Dj Sasha
Alexander Paul Coe, professionally known as Sasha and born on September 4, 1969, is a Welsh DJ and record producer.
As a solo artist, he is best known for his live performances and electronic music, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digweed under the moniker Sasha & John Digweed. In a poll conducted by DJ Magazine in 2000, he was voted the world’s top DJ.
He is a four-time winner of the International Dance Music Awards, a four-time winner of the DJ Awards, and a Grammy Award nominee.
Profile
Name: | Paul Coe Alexander |
Also know as: | DJ Sasha |
Born: | 4 September, 1969 |
Origin: | United kingdom |
Stats: | Active |
Genres: | Progressive house, Electronic house |
Profession: | Record Producer, DJ |
Labels: | Deconstruction, Global Underground |
Early life and musical career
Sasha was born on September 4,1969 in Bangor, Wales. His early musical preferences consisted mostly of Top 40 pop artists such as The The and The Police.
After what he termed an “idyllic upbringing,” Sasha passed the Hatfield College admission exam at age 17.
However, he did not enjoy living in Epsom and left before completing his A-Levels. Instead of continuing his education, Sasha relocated with his father and stepmother to Bangor, Ontario.
Sasha’s stepmother compelled him to take piano lessons, which he initially loathed but later found advantageous for his music career.
In 1988, Sasha discovered electronic dance music at The Hacienda, a Manchester dance club. Attracted to the harsh sound of acid dance music and the rebellious mentality it represented, he visited Manchester on a weekly basis and quickly relocated to nearby Disley.
Sasha began to educate himself on how to mix by purchasing records and teaching himself how to mix.
A local DJ at a club frequented by Sasha stated that he was seeking other DJs to accompany him on a regional tour; Sasha volunteered and made his first live appearance in Stockport.
He remembered his debut, “I’d never used a Technics before, so I mistook the pitch control for the volume knob and had no idea where to plug in my headphones.”
“Due to low-paying concerts and a large record collection, Sasha quickly found himself in debt.
He performed at illegal warehouse raves in Blackburn and Blackpool to fund his record collection.
Sasha gained employment at The Hacienda with the assistance of another local DJ, Jon DaSilva, from whom he learned key mixing (matching melodic keys) and honed his skill at beatmatching (to synchronize the beats of two simultaneously playing records).
Even though he enjoyed playing at The Hacienda, Sasha left in 1990 for a club in Stoke-on-Trent called Shelley’s Laserdrome.
There, he formed a significant portion of his characteristic style by blending euphoric acid dance music with Italian piano house and passionate a cappellas.
As a result of his rising popularity and visibility at Shelley’s, Mixmag featured Sasha on its debut cover with the headline “SASHA MANIA-THE FIRST DJ PINUP?”.
Sasha began to develop some of his own dance tracks while continuing to DJ. Later, he said that this was counter to the career paths of many great DJs, who were more likely to begin their careers as producers.
Upon receiving a recording contract, he simultaneously built up a whole recording studio, resulting in an initial “difficult learning curve.”
He released his debut single, “Appolonia,” under the moniker BM:Ex (short for The Barry Manilow Experience, a tribute to Sasha’s fondness for the piano) with producer Tom Frederikse on Union City Recordings.
Sasha abandoned his work as a DJ at Shelley’s due to the rising gang violence in and around the club.
As a result of Sasha’s developing reputation, numerous London and Australian clubs offered him employment. Instead, he took a job in the DJ rotation at Renaissance, a Geoff Oakes-created dance night at Venue 44 in Mansfield, England.
Later in 1993, Sasha collaborated with Danny Campbell for Pete Tong’s FFRR to release his debut single under the moniker Sasha, titled “Together.” Together peaked at #57 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sasha began a run of releases for Deconstruction Records with the songs “Higher Ground” and “Magic” (for which Digweed contributed a remix) as well as The Qat Collection with Frederikse and vocalist Sam Mollison.
DJ Career
In the late 1980s, Sasha launched his DJ career by playing acid house dance music.
In 1993, Sasha rose to prominence in the entertainment industry when he teamed up with fellow DJ Digweed to produce a number of remixes.
DJ Sasha has a good appearance, is quite innovative and clever in delivery, and entertains his diverse audiences.
Sasha has gone on multiple tours and remixes with world-class DJs, such as DJ Digweed, Madonna, Hot Chip, the Chemical Brother, and the remix of Felix Da Housecat’s Watching Cars Go By that garnered him a Grammy nomination in 2004.
Sasha has also created numerous top-charting songs in the United Kingdom.
In 2007, the skilled DJ and music superstar founded emFire with Renaissance Records.
It is a forum for his technological breakthroughs in his music production and an exclusive channel for his new songs.
It also serves as a showcase for his exceptional musical performances in large-scale dance productions.
His private life
The DJ, Sasha’s, marital status is unknown. However, he is considered to be in a relationship due to his fame and money in the entertainment industry.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Qat Collection (1994)
- Airdrawndagger (2002)
- Scene Delete (2016)
Technology and Techniques
Sasha began DJing live with Ableton Live, utilizing it in conjunction with turntables. Sasha discovered, after investigating its functionality, that he could perform solely with Ableton Live.
Then, he collaborated in the creation of the Maven controller, which he uses as a physical interface to the Live software. (He has stated that DJing using a mouse alone will not look or feel right.)
[Fundacion] NYC was the first album on which he utilized the Maven controller routinely. During DJ sets, clubgoers frequently mistake Sasha for playing new, unheard remixes; instead, he frequently plays Ableton-modified tracks.
Sasha favors the superior stability and performance of the native Ableton plugins over those of third-party plugins. For the first public performance of Involver material, he utilized a PowerBook running Ableton.
Since then, he has switched to a setup consisting of an iMac G5 and Ableton Live.
The Internet has altered how Sasha acquires and performs with music.
Sasha used to routinely search record stores for new music, but he now receives new tracks from producers and record companies via the Internet.
Sasha and others edit hundreds of tracks per week to be used in their live DJ sets. His team of engineers records and converts vinyl records into digital audio files before editing them in Ableton.
Sasha told Resident Advisor in February 2013 about his choice to switch from utilizing Live and the Maven controller in his DJ sets to a combination of Native Instruments’ Traktor and CDs.
He believed that while Ableton Live had substantially improved as a production tool, it had become less effective as a DJing instrument.
Sasha owes his success to his technical proficiency and capacity to “connect with his dancers.”
He balances fresh and experimental material during concerts while ensuring that “the party is always rocking.”
His spontaneity extends to studio work; when he begins work on a new mix album, he often has only a basic idea of the track listing.
This causes his albums to never quite meet his expectations. Sasha is renowned for his use of innovative music technologies in both his studio and live performances.
Both Sasha and Digweed mixed their compilation albums using Pro Tools on Macintosh computers and used turntables and records during live performances.
For their remixes, however, they utilized an Atari ST—an old personal computer from the early 1990s—equipped with Notator, a music sequencer used to arrange audio tracks.
For more recent albums like Fundacion NYC, Sasha employed Ableton Live for sequencing, in part due to the greater price of Pro Tools.
Prior to the late 1990s, Sasha’s live performances consisted solely of the use of records.
Before he began utilizing the CDJ1000, a CD “turntable,” he had his digital music custom-cut onto acetate records before each trip.
Once Sasha incorporated CDs into his live performance, he utilized CDJ1000s, Allen & Heath mixers, and FireworX.
Awards and Nomination
In 2005, the Grammy committee argued whether Involver, his mix collection CD, qualified for Best Electronic/Dance Album candidacy.
Although the Recording Academy determined that the album was admissible, Involver was not nominated.
Sasha was nominated for a Grammy for his remix of “Watching Cars Go By” by Felix da Housecat, which was featured on Involver.
DJ Sasha’s Net Worth
DJ Sasha is one of the world’s wealthiest, most influential, and most renowned DJs, with an estimated net worth of over $20,000.
Thank you for reading the biography and net worth of DJ Sasha. Your feedback, if any, is greatly welcomed.
Early life and musical career
Sasha was born on September 4, 1969 in Bangor, Wales. His early musical preferences consisted mostly of Top 40 pop artists such as The The and The Police.
After what he termed an “idyllic upbringing,” Sasha passed the Hatfield College admission exam at age 17.
However, he did not enjoy living in Epsom and left before completing his A-Levels. Instead of continuing his education, Sasha relocated with his father and stepmother to Bangor, Ontario.
Sasha’s stepmother compelled him to take piano lessons, which he initially loathed but later found advantageous for his music career.
In 1988, Sasha discovered electronic dance music at The Hacienda, a Manchester dance club. Attracted to the harsh sound of acid dance music and the rebellious mentality it represented, he visited Manchester on a weekly basis and quickly relocated to nearby Disley.
Sasha began to educate himself on how to mix by purchasing records and teaching himself how to mix.
A local DJ at a club frequented by Sasha stated that he was seeking other DJs to accompany him on a regional tour; Sasha volunteered and made his first live appearance in Stockport.
He remembered his debut, “I’d never used a Technics before, so I mistook the pitch control for the volume knob and had no idea where to plug in my headphones.”
“Due to low-paying concerts and a large record collection, Sasha quickly found himself in debt.
He performed at illegal warehouse raves in Blackburn and Blackpool to fund his record collection.
Sasha gained employment at The Hacienda with the assistance of another local DJ, Jon DaSilva, from whom he learned key mixing (matching melodic keys) and honed his skill at beatmatching (to synchronize the beats of two simultaneously playing records).
Even though he enjoyed playing at The Hacienda, Sasha left in 1990 for a club in Stoke-on-Trent called Shelley’s Laserdrome.
There, he formed a significant portion of his characteristic style by blending euphoric acid dance music with Italian piano house and passionate a cappellas.
As a result of his rising popularity and visibility at Shelley’s, Mixmag featured Sasha on its debut cover with the headline “SASHA MANIA-THE FIRST DJ PINUP?”.
Sasha began to develop some of his own dance tracks while continuing to DJ. Later, he said that this was counter to the career paths of many great DJs, who were more likely to begin their careers as producers.
Upon receiving a recording contract, he simultaneously built up a whole recording studio, resulting in an initial “difficult learning curve.”
He released his debut single, “Appolonia,” under the moniker BM:Ex (short for The Barry Manilow Experience, a tribute to Sasha’s fondness for the piano) with producer Tom Frederikse on Union City Recordings.
Sasha abandoned his work as a DJ at Shelley’s due to the rising gang violence in and around the club.
As a result of Sasha’s developing reputation, numerous London and Australian clubs offered him employment. Instead, he took a job in the DJ rotation at Renaissance, a Geoff Oakes-created dance night at Venue 44 in Mansfield, England.
Later in 1993, Sasha collaborated with Danny Campbell for Pete Tong’s FFRR to release his debut single under the moniker Sasha, titled “Together.” Together peaked at #57 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sasha began a run of releases for Deconstruction Records with the songs “Higher Ground” and “Magic” (for which Digweed contributed a remix) as well as The Qat Collection with Frederikse and vocalist Sam Mollison.
DJ Career
In the late 1980s, Sasha launched his DJ career by playing acid house dance music.
In 1993, Sasha rose to prominence in the entertainment industry when he teamed up with fellow DJ Digweed to produce a number of remixes.
DJ Sasha has a good appearance, is quite innovative and clever in delivery, and entertains his diverse audiences.
Sasha has gone on multiple tours and remixes with world-class DJs, such as DJ Digweed, Madonna, Hot Chip, the Chemical Brother, and the remix of Felix Da Housecat’s Watching Cars Go By that garnered him a Grammy nomination in 2004.
Sasha has also created numerous top-charting songs in the United Kingdom.
In 2007, the skilled DJ and music superstar founded emFire with Renaissance Records.
It is a forum for his technological breakthroughs in his music production and an exclusive channel for his new songs.
It also serves as a showcase for his exceptional musical performances in large-scale dance productions.
His private life
The DJ, Sasha’s, marital status is unknown. However, he is considered to be in a relationship due to his fame and money in the entertainment industry.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Qat Collection (1994)
- Airdrawndagger (2002)
- Scene Delete (2016)
Technology and Techniques
Sasha began DJing live with Ableton Live, utilizing it in conjunction with turntables. Sasha discovered, after investigating its functionality, that he could perform solely with Ableton Live.
Then, he collaborated in the creation of the Maven controller, which he uses as a physical interface to the Live software. (He has stated that DJing using a mouse alone will not look or feel right.)
[Fundacion] NYC was the first album on which he utilized the Maven controller routinely. During DJ sets, clubgoers frequently mistake Sasha for playing new, unheard remixes; instead, he frequently plays Ableton-modified tracks.
Sasha favors the superior stability and performance of the native Ableton plugins over those of third-party plugins. For the first public performance of Involver material, he utilized a PowerBook running Ableton.
Since then, he has switched to a setup consisting of an iMac G5 and Ableton Live.
The Internet has altered how Sasha acquires and performs with music.
Sasha used to routinely search record stores for new music, but he now receives new tracks from producers and record companies via the Internet.
Sasha and others edit hundreds of tracks per week to be used in their live DJ sets. His team of engineers records and converts vinyl records into digital audio files before editing them in Ableton.
Sasha told Resident Advisor in February 2013 about his choice to switch from utilizing Live and the Maven controller in his DJ sets to a combination of Native Instruments’ Traktor and CDs.
He believed that while Ableton Live had substantially improved as a production tool, it had become less effective as a DJing instrument.
Sasha owes his success to his technical proficiency and capacity to “connect with his dancers.”
He balances fresh and experimental material during concerts while ensuring that “the party is always rocking.”
His spontaneity extends to studio work; when he begins work on a new mix album, he often has only a basic idea of the track listing.
This causes his albums to never quite meet his expectations. Sasha is renowned for his use of innovative music technologies in both his studio and live performances.
Both Sasha and Digweed mixed their compilation albums using Pro Tools on Macintosh computers and used turntables and records during live performances.
For their remixes, however, they utilized an Atari ST—an old personal computer from the early 1990s—equipped with Notator, a music sequencer used to arrange audio tracks.
For more recent albums like Fundacion NYC, Sasha employed Ableton Live for sequencing, in part due to the greater price of Pro Tools.
Prior to the late 1990s, Sasha’s live performances consisted solely of the use of records.
Before he began utilizing the CDJ1000, a CD “turntable,” he had his digital music custom-cut onto acetate records before each trip.
Once Sasha incorporated CDs into his live performance, he utilized CDJ1000s, Allen & Heath mixers, and FireworX.
Awards and Nomination
In 2005, the Grammy committee argued whether Involver, his mix collection CD, qualified for Best Electronic/Dance Album candidacy.
Although the Recording Academy determined that the album was admissible, Involver was not nominated.
Sasha was nominated for a Grammy for his remix of “Watching Cars Go By” by Felix da Housecat, which was featured on Involver.
DJ Sasha’s Net Worth
DJ Sasha is one of the world’s wealthiest, most influential, and most renowned DJs, with an estimated net worth of over $20,000.
Thank you for reading the biography and net worth of DJ Sasha. Your feedback, if any, is greatly welcomed.