Articles - Interviews

John: Welcome back to Hong Kong! It’s been a while since you played here, is there anything in particular you are looking forward to doing during your stay?
Sasha: Eating the wonderful food that I've missed in Hong Kong because it’s one of the best places in the world to eat I think. And, you know getting back to know the Hong Kong crowd, I used to really enjoy playing in HK and the scene sort of dried up from my end. I wasn't getting any offers and the big gigs that I was doing didn't seem like they were happening for a while, I know there was a big clampdown on clubs and stuff, so I was really quite upset that happened as there was a period of time when I really loved coming to play here, so let’s hope this is the first step back to that.

John: You’ve been DJing for over 20 years, and in that time you’ve seen some major transitions such as vinyl to CD’s and, more recently, the rise in the number of DJ’s using computers during sets. As one of the first to incorporate computers into your sets how do you feel this has developed as performance tool, and what effect has it had on the music?
Sasha: Well, there are a few things; when I first started using Ableton in the DJ booth the possibilities were greater than the actual reality of it, you know I built my own controller for it, as it developed over the last couple of years it's actually become more difficult for DJ's to use, they are really focusing on using it as a production tool. I just sat down with the guys from Serato and they've worked a way out to embed Abelton into their Serato scratch programme which is very exciting. And Pioneer, I'm actually using a CDJ2000 to play at the moment, I really enjoy the interface with them, and they've made some amazing improvements on the CDJ1000. I think the exciting thing at the moment is that people are realising that the technology is there and they're really thinking intelligently about how to develop, and how to refine their products, rather than coming up with another new way of doing it. With the products that they have they are thinking cleverly about what the DJ goes through before his set, during his set with the preparation and the organisation – all those things a DJ goes through from the moment that he starts thinking about the music to the moment he plays. I think it's very exciting as both Serato and Pioneer have really refined their products fantastically, and they really spent time thinking about what it is the DJ's need.

John: Last year was a good year for electronic music, many pop music tracks drew inspiration from house and electro, and it was not uncommon to see DJ’s with tracks in the top ten. However, some fans and critics have suggested that electronic music has begun to lose its edge or exclusivity. What are your thoughts?
Sasha: Every genre needs its stars – the fact that David Guetta had a number one record in America is just amazing. People, at the beginning of last year especially, were talking about the death of superstar DJ's – if you get a number one record and you are a DJ that is pretty incredible. You only have to travel to Berlin, to Watergate or Panorama and realise that the music has not lost its edge in any way at all. Commercial success is important, the fact that Tiesto is selling out huge events around the world means it's moving forward. You need them, it’s important to have the people at the top being successful, just as it's important to have the kind of guys that play residencies in clubs that hold 300 people with amazing sound systems that run 24 hours. I think certain countries have had peaks, and then things have really slid there and changed, but in the UK for example, people like to paint a very gloomy picture about the scene there, but I've been at some brilliant events in the UK over the last 12 months. All the festivals I played at were packed, some of the club dates I did like at Ministry in London and The Warehouse Project in Manchester were amazing gigs, so it seems pretty healthy to me.

John: Who is your favourite DJ/producer at the moment, and which up and coming DJ/producer should we look out for in 2010?
Sasha: I really like Lee Butler and DJ Shree from New York; they are probably my favourite DJ's at the moment. Up and coming guys, Max Cooper, I really like his production, and I just heard a DJ mix from him and it's fantastic. They are my picks at the moment.

John: Did you have a favourite track of last year?
Sasha: That's a really tough one. Let me see, I really like the Burial & Four Tet “Moth” record, it wasn't really a club record, more like a home listening record. A lot of the stuff I was listening to at home was what they call Cosmic Disco Stuff, like Phoenix Lisztomania Clasixx Version – that was very cool. There is a producer called 'Nhar' I really like, he did a record called “Afterburner” that I really really liked.

John: You have had residencies across the UK and North America, and toured the globe extensively. How do you think the Asian scene compares to these more established markets?
Sasha: It's difficult to say as each country has its own thing. Singapore, Zouk has been going for 20 years now – I think their 20th anniversary is next year – which is probably one of the longest running original clubs, almost as long as the Ministry in London, and that’s amazing that a club has lasted that long and still has integrity, they really care about their sound, their lights, the whole clubbing experience, they really know their music and the resident DJ's are fantastic. The same goes for a place like Womb in Tokyo, and then there are places like Hong Kong where the scene kind of died off and is now making a comeback, and Taiwan has a good little scene there. Mainland China, Beijing and Shanghai, the thing about those places, they never seem to have any momentum - every time I go back there I seem to be in a different venue, those cities need a club that is a regular thing, that keeps building and developing – like a Zouk or a Womb – where the people that are running it really know their music and have real musical integrity. Tokyo, and especially Singapore have been strong for years, I hope Hong Kong gets back on its feet.

John: What do you enjoy doing away from music?
Sasha: Spending time with my family is obviously very important as I travel so much. I love to cook food for them at home, and have people round and cook food – that kind of zens me out. I really enjoy going to the market, doing all that, preparing a meal and having a table full of happy people at the end of the day with a bottle of wine open.

John: What can we look forward to seeing from you in 2010?
Sasha: I'm working on a load of remixes and re-edits at the moment for my live sets. I don't know what' going to happen with that, it might well end up becoming a record, the remixes will probably end up getting released. At the moment I'm not really sure what that next big project is going to be, I've got a few ideas bumping around in my head, but I don't have any concrete plans as yet.

Catch Sasha LIVE in Hong Kong at HITEC on the 6th of February 2010.

Interview by John Stephen