Sasha returns to NZ

There are DJs who turn up, play records and make people dance. And there are producers who make the dancefloor-igniting records those DJs will kill for.

There are very few people in dance music who can do both and Sasha is the leader of the pack. Ever since he rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the UK's explosive early 90s club scene, that magic touch has made Alexander Coe one of the most famous, most revered DJ on the planet.

It's because of what he can do with music - the way he can make good records sound better, great records sound awesome, and everything he plays into his own. The way his mixes take elements from across the spectrum of electronic dance, from trance, breaks, progressive and deep house, and create a languidly hypnotic liquid groove. The way his understanding of both melody and momentum can tease, taunt, and en-trance a dancefloor before unleashing a record that will have people not just leaping up and down but bursting with emotion. The best DJs know that Djing is first about being able to read people and then about being able to tap into that human experience and take it on a journey. Sasha has always been noted for being a master at this and it is this universal appeal that he has tapped into that has established his strong fanbase around the globe.

Regardless of the avenue of music he chooses to take, many follow his lead and are forever transformed by his direction. Beginning with his collaborations with John Digweed on the groundbreaking Renaissance mixes, followed by the Northern Exposure series and then onto his inspiring contributions for Global Underground, his influence has been far reaching. With the recent release of GlobalUnderground Fundacion a new chapter has been written in a career that has already been widespread yet continues to grow.

Sasha's 2005 Tour serves as the introduction of a new piece of technology inside the booth , MAVEN his one of a kind, custom designed controller. Creating a 100% digital experience using this controller, an Apple laptop, and Ableton Live software, Sasha will be leaving the turntables behind. The controller allows Sasha not only to exhibit his stellar track selection and mixing skills, but to literally re-edit every track his is playing on the fly. With the ability to sample, loop, and fuse elements from multiple songs at once through digital technology, Sasha is truly revolutionizing his live DJ performance.

Sasha says, "It's not really a new way of DJ'ing, it's more like a new option of a way of DJ'ing and live remixing, kind of a mashup between the DJ and the live artist. But in the end what comes out of the speakers is still a DJ set. There are so many things I have always wanted to do with my DJ sets, but the technology was limited. With the Maven and Live software there are a million things that I am now able to do.

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