Artist: Sasha
Title: Unreleased DJ Mixes Part 2
Label: BMG
By: Simon Jones | 3 April 2003
Tracklist:

• A1: Artificial Heart
• B1: Motorola
• B2: Wavy Gravy (U&K Mix)

Sasha "Unreleased DJ Mixes Part 2"

Sasha's productions have been widely accoladed over the years with early tracks such as 'Be As One' and 'Arkham Asylum' being hailed as classics. These were followed by the now infamous Xpander EP, a release by which all of Sasha's work is now judged, and of course 'Airdrawndagger' showed a slightly different side to Sasha, the producer. Now following on from that is the Unreleased DJ Mixes Part Two, following on from Part One which was released many months ago and featured remixes of the tracks 'Scorchio' and 'Lupus'. This time around there are two unreleased tracks from the Airdrawndagger sessions recorded in Holland and a remix of the most recent single 'Wavy Gravy'. To,e to dig deeper..

From the get go, you will notice that 'Artificial Heart' has a faster pace than most of the material that featured on Airdrawndagger. It's tough bassline vibrates and expands allowing the subtle sounds that sit between the lush melodies that Sasha has woven into the mix to bubble away in the backdrop of the track. Soon switching to a kick drum based percussive groove, a bouncing riff that sounds oddly like a cut up female vocal cuts through the sounds, building to the outro which borrows some electro influenced elements to slow things down and add a further sense of depth to the track. More club orientated than any of the tracks from the album, it seems to lack the same polish and isn't up there with some of Sasha's greatest productions. Never mind, onto the b-side..

Rattling sounds emerge like a runaway train through a dark tunnel as 'Motorola' gets underway, with the percussion line sticking to the same track. Deep kick drums build a presence as the bassline develops, going through a series of builds and drops, allowing the melody within to slide atop the beats and produce a spine chilling effect that evolves rapidly fading to an eerie sub bass reprise which navigates it's way through dark breakbeats and back into it's designated course for the finale. A track which could easily hold it's own against the likes of Cloud Cuckoo and Bloodlock.

Finally, there is a 'bonus' track, in the form of a remix of 'Wavy Gravy' from Finland's 'U & K'. These two producers have recently caught the attention of djs such as Nick Warren and indeed Sasha with their remix and original material, and for their mix to be included on this 12" is a great tribute to them seeing as they have no previous releases commercially available. Building on the now familar melody line, the duo drop in some deep effects which add even more of dancefloor edge to the track. As the main riff kicks in, a funky bassline rolls underneath loops, emphasising each intricate key change of the melody and giving it a slightly more big room feel. This remix shows much promise of what the duo will be capable of as further work of theirs makes it to record store shelves thanks to new labels such as Cuba Recordings and Confi Dance Records.

No doubt many people will pick this up on the strength of Sasha's name alone, but overall it's unlikely to become a timeless classic like Xpander or the earlier works, and will no doubt find a slot in many dj boxes for months to come. Another good release from Sasha, but doesn't really stand out head and shoulders above a lot of other records out there.