Progressive House T-Shirt

Progressive House T-Shirt

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Sasha & John Digweed Reunited After 6 Years. The Social Festival 2016.

Sasha & John Digweed Reunited After 6 Years. The Social Festival 2016.

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Vintage Electronica Magazines

Vintage Electronica Magazines

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Classic Progressive House, Trance & Jazz Albums I Scored At Record Stores In Seattle

Classic Progressive House, Trance & Jazz Albums I Scored At Record Stores In Seattle

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Sasha & Josh Wink

Sasha & Josh Wink

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Sasha Poster At A Digweed Show

Sasha Poster At A Digweed Show

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JW / Electronica Classics 024: Sasha & Digweed Live in Atlanta During 1996 Olympics

This week's selection is the kind that makes you wish you could've witnessed such an evening of music in person. It's a 3 hour monster from two musical legends right at the inflection point towards international prominence for both the artists and a city. And it might be one of the best Sasha & John Digweed performances I've ever heard.

I luckily ran across this set on the Mercury Server forum last month, and it's been a mainstay in my daily music routine ever since. For those of you who may have cut your teeth on their Northern Exposure Series of albums in the late 90's, this set will feel like a familiar friend.

At the time it was recorded in Atlanta, the city was in the final week of the Centennial Olympic games. I'd visited about 5 weeks earlier to watch a Braves vs Giants game at the now-demolished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. I recall seeing the Michael Johnson Nike ads on the sides of city buses and just perceiving a general electricity in the city as it was about to become the focal point of the world. While this show wasn't directly affiliated with the Olympics (like Tiesto's performance at the 2004 Opening Ceremonies in Athens), I feel the timing is still notable.

What really strikes me about this thirteen year old Sasha & John Digweed set is just how fresh the music sounds even today. 1996 and my memories of the Atlanta Olympic Games seem like a distant time in the past. But 1996 in the context of this performance still seems relatively modern. Probably more of a cognitive disconnect on my part, but it's stuck with me and makes this set all the more personally special.

Sasha & John Digweed - Live in Atlanta Northern Exposure Tour 1996-08-02
Megaupload Link

01. Sasha - Arkham Asylum
02. ID 12
03. Apollo 440 - Krupa (Alcatraz Within The Joint Remix)
04. ID 26
05. ID Nootropic - Cant Stop
06. ID 38 The Music
07. ID 46
08. ID 50
09. ID 54
10. ID 60 Sounds Like A POB Or Origin Track Also On Simon's Set
11. Konya - Come On
12. ID 77 Male Chanting
13. SNS - You Do Me Wrong (Violator Mix)
14. Third Man - Solar Cycle
15. The Light - Panfried (Original / Mind Over Matter Mixes)
16. Third Man - Planet Hunters
17. Universal State of Mind - All Because Of You (Mindsweeper Mix)
18. Pop In Wonderland - Beautiful People
19. Stef, Pako & Frederik - Seaside Atmosphere
20. Paul Van Dyk - Words
21. Goldie vs. RITM - Inner City Life (RITM's Vocalic City Mix)
22. AGH - Yummy
23. LSG - Hidden Sun Of Venus
24. ID 165
25. ID 170
26. BBE - 7 Days & 1 Week

JW / Electronica Classics 012: Sasha's NYE 1999 Mix At Ally Pally

I've been doing a lot of writing this week for school, and for some reason late 90's trance music helps get me in a focused frame of mind. In that spirit, I offer up this classic set from Sasha recorded on New Year's Eve 1999 at Alexandra Palace in London.

It's notable that during the years of 1998 & 1999, you'd be hard pressed to differentiate a Sasha set from a Paul Oakenfold or Paul Van Dyk set. There seemed to be a convergence in the style of music during those years from many of the famous European DJs. By 2000 or 2001, each of those guys were pursuing noticeably distinct sounds.

As you listen to this performance, it's easy to remember the kind of pre-millenial, chaotic but hopeful exuberance that trance music really seemed to embody. This was at the height of popularity for super clubs in the United Kingdom, and truly for the trance genre as a whole. I think this set really captures that spirit.

Sasha - Essential Mix 1999-01-01 NYE Live at Alexandra Palace, London
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

01. Nuclear Hyde - Contact
02. Orkidea - Unity
03. Libra Presents Taylor - Anomaly (Calling Your Name) (Albion Mix)
04. Tilt - Whats This? (Tilts Tunnel Mix)
05. Caspar Pound - Pioneers Of The Warped Groove (Starecase Mix)
06. Jan Driver - Drive By (Timo Maas Mix)
07. Robert Junior & Danny Polanco - See The Light
08. Silhouette - Silhouette Of Our Love (Dark Matter Mix)
09. Space Manoeuvres - Stage One (Space Manoeuvres Separation Mix)
10. Lucid - Crazy (Nalin & Kane's Down On A Sit Mix)
11. Ecano - Run (Z2 Mix)
12. Mono Culture - Free
13. Danny Tenaglia - Turn Me On (Bedrock Mix)
14. Red Devil - Gamelan
15. Humate - Love Stimulation (Paul Van Dyk`s Love Mix)
16. Armin - Virgo
17. Breeder - Twilo Thunder (Stoked Up Mix)
18. Laguna Seca - The Flow (Nalin & Kane Mix)
19. Arrakis - Aira Force
20. Nuclear Hyde - Contact
21. JX - Close To Your Heart (Immortals Mix)

JW / Electronica Classics 008: The Delta Heavy Tour Essential Mix

Since the Winter Music Conference is drawing to a close in Miami as I type this post, I thought it only appropriate to bring out one of the classic WMC gems.

Today's choice might be the pinnacle of progressive house. This set from Sasha & John Digweed was recorded in the now defunct Miami Arena during the Winter Music Conference on March 23, 2002, and represented the first stop on their bus tour across America. The recording was originally scheduled to air the following weekend, but got preempted by news coverage on Radio 1 of Queen Elizabeth's death and ultimately ended up airing on April 7, 2002.

Reportedly, the shows organizers brought in a Phazon sound system to the arena for the event, the same kind used in the New York City club where Sasha & John Digweed gained much of their North American fame: the legendary club Twilo in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

I managed to catch two shows on this tour: the Houston, TX date at the Verizon Wireless Theater, and then the New Orleans, LA date at the French Quarter House of Blues. That New Orleans show wasn't even part of the original tour schedule, but was negotiated after the fact, and ended the tour with an oft-referenced "shoes in the air salute".

Nearly 4 years later, a documentary was released chronicling their tour across America. It's really a fascinating look inside the logistics of a music tour and has some great footage both from the Miami show and other stops along the way.

Sasha & John Digweed - Delta Heavy Tour Essential Mix 2002-04-07
Recorded Live During The Winter Music Conference In Miami, FL On 2002-03-23

Megaupload Link / No Rapidshare Link This Week....sorry, the file is too big.

John Digweed

TiJuana - Groove Is In The Air (Moonface Unreleased Mix)
The Low End Specialists - Smoked Piece
Tom Mengen - Chutney (Bedrock Edit)
Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars (Timo Maas Dub Mix)
Yunus - Lullaby
Samuel Flash - Chilling Moments
Samuel Flash - Chilling Moments (Bedrock Dub)
Yunus - Red Pilot

Sasha

Adam Dived - Headfirst
Solid Sessions - Janeiro (James Holden Mix)
James Holden - Nothing
Deceptions - Eastern Promise
Chimera - Just Wanna Do My Thing (Original Mix)
Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars (Timo Maas Dub Mix)
Nosmo Vs Krispy - One For The Road
Flash - Hazy March