Involver [Special Edition]

Product Description
Coming on the heels of Sasha’s hugely successful Involver album comes the Involver Special Edition. Made for collectors and new fans alike, this deluxe packaged edition includes the original Involver CD (heralded as "Sasha’s most substantial work in years" by Rolling Stone) and a brand new second disc! Disc Two is a retrospective, un-mixed collection of Sasha’s finest and most rare remixes from the last ten years, many of which have never been released on CD before now. Included here are Sasha remixes of The Chemical Brothers, BT, Seal, UNKLE and Gus Gus to name just a few.

Involver,Sasha,Involver,Dance,Dance Music,Pop,Progressive Trance

Average customer rating: Putting the World of Progressive Trance On Hold Involver Envelops Love this ZRODN Solid, but doesn't compare well with Sasha's work in general

Involver Sasha Manufacturer: Involver ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Trance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Similar Items: Fundacion NYC Airdrawndagger Xpander Fabric 20 Global Underground 013: Ibiza ASIN: B00020HA0Q Release Date: 2004-07-05

Tracks:

1. Grandnational - Talk Amongst Yourselves
2. Shpongle - Devon Perception
3. Petter - These Days
4. UNKLE - What You Mean To Me
5. The Youngsters - Smile
6. DJ Spooky - Belong
7. UNKLE - In A State
8. Lostep - Burma
9. Felix Da Housecat - Watching The Cars Go
10. Ulrich Schauss - On My Own

Amazon.com

Pure, weightless elegance, Involver is true to its title, as Sasha comes up with a mesmerizing stunner. Two years after the lukewarmly received artist record Airdrawndagger, the Welsh waxman and frequent John Digweed co-collaborator has retreated into remix territory, but with a twist. In an effort to meld songwriting ambition with his feather-light touch behind the decks, 10 stellar tracks were totally remade in-studio, not just blended together. The result sounds livelier than dagger, putting Sasha's superb instinct for dance flow to work. Still, despite the presence of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" stomper, it's a very even record; themes patiently recede and resurface from the bubbly bottom of the mix. The warm, warbling melody from Petter's "These Days," for example, reappears long after you think it's vanished for good, lifting U.N.K.L.E.'s "What Are You to Me?" into hypno-dance orbit. Songs like Spooky's "Belong" and Lostep's "In a State" breathe the same air, rising and falling with interlocking rhythmic poetry. It's a daze of a record, ideal company for moody afternoons spent staring up at wispy clouds and vapor trails. -Matthew Cooke

Album Description

Sasha is back!!! Dance music's most respected and recognizable icon returns to the label that made him an international household name with a concept album so fresh and inventive that it completely recalibrates the notion of what is cool in popular music.

"Involver" meets the listener smack at the point where Sasha's 2002 artist album "Airdrawndagger" and the future of electronic music collide. He is the DJ that rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North of England's explosive early 90's club scene and has for the last 10+ years consistently sold out every venue, festival, and club that has been honored to witness his legendary performance abilities. And now "Involver" emerges. This is Sasha's first mix compilation in nearly five years and his first full length release since "Airdrawndagger." It is unlike any album that has ever been released in that it completely and perfectly integrates the concept of the DJ mix compilation and the standard Producer/Artist album. Every single track on this album is an original Sasha remix, re-creation or production that has been exclusively recorded as an original piece for this project. He called upon some of his closest friends and peers including Felix Da Housecat, UNKLE, Spooky, and Ulrich Schnauss and asked for permission to recreate, especially for this album, one or more of their songs and they all agreed. In essence, Sasha has become the embodiment of what it means to be "involved" in electronic music on every level. Quite purely, he has taken on a new persona; integrating the DJ and the Producer, he is now the INVOLVER.

Customer Reviews:

Putting the World of Progressive Trance On Hold.......2007-04-26

I must agree with the majority of reviewers in regards to this album...it is difficult to deny the quality and skill of this remix. For this fact alone, I truely can appreciate Sasha's Involver.

However, I wasn't overly thrilled with the track selection. For the most part, Sasha's talent for intricate and complex multilayering of sound shines through. This significantly improves on the original releases of many of the tracks featured on Involver. The difference for me in reviewing this album? Despite Sasha's (improved) remixed versions, the original tracks transform from average to very good...just not spectacular.

Overall I give this album 4/5 stars.

Involver Envelops.......2007-03-14

As a follow-up to his seamlessly silky "Airdrawndagger," Sasha put out "Involver," a collection of songs individually remixed to bear the trademark Sasha appeal: light-as-a-feather frequencies co-mingling with a sly-n-slushy subversiveness. It's mastered as, yet again, an uninterrupted thread of music, but this time each song really does stand alone.

The name is a tad ironic, since Sasha's style is more conducive to detachment, to transcendence. In that vein, he builds this album's style on a foundation of dark, rolling thunderheads. Billowing, roiling, harsh as a whisper, there is still the promise of rumbling power, a fashionable tremble of something electric going on. There is trance music's usual sense of elevation, but Sasha adds a hint of danger and foreboding that remains everpresent, giving an album that could've been fluffy and dismissable a delicious edge of ozone.

The heady intro to this CD is "Talk Amongst Yourselves," a moody number by Grand National that Sasha stirs up with an antsy beat that seems eager to jump up and run. Sasha never lets go of the reins, though, guiding the mood through the sashaying salsa sparks of Shpongle's "Dorset Perception," the soft sighs of U.N.K.L.E.'s "What You Mean to Me," and even through the mechanical energy of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By." He caps the record off with a gorgeous refiguring of Ulrich Schnauss's already gorgeous "On My Own."

It's a fitting finale on a record that walks the fuzzy border between sleeping and awake, between day dreams and nightmares, between a sprint, a stroll, and a soar. It's a summer storm of sound, sometimes crashing and dark, but always warm, always fun, and always always refreshing.

Love this.......2007-01-08

I'm mostly writing this just to give the album my 5 stars since the last few reviewers gave it less, but this album is one of the most beautiful electronica albums I know. It's even up there with my favorite albums of all time. It's a little on the slower side; it's very surreal and beautiful, and a mellow album for the most part. Probably not something people will want to dance to, but rather get lost in thought while listening.

ZRODN.......2006-10-26

Its to slow just click on the above links to hear clips for yourself. another thing there are so many different versions i had to hear the above link to see if the version i have is the same or similiar its the same but no bubble wrap. i have heard this artist in person it was awesome i mean why cant anybody capture brilliance and blare it on a cd why do i always have to tweak songs myself you can take one song and make it sound different in i million varations however your job as a musician is to capitivate the crowd with brilliance. i mean this musician is the best but the cd once again is horrible all these so called remarks about the cd being great etc i mean all of them should go back to music and or dj school. thats why a lot of musicians i know laugh at this artist because they havent heard what i have heard in live performances and theres no consistency from the dance club live performance raw for a crowd to the loser cd for home use. anybody want the cd email me not worth the dime it was burned on

Solid, but doesn't compare well with Sasha's work in general.......2006-10-15

Somewhere around 2002 the Global Underground franchise, whose main series was made up of mixes based on some DJ's visit to a particular city, started to run out of steam. Though it continued its Locations sets (at a much slower pace than before), the label began to give DJs the opportunity to do independent efforts unbound to any set mixed in a club, to be free to use studio technology to go wherever their imaginations led them. Sasha's 2004 mix INVOLVER is his contribution to this trend.

The "gimmick" of INVOLVER is that each track has been remixed by Sasha. As a result, even club staples sounded vastly fresh upon the release of the album (though the subsequent commercial release of several individual Sasha remixes didn't keep the sounds unique for long). The general soundworld is the deep beat of late progressive house, between the grit of Sasha's earlier mix COMMUNICATE (with John Digweed) and the popularity of electro among this generation of DJs. As it is Sasha's only recorded testament in this vein, it's often interesting to hear his take on the subgenre. Sasha has long been one of the major supporters of the production team Spooky, and their track "Belong" is another expertly crafted track, all the more powerful in Sasha's remix. The etheriel female vocals of Shpongle's "Dorset Perception" show that this feature of old-time trance can be blended solidly with a more progressive backing.

Yet, for its several bright spots, the album is strangely dated and un-Sasha like at times, harkening back to mixes released years before by very different DJs. The rock guitars of the album opener, Grandnational's "Talk Amongst Yourselves" is like something Anthony Pappa would have done in 2002, and Sasha doesn't seem to have followed this line any further after releasing INVOLVER. The vocoded vocals and straightforward percussion of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" is very reminiscent of Danny Howell's 2000 NuBreed mix. The sense of build-up that is common to all Sasha efforts is missing here. Having collected everything else by the man, I fail to understand why this release got such unusual critical attention.

Even as dance music has gone downhill commercially and critically since its heyday several years ago, Sasha's not finished yet. His FUNDACION album released last year is a fascinating mix that promises a bright music for intelligent house. INVOLVER is a mix by no means incompetent, but merely unimpressive considering Sasha's achievement before and after this outing.

Average customer rating: Putting The World of Progressive Trance on Hold Top notch electronic music Solid, but doesn't compare well with Sasha's work in general Get Involved SASHA'S BEST BY FAR!!!!!!!!

Involver Sasha Manufacturer: Involver ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Trance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Similar Items: Xpander Airdrawndagger Communicate Northern Exposure II: West Coast Global Underground 013: Ibiza ASIN: B00020H9ZW Release Date: 2004-07-05

Tracks:

1. Grandnational - Talk Amongst Yourselves
2. Shpongle - Dorset Perception
3. Petter - These Days
4. UNKLE - What You Mean To Me
5. The Youngsters - Smile
6. DJ Spooky - Belong
7. UNKLE - In A State
8. Lostep - Burma
9. Felix Da Housecat - Watching The Cars Go
10. Ulrich Schauss - On My Own

Amazon.com

Pure, weightless elegance, Involver is true to its title, as Sasha comes up with a mesmerizing stunner. Two years after the lukewarmly received artist record Airdrawndagger, the Welsh waxman and frequent John Digweed co-collaborator has retreated into remix territory, but with a twist. In an effort to meld songwriting ambition with his feather-light touch behind the decks, 10 stellar tracks were totally remade in-studio, not just blended together. The result sounds livelier than dagger, putting Sasha's superb instinct for dance flow to work. Still, despite the presence of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" stomper, it's a very even record; themes patiently recede and resurface from the bubbly bottom of the mix. The warm, warbling melody from Petter's "These Days," for example, reappears long after you think it's vanished for good, lifting U.N.K.L.E.'s "What Are You to Me?" into hypno-dance orbit. Songs like Spooky's "Belong" and Lostep's "In a State" breathe the same air, rising and falling with interlocking rhythmic poetry. It's a daze of a record, ideal company for moody afternoons spent staring up at wispy clouds and vapor trails. -Matthew Cooke

Album Description

Sasha is back!!! Dance music's most respected and recognizable icon returns to the label that made him an international household name with a concept album so fresh and inventive that it completely recalibrates the notion of what is cool in popular music.

"Involver" meets the listener smack at the point where Sasha's 2002 artist album "Airdrawndagger" and the future of electronic music collide. He is the DJ that rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North of England's explosive early 90's club scene and has for the last 10+ years consistently sold out every venue, festival, and club that has been honored to witness his legendary performance abilities. And now "Involver" emerges. This is Sasha's first mix compilation in nearly five years and his first full length release since "Airdrawndagger." It is unlike any album that has ever been released in that it completely and perfectly integrates the concept of the DJ mix compilation and the standard Producer/Artist album. Every single track on this album is an original Sasha remix, re-creation or production that has been exclusively recorded as an original piece for this project. He called upon some of his closest friends and peers including Felix Da Housecat, UNKLE, Spooky, and Ulrich Schnauss and asked for permission to recreate, especially for this album, one or more of their songs and they all agreed. In essence, Sasha has become the embodiment of what it means to be "involved" in electronic music on every level. Quite purely, he has taken on a new persona; integrating the DJ and the Producer, he is now the INVOLVER.

Customer Reviews:

Putting The World of Progressive Trance on Hold.......2007-04-15

I must agree with the majority of reviewers in regards to this album...it is difficult to deny the quality and skill of this remix. For this fact alone, I truely can appreciate Sasha's Involver.

However, I wasn't overly thrilled with the track selection. For the most part, Sasha's talent for intricate and complex multilayering of sound shines through. This significantly improves on the original releases of many of the tracks featured on Involver. The difference for me in reviewing this album? Despite Sasha's (improved) remixed versions, the original tracks transform from average to very good...just not spectacular.

Overall I give this album 4/5 stars.

Top notch electronic music.......2007-02-27

This album is just so smooth. The vocals are exceptional, the beats are unique, the composition is complex and deep. Tracks 6 and 9 have super funky basslines, very nice grooves. I have hundreds of electronica albums and Involver is easily in my top FIVE. Thank you Sasha.

Solid, but doesn't compare well with Sasha's work in general.......2006-10-15

Somewhere around 2002 the Global Underground franchise, whose main series was made up of mixes based on some DJ's visit to a particular city, started to run out of steam. Though it continued its Locations sets (at a much slower pace than before), the label began to give DJs the opportunity to do independent efforts unbound to any set mixed in a club, to be free to use studio technology to go wherever their imaginations led them. Sasha's 2004 mix INVOLVER is his contribution to this trend.

The "gimmick" of INVOLVER is that each track has been remixed by Sasha. As a result, even club staples sounded vastly fresh upon the release of the album (though the subsequent commercial release of several individual Sasha remixes didn't keep the sounds unique for long). The general soundworld is the deep beat of late progressive house, between the grit of Sasha's earlier mix COMMUNICATE (with John Digweed) and the popularity of electro among this generation of DJs. As it is Sasha's only recorded testament in this vein, it's often interesting to hear his take on the subgenre. Sasha has long been one of the major supporters of the production team Spooky, and their track "Belong" is another expertly crafted track, all the more powerful in Sasha's remix. The etheriel female vocals of Shpongle's "Dorset Perception" show that this feature of old-time trance can be blended solidly with a more progressive backing.

Yet, for its several bright spots, the album is strangely dated and un-Sasha like at times, harkening back to mixes released years before by very different DJs. The rock guitars of the album opener, Grandnational's "Talk Amongst Yourselves" is like something Anthony Pappa would have done in 2002, and Sasha doesn't seem to have followed this line any further after releasing INVOLVER. The vocoded vocals and straightforward percussion of Felix Da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" is very reminiscent of Danny Howell's 2000 NuBreed mix. The sense of build-up that is common to all Sasha efforts is missing here. Having collected everything else by the man, I fail to understand why this release got such unusual critical attention.

Even as dance music has gone downhill commercially and critically since its heyday several years ago, Sasha's not finished yet. His FUNDACION album released last year is a fascinating mix that promises a bright music for intelligent house. INVOLVER is a mix by no means incompetent, but merely unimpressive considering Sasha's achievement before and after this outing.

Get Involved.......2005-12-14

In the electronic music world, a remix is something exceedingly usual. It is quite common for DJs to pick up a song from a peer and remix it. Sasha dared to choose some songs that were already acclaimed and revamped them into a single remixed set. The result is delightful - It feels like a concept album, although the original songs do not have that much in common. It must be said that this album is not for dancing, and it differs alot from Sasha's previous work (don't expect and airdrawndagger 2.0 here) - Some people didn't like the change - I personally think this is plain evolution. You can just hit the play button on your stereo and dive into 75 minutes of pure electronic joy. I recommend this for everyone, even those who are not really into the genre.

SASHA'S BEST BY FAR!!!!!!!!.......2005-11-24

This is easily in my opinion one of the best albums ever made, if you are a Sasha fan at any rate this is his blessed album. I've listened to all from Fundacion to his Digweed callabs and from track one to the last track it keeps it's sweet ear and soul pleasing magic.

Average customer rating: Putting the World of Progressive Trance On Hold buy it for cd 2 Best progressive album ever If you liked Air Drawn Dagger... Zzzzz - disappointed

Involver Sasha Manufacturer: Involver ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Trance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Similar Items: Fundacion NYC Fabric 20 Airdrawndagger Communicate Renaissance: The Mix Collection, Vol. 1 ASIN: B0002Z9Z7M Release Date: 2004-11-16

Tracks:

1. Grandnational - Talk Amongst Yourselves
2. Shpongle - Devon Perception
3. Petter - These Days
4. UNKLE - What You Mean To Me
5. Youngsters - Smile
6. Spooky - Belong
7. UNKLE - In A State
8. Lostep - Burma
9. Felix Da Housecat - Watching The Cars Go By
10. Ulrich Schauss - On My Own

Tracks:

1. D-Ream - U R The Best Thing (Sasha Dub Mix)
2. House Of Zekkeriyas - Secret Star (Renaissance Dub)
3. Hysterix - Talk To Me (Sashas Full Music Master)
4. Eat Static - Gulf Breeze (Sashas Afroshashoz Mix)
5. BT - Embracing The Sunshine (Sasha Remix)
6. Gus Gus - Purple (Sasha Vs The Light Mix)
7. Chemical Brothers - Out Of Control (Sashas Club Mix Instrumental)
8. UNKLE - In A State (Sasha Remix)

Album Description

Coming on the heels of Sasha's hugely successful Involver album comes the Involver Special Edition. Made for collectors and new fans alike, this deluxe packaged edition includes the original Involver CD (heralded as "Sasha's most substantial work in years" by Rolling Stone) and a brand new second disc! Disc Two is a retrospective, un-mixed collection of Sasha's finest and most rare remixes from the last ten years, many of which have never been released on CD before now. Included here are Sasha remixes of The Chemical Brothers, BT, Seal, UNKLE and Gus Gus to name just a few.

Customer Reviews:

Putting the World of Progressive Trance On Hold.......2007-04-26

I must agree with the majority of reviewers in regards to this album...it is difficult to deny the quality and skill of this remix. For this fact alone, I truely can appreciate Sasha's Involver.

However, I wasn't overly thrilled with the track selection. For the most part, Sasha's talent for intricate and complex multilayering of sound shines through. This significantly improves on the original releases of many of the tracks featured on Involver. The difference for me in reviewing this album? Despite Sasha's (improved) remixed versions, the original tracks transform from average to very good...just not spectacular.

Overall I give this album 4/5 stars.

buy it for cd 2.......2005-10-15

I'm a huge fan of Sasha's early stuff (circa 94). It felt like back then the whole electronic music genre wasn't so stratified and many of the tunes then considered progressive shared a common vibe regardless of their tempo or whatever genre they would be put in nowadays. This album is worth buying for a single song alone - CD2 - Track 3: Hysterix - Talk To Me (Sasha's Full Music Master). Listen to it first; always a good idea cos musical tastes are probably the most subjective trait we possess. Or something... Anyway, it goes some way to pointing out that Sasha had incredible skills (i imagine he still HAS but i'm not really into the fast epic stuff he seems to put out now) and a vibe that was just different to many of his peers. The tune's tempo is that bit slower (110bpm-ish i think) and you feel the groove more because of it. It's still super techy though, and the vocal puts shivers down my back! One of my all-time favourite tracks ever and worth getting the cd for... Tom E

Best progressive album ever.......2005-08-31

This cd is, in my opinion, really the best progressive album ever made. It's got so many layers, and gets beter every time you hear this album. Sasha is not from this world. I've heared this cd for about 30 times and it still is the most wonderfull piece of mixed music i have, everything is perfect.

If you liked Air Drawn Dagger..........2005-02-25

I love this album, just as much as Air Drawn Dagger - very similar flavor. It is melodic, emotional and sophisticated with some unique elements which cause me to crank the volume! I love Sasha's new style and I can't wait to hear what he comes up with next. Its almost as if his style has matured over the years along with me! Although this album may not be as intense as some would come to expect from Sasha, I hope that you can learn to enjoy him on a completely different level. Highly recommended.

Zzzzz - disappointed.......2005-01-19

I bought this without really listening to any of his work. I enjoy my progressive/tribal music and this was certainly not my cup of soup. If you are a Sasha fan or know his music, maybe this is up your alley. If this is something to convert me to his work, then I would really stick with Deep Dish - their mixing & song selection is better. Boths cd's are only good for background music.

Average customer rating:

Involver Rain Manufacturer: Universal/Mantaray ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000PA9O0M Release Date: 2007-05-21

Tracks:

1. Everyday
2. Waste Love
3. Beer Over Mine
4. No Part Of Me
5. Big Lie
6. It Feels Like
7. Involver
8. Symmetry
9. I Wish
10. Don't Hurry
11. What The Hell Are You Doing Here

Album Details

This Indie Three Piece Unleash their Debut Album Produced by Teo Miller (Placebo, Blur and the Happy Mondays).

Average customer rating:

Involver Manufacturer: Global Underground Ltd. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000RWCTIC

Product Description

Tracklisting: 1 Grand National Talk Amongst Yourselves (10:22) Co-producer - Charlie May , Simon Wright 2 Shpongle Dorset Perception (9:31) 3 Petter* These Days (2:54) Co-producer - Simon Wright 4 UNKLE What Are You To Me? (4:07) Co-producer - Charlie May 5 Youngsters, The Smile (9:33) Co-producer - Charlie May , Simon Wright 6 Spooky Belong (7:37) Co-producer - Simon Wright Vocals - Julie Daske 7 UNKLE In A State (5:39) Co-producer - Simon Wright 8 Lostep Burma (12:01) Co-producer - Charlie May , Simon Wright 9 Felix Da Housecat Watching Cars Go By (8:11) 10 Ulrich Schnauss On My Own (7:42)

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