Track Listing

1. Xpander [Edit] - Sasha, Sasha
2. Xpander - Sasha, Sasha
3. Belfunk - Sasha
4. Rabbitweed - Sasha
5. Baja - Sasha

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77179 in Music
• Published on: 1999
• Released on: 1999-10-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: EP

Album Description
Five track EP from the reputed house artist. Contains 'X pander' (Edit), 'Xpander', 'Belfunk', 'Rabbitweed' and 'Baja'. Available domestically for the first time & at a cheaper price than the import. Standard jewel case. 1999 release.

Amazon.com
DJs Sasha and Digweed are known throughout the world for their sublime mixes and clever choice of material popularized by their Northern Exposure CD series. Beyond the interminable techno and house of their contemporaries, S&D have found some magic key with which they make real music out of monotonous dance-floor detritus. Their mixes breathe, travel, and reflect, making armchair listening a resplendent journey in the head. Those of us who would rather endure an evening with Sugar Ray than get caught in some ear-shattering dance dungeon find solace in the mercurial, near shamanic sounds of S&D. But can solo Sasha match the muse? Xpander follows the S&D formula to a T, leaving you wondering who is the genie and who is the master in that partnership. Almost subliminally, the Sasha tracks "Xpander," "Belfunk," "Rabbitweed," and "Baja" unwind as much in the air as in your head. The beat, of course, is omnipotent, but Sasha adds touches of glowing ambient, experimental house, soundtrack surrealism, and trippy, Warpish techno. Remember that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey where our hero, Dave, travels light years in a single moment, only to find himself looking at his own aged body eating eggs? Xpander is the eerie modern soundtrack to a heightened aging process, one where the mind gets lost in the void while the body either shuts down or dances. --Ken Micallef

Customer Reviews

More than a DJ
Well, it seems that Sasha had decided to go further than just DJing and mixing and decided to start produing too. After listening to this EP, I've reached the same conclusion that I've reached when I've heard "Northern Exposure" for the first time. This guy is more than just a DJ - he's an artist.

Except the radio cut for "XPander", all of the tracks are very long (10 minutes and up) and yet do not find them boring. Instead, they really do what they were meant to do : put you in a trance. All the tracks are absolutly fantastic, and I don't think you'll find a respectable trance collection CD that doesn't have one track from this EP.

XPander has the best potential to be a radio hit, but my favorite track on this EP is "Bellfunk". Sasha is not afraid to put stop to the beats in this track, and so you get 2 minutes of a dreamy chillout sound in a middle of a really poundy track. "Rabbitweed" is a fine tune too, and Baja is a bit different, starting slowly and climbing up.

I believe that after this EP Sasha will become a very wanted person in the production studios as he is on the clubs. You should really try this EP and experience a sophisticated, non cheesy trance and progressive house sound.

Good for Sasha fans; not the best purchase, value-wise
People have been gushing about this EP forever, saying it is the touchstone of progressive trance. I would agree partially about that claim but as a consumer the overall value of the record is something to consider as well. Hence, I will begin my review.

First of all, this is an EP, strictly speaking - five songs (one of which is a shortened edit of "Xpander") that admittedly constitute a significant length of time. This is not a mix album, where the tracks are programmed to flow one after the other, as a live set would. Rather, this is an electronica artist EP where Sasha displays his own beatmaking and songwriting skills - which are considerable.

There are three golden tracks on this record. "Belfunk", which was used for Sasha's Northern Exposure III: Expeditions set, is the first of these. There is something to be said for a DJ who mixes up his songs with feels other than "four on the floor", as Sasha does here. There is a memorable buildup, with a simple but intoxicating flow, and a fallout which forms the core of the song. It is here that Sasha slowly builds his mix back up, starting with simple synth stabs to state the melody. (The entire phrase is 5 measures, which is an irregular length; this is likely why the phrase has a unique feel.) Sasha's memorable sense of texture and melody shine through even as he engages in intellectual exercises such as this one.

"Rabbitweed" is a more straightforward trance exploration, with a solid 4-to-the-bar beat pattern throughout. There is a decidedly foreign vibe about the piece; whether it is Middle Eastern or closer to Indian remains slightly vague, however. This is a stomper that would probably be heard in a typical club set, but Sasha's pacing and intensity keep it from delving into pop cliche.

"Baja" is the most interesting piece on the EP. It is a downtempo tune (some would call it "chill") of a type that Sasha was not known for creating. "Baja" wouldn't flow in a typical DJ set, but this is why it's interesting: it doesn't follow the boundaries and restrictions of the traditional progressive/trance tune. Make no mistake, the song grooves heavily; but is a swagger one would normally associate with Massive Attack, not Sasha. It's undeniably atmospheric, and lets Sasha show off another aspect of his craft.

So what are the detractors, then? For one, having two versions of a tune - let alone an edit - back-to-back on the same album is generally not a good idea. Some have mentioned "Xpander" as the end-all to trance epics, but this is, in my opinion, unwarranted praise - Sasha doesn't treat this with dynamics, texture, or emotional shading in the way he typically does. The core theme is strong, of course; but the ebb and flow of a great trance epic is simply not there. The beats are more simple than usual for Sasha, which may be one reason why it isn't as volatile as his other work. With the right mixing, "Xpander" could be a dancefloor anthem (actually, it is - Sasha himself used it in several of his Global Underground sets), but on a artist album, this track's overall production and lack of songwriting polish bring it down, especially in comparison to "Belfunk", which WAS treated the right way, and in the way that "Xpander" should have been. The edit merely waters down the main theme into four minutes of blah, cutting out the breakdown and buildup that this song needs to function well.

For Sasha fans, Xpander will prove that Sasha has game as far as songwriting goes. Indeed, this was a stepping stone on the way to larger works such as Airdrawndagger and his latest artist-mix album, Involver. The typical trance fan may not find this purchase one of value, but Sasha completists will savor it for the sheer bliss of hearing some of Sasha's earliest anthems in their purest, unadulterated form.

Sasha returns with more beat for your buck?
Sasha is back with a blazing CD that is reassuring that he is one of the top in his game. Picking up where Northern Exposure's "Expiditions" left off, the DJ continues to assault with dark trance that moves the soul. Listen to the track "belfunk" for a perfect example. My favorite track happens to be "baja" for the different groove it provides. All in all, Sasha has shown more growth as an artist here on this EP of shake and he shows it. Even without John Digweed behind the table, Sasha is able to evoke the same emotion in this EP as any Exposure CD to date. Buy it!