Sasha has chosen to embrace Albeton Live, software, instead of CD and traditional vinyl turntables, making him no longer a DJ in my eyes. In his own words "Ableton is second nature to me now" and he no longer traditionally mixes. The turntables have been abandoned for his exclusive MIDI controller for Ableton, the 'Maven'. Ableton engineers take tracks before they are sent to Sasha and warp the beats for him sometimes, I guess this is in exchange for him being a walking endorsement for Ableton. And that's exactly what Fundacion is, it is a product endorsement for a software, and less about what it should be, the music.

Global Underground used to be the most prominent label for dance mix compilations. The uncompromising attitude and high polish and perfect attention to detail were consistent throughout the series on the label as it continually established itself at the forefront of underground dance music. Fundacion drastically tarnishes that image of Global Underground as an unwavering source of quality, and shows that the label will compromise itself to become a commercial for software products.

However what's most alarming about this release is that Sasha is given an unusual amount of credit where it is largely undeserved. The programming of this release is not consistent with what all other Sasha Ableton Live sets sound like. Therefore I conclude that Paul Rogers most likely not only inserted himself as an engineer in this release, but also creatively. The first seven tracks are seamlessly blended in a meticulous and calculated, almost mathetmatical fashion, yet harmonically fit together as if the mixing was done in equations and not by pitch. Everything else though sounds lazy and almost sloppy. The transition from Behind The Wheel to Electromagnetic (12 to 13) is very uninspiring and rudimentary. The track selection is wildly inconsistent, the first seven tracks are deep melodic house, and almost everything else has a disturbingly forced and clashy feel to it.

Fundacion has already been done, and done much better. In 1996 on Studio !K7, Carl Craig released a compilation under the series of DJ-Kicks. He chose 15 tracks, but instead of traditionally mixing them together with a two channel, three band EQ style mixer, he used live effects to manipulate the sounds of the music in order to seamlessly mix them. Effects like panning, band pass filters, delay, reverb, all effects incorporated into software like Ableton Live. The 16th track Carl Craig put onto the release was called 'DJ Kicks' and was a mashup of the previous 15 tracks all combined into a single track. Carl Craig took 15 tracks and mixed them into a compilation using non-traditional effect methods, and them combined the tracks into a single track at the end.

Fundacion is a commercial, not music. Shame on Sasha and Global Underground.

This CD is brilliant...up til track 8. Lush, atmospheric tunes with a melancholic edge - basically, like the better trance that was going around at Sasha's peak. Then it goes...OK. A lot of electro-house, fairly nondescript: below-par offerings from M.A.N.D.Y., Holden and Tiefschwarz among other things. There's something of a second wind as the thing closes, with a nicely handled shift into another time signature and back into Superpitcher's divine remix of "Don't Save Us..."

The whole thing is impeccably and imaginatively studioed together...until track 8, after which it's pretty much done like any other CD. there's a pattern developing here. I just like to think of it like those ancient cassette mixes where each DJ would get one side and one side only, and imagine some mediocre interloper has cadged Side B of Fundacion. Still worth picking up.

Many people tend to give this compilation less credit than due, for whatever reasons. But I rather like it.

For one thing, it has a refreshingly optimistic and relaxed, breezy tone, even a little moody at times. I can find myself chilling to this for some easy-going undemanding music on a Sunday morning.

For another, it is blisteringly brilliantly mixed. I'll repeat here that you have to be undemanding when listening to this CD. If you just take it as it comes and listen to it with an open mind, it will sweep you away with its rich, rewarding sound.

A lot of people seem to be dissapointed with this...but I don't see why. It is clean, fresh and moody. Very very nice.

2004's Involver showed Sasha experimenting with new technology and redefining the way a DJ and music interact in the studio. The album received almost universal acclaim and this year's NYC Fundacion takes the experimentation further to a semi-live environment. The results of this experimentation are excellent. There are literally no transitions between any of the tracks, and discerning between one track and the other is an exercise in futility. Elements of one track might be carried well into the next track, and even several tracks after that. Sasha's mixing is the best its ever been, and this style of mixing and live remixing makes for an interesting and fresh listening experience.

Where the album fails though, is in the most fundamental element that makes or breaks a mix album: track selection. Sasha, like every other major DJ it seems has jumped on the electro house bandwagon, and the tracks he's selected for this album will most likely disappoint long-time Sasha fans. While there are a few stand-out tracks here and there (mostly the one's that actually sound like coherent music), the majority of the album, especially the second half is filled with experimental glitchy-electro that really isn't all that pleasing to the ear. It's not minimal, but it's not really melodic either. After a couple of listens, the CD does grow on you somewhat (like most mix CDs) and you'll appreciate the superb flow Sasha creates. But without the great music that has highlighted so many of Sasha's fantastic releases in the past, what's the point? Long-time Sasha fans should proceed with caution. Don't get me wrong, there are merits to this release (the mixing, the 3 or 4 standout tracks), but don't be surprised when you find yourself a little disappointed after listening to 70+ minutes of superbly mixed bland music.