Hands in the air, people

The year is 1996, and I am in my first year of university. Having suffered the dreaded Fresher's Flu for a week in October, my friend Jon (whom I had met a few months earlier in halls of residence) approaches me after nearly a full week bed-bound and suggests we all go to Essence to see Sasha and John Digweed perform their Northern Exposure album. I shrug somewhat haplessly and ask "who's that?".

We start queueing at 9pm, popping across the road periodically into a nearby pub for a drink whilst others hold our place in the line. We finally go inside sometime around 1am. The rest is history. I am pretty sure we left at the very end; in fact I know we did because I can remember them switching the lights on at 7am and politely asking us to go. It was an attack on the senses and considering it was my first experience of house and trance music, I wasn't disappointed and am very thankful to Jon for the introduction. He also introduced me in the same year to a little known DJ called Carl Cox. Mustn't grumble really, eh?!

The next day - well, afternoon - I went out and bought the double album and listened to it three times straight through. CD1 is Sasha, and CD2 is John Digweed. To this day, it still remains my favourite DJ mix album ever; a masterclass in track selection, ordering and mixing progressive house, progressive trance, techno and ambient styles.

Take a moment to look at both the tracklist and the accompanying mix guides for both CDs. It is amazing. Technically speaking, both mixes are spot on and for me, this hasn't aged much at all. Artists like FSOL, Rabbit In The Moon, Banco de Gaia, Underworld and William Orbit have formed the basis of my interest in Electronic music over the last 25 years, and to an extent some of that interest started here.

The slightly irritating thing is this glorious album isn't available on Spotify in its original format, despite having been cobbled together by a few well-meaning people to try and recreate the feel of the mix. Don't bother going there....it simply doesn't work in the same way or do Sasha and Digweed's efforts justice at all. I would recommend buying the original CD or downloading the mix in its entirety. I have hyperlinked to YouTube on each image above as the mixes have been uploaded there. If you are interested in obtaining them in MP3 format, let me know and I will happily guide you.

I was very privileged to see Sasha in Ibiza in 2008 and he did a phenomenal set in Amnesia. At points I found myself actually not dancing and just marveling at the technicality of the mixes. There is no real parallel to it in other facets of music as DJs have a special gift to tune into certain beats, rhythm signatures, feel the flow of tracks and knit them together. It is truly an art form and should not be underestimated. I also saw John Digweed in Turnmills back in the same era, and again he has just got the power to mesmerize with his mixes. For me personally, I think the Digweed mix on Northern Exposure just edges it but it is a very close one. My friend Ben prefers the Sasha mix, having been pretty much a lifelong fan of everything he has done.

Friends through their work in the early 90's at Mansfield nightclub Renaissance, they have reconvened on many occasions since for live sets and albums, as well as taking up residency in New York's Twilo club in the late 90's. Nothing holds a candle to Northern Exposure 1, and it is still a regular feature on my playlist. As a concept album showcasing the different styles of electronic music as they were presented in the decade, it works seamlessly. Ministry of Sound backed them for a number of releases and for me this is their proudest moment, and will forever be a mark in the history of DJ mixes that stands the test of time.

My standout favorites on 0 Degrees North (Sasha) are the beautiful treatment of FSOL's Cascade (Part 1), Morgan King's I'm Free, and the absolutely incredible Banco de Gaia's Last Train to Lhasa, which due to a sped up BPM treatment just soars more than the album version ever did. On 0 Degrees South (Digweed) the Underworld mix of Drum Club's Sound System is as Underworld as it gets, Pete Lazonby's Wavespeech is my standout favourite; a meaty, beaty banger of a track (it builds brilliantly due to Digweed's adept skill at knowing when to bring in the various layers), Banco de Gaia's Heliopolis and the truly epic Dark and Long by Underworld, again sped up to brilliant effect.

Let's hope when the pandemic ends and we can all move a little more freely around the place Sasha and Digweed will get behind the decks again and treat us to some more live mixes. I for one will be at the front of the queue for a ticket.

Badger x