Music Review: Sasha - "Park It In The Shade"

Continuing on with single releases for his new emFire label, electronic stalwart Sasha delivers the second track in a very promising series of new material. For a more thorough background on the style and format of the releases, see the review for "Coma", the lead track of the set.

"Park It In The Shade" has both a decidedly more club and esoteric feel from its predecessor. Tight snares and a revolving bass line underpin what becomes an experiment in reviving old school techno. But where the actual schools of old delivered many tracks that were long on efficiency and short on variety, Sasha takes the opposite approach. Production splashes and sound effects are constantly woven in and around the underlying base of the track, almost making it a galactic jam session for the nightclub.

The most interesting thing about the track is that it ignores the easy road of making a standard club track. It's the kind of sound that could easily be retooled into something a little more "safe" for mass hipster consumption. But instead, Sasha and co-conspirator Charlie May deliver the second part of their mini-trilogy that demands a bit more thought and connection with a track. Perhaps that's not the first priority for most dance music, but that is the precedent they have set.

So far the new standard for Sasha is to deliver tracks that are both immediately groovy enough to catch your attention and shake a hip, but meaty enough to beg for closer (and perhaps headphone) inspection. Although "Park It In The Shade" is decidedly different from "Coma" in terms of apparent style, they are both forged in the same spirit of excellence. Sasha continues to display all the marks of a consummate and meticulous electronic producer.

Article Author: David R Perry

Lost somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee, David R Perry can occasionally be found doing dark, unspeakable things to words. Printed words, spoken words, electronically mangled words... really any kind but twittered words.

Visit David R Perry's author page — David R Perry's Blog