Sasha - Xpander EP

Dont get me wrong this is an awesome 4 tracker and I love all the songs but what is all this rubbish about Sasha creating this unbelievable track "expander" ?
Expander is a great track but if your into your Prog house, you may remember it in the back of your head.

Pull out the "live" mix of Spooky "little bullet" and you will notice it was produced my Charlie May (the man who Sasha worked with on "Expander")
You'll soon realise that expander is just remix.

If you don't believe me do a search on Youtube.

This EP is nice, but if you listen to Spooky's Little Bullet Part One right after you listen to this, the similarity will reveal itself. Sasha knows all the hot tunes but just like any other dj who releases material under his or her name, lacks originality in the production of music. They are like cover artists. Todd Terry is a prime example. Anyhow, the other songs are still okay. Personally I am disappointed in how sweet dreams, private eyes, tainted love, every breath you take, cybotron's clear, and kraftwerk's computer world all have become hit songs performed by someone else. A little sample here and there would be okay, but I don't think it cool to use it as your own.

Together with 'Heaven Scent' by Bedrock, 'Xpander' heralded the second coming of Progressive House. From here on for the next few years virtually every producer in the 4 to the floor sphere made their productions ever more progressive, and if they didn't, they usually got cast by the way side.

Out of the four tracks here, the title track 'Xpander' is the best known and most accessible. It's an epic 11 and half minute journey to another world where everything seems just perfect. With its infectious sweet melody (that Charlie May just happened to have lying around) it is in equal measures trance as it is progressive house. Some well positioned breaks provide it a credible cross over appeal and make it great fun to beat mix.

A landmark in the history of electronic music.

If I had to choose 1 release to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be it. Xpander is unbelievably warm, with 2 separate melodies combining at the climax of the track to send chills up your back like no other. Belfunk is an incredible progressive chugger. My favorite part in this is the mid section where the bassline drops and the high pitched bells chime in marking the end of every 8 beats. It ends ambient and mellow, almost making me feel like the ambient section should have been placed in the beginning of the track, as opposed to the end. Still an incredible track. Rabbitweed is not my style, but Baja is perfect for that afterhours vibe or a long car ride home after a show. Very slow and melodic, soothing to max.

Gotta say Baja is one of the best tracks i've ever heard. Just builds and builds and when he drops that little noise in at 6min? The track just picks you up on its own, no drugs needed!

I'm reviewing this album solely due to my passion for the song "Baja." The longest song on the album, stretching a near 12 minutes is fluttering beauty. It is one of those songs in which your afraid to breathe because you fear missing a single beat. If I was to have one song constantly playing as the backdrop or soundtrack to my life, this could be it. So meditative, calming and peaceful. Although some might not have the patience to sit through to the climax, those who do are greatly rewarded. It's like tantric. Sit back, dim the lights, close your eyes and feel yourself drift into places unknown.

This entire EP is brilliant. Too often it seems that a CD single will contain only remixes or the odd B-side track, but Sasha puts nearly half an album on this EP, and it works. Xpander is epic. This huge club hit has a heavenly breakdown that I will never forget. Belfunk is raw Sasha in action, complete with a chilling, eerie melody transposed on a creative baseline. Rabbitweed always paints a picture of a different world in my mind. The screaming electronic string section, nearly four minutes in, always makes me feel like I’m out of my body. To cap it off, Baja is a percussion-based chilled sound with yet another catchy baseline. Evidently, I’m a big fan of this EP. Since my tastes usually stay within the boundaries of trance, I’d recommend this item to anyone with an interest in electronic music of any type. I feel that it is significant enough to break the barriers between genres, as it did for me, and have meaning as an achievement in electronic music production.

This is definately among the greatest of Sasha's productions. With soft Progressive, ambient feel to each track, its simple yet complex and definately one of the most genius Electronic Dance Music productions to ever be realeased. This EP demands the utmost respect...

Xpander is quite possibly the best marriage of progressive and anthem trance in the history of electronic music. An absolutely beautiful track.

Xpander certainly expanded a lot of minds back when it was release (and it still does even today). You can’t go wrong with Sasha and Charlie May working together – nothing but the finest examples of electronic music. This track got deck time by not only by the regulars around the Progressive community, but I still remember quite vividly Breakbeat, DnB, Hardhouse, Trance, and Tribal djs working this into their sets. Defiantly crossed boarders, but no one can pull this off like Sasha. I have to admit, I still dig it today, but I don’t play it anymore (seems too fast and hectic for my taste now, even if I slow it down). But then whenever he comes by San Francisco, I do cross my fingers around the climax of his sets hoping for some mind expansion once again.