining the sounds of trance and progressive house, knows that he has always looked forward and never overstayed his welcome on one particular style.

That desire to constantly move forward may explain why, after 12 years, Sasha remains one of the world's most popular DJs. In an effort to give his fans a little extra, he recently crossed the United States with John Digweed on the ambitious Delta Heavy tour. "We played places in middle America that we'd never been to before," says Sasha. "It was a dream to go out with our own sound system and lights. But it was intense, too. Nine weeks on a tour bus is pretty fucking mental. John and I have worked together for almost 10 years, so we have a friendship that goes beyond music. We've hardly ever had a fight, but if we'd stayed out on the road for a few more weeks, we probably would have ended up strangling each other."

With the album completed, Sasha plans to remain focused on his DJ career for the time being, although he's hinting at doing work on the follow-up to Airdrawndagger. "I feel like I finally have a solid foundation under me," he says. "Before I finished Airdrawndagger, I never felt complete. I was always playing someone else's music or remixing someone else's tune. Now I feel like I can really call myself an artist. This album feels a bit more grown-up than my other work."