Airdrawndagger

As these things go, the debut album from an otherwise established deejay/producer/remixer/whatever can be a somewhat scary affair. There's often very little problem when they're steering the work of others but some kind of creative crisis can drop seemingly out of nowhere when it comes to the mighty flying solo.
Thankfully, Sasha (Alexander Coe to the taxman) has the ability, the ideas and - most importantly of all - the patience to know when his own work is bearing the juiciest fruit. Thus,'Airdrawndagger' is a perfectly crafted distillation of all Sasha's neatest, most appealing sound experiments gathered under one sixty-nine minute saga. Here is the real Sasha, the student of music and the prophet of sound, unveiling the moods and moments that will take dance music deeper into the new century.

'Mr Tiddles' has an Oriental feel, tipping a nod to Japanese techno pioneer Isao Tomita and the more reflective moments of the Yellow Magic Orchestra before widening out into pans of trancey keyboard waves.

'Magnetic North' is a parallel trip down Kraftwerk's 'Autobahn', unrolling steady, chugging electro rhythms sprinkled with light keyboard tinkles.

The further into the album the more shaded its feel becomes, recalling at times Leftfield's urgent and throbbing techno-soul, resplendant in its own private moodswings and decks and decks of echoes. There is a depth and a darkness that is occasionally menacing, occasionally clipping the progressive zone.

This is Sasha's debut, a dance music monolith and a totem by which all others will now measure their work.