Sasha

There are DJs who turn up, play records and make people dance. And there are producers who make the dancefloor-igniting records those DJs will kill for. There are very few people in dance music who can do both and Sasha is the leader of the pack. Ever since he rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North of England's explosive early 90s club scene, that magic touch has made Alexander Coe one of the most famous, most revered DJ on the planet.

It's because of what he can do with music - the way he can make good records sound better, great records sound awesome, and everything he plays into his own. The way his mixes take elements from across the spectrum of electronic dance, from trance, breaks, progressive and deep house, and create a languidly hypnotic liquid groove. The way his understanding of both melody and momentum can tease, taunt, and en-trance a dancefloor before unleashing a record that will have people not just leaping up and down but bursting with emotion.

Sasha's long awaited debut album 'Airdrawndagger' takes this nose for the dancefloor's g-spot and combines it with the ears for a heartstring strumming melody, a smile inducing hook and dirty great b-lines to create a 69 minute symphony that sounds as wistfully enchanting doing the hoovering at home as it does reaching for the lasers on Saturday night. Like the best Sasha DJ set you ever heard, it has melancholy mixed with euphoria, downtempo introspection mixed with jump n' shout excitement.

Thankfully, unlike most albums by hybrid DJ/producer/artists there are no half-hearted collaborations with pop stars, whether faded or up-and-coming, no hamfisted record company attempts to sell the Sasha ™ brand to the general public via cred-hungry indie frontmen or ageing rappers in search of a wider demographic. With Sasha what you see (or hear) really is what you get - the fact he so transparently believes in the music he's trying to push could well be one reason he incites such devotion in his legions of fans across the globe.

Across the 11 tracks, there's the time and space to reflect his love for music that rarely gets the chance to shine in clubs, whether that's punishingly gnarly breakbeats or glittering modern classical film scores. It's a symphony for all ravers that grew up but never grew out of chasing that buzz. A record of a journey that began, as so many did, in the smoke and strobes of Manchester's Hacienda nightclub and has now taken him to Midwestern stadia where he and his regular partner in beats, breakdowns and frequent flier mileage John Digweed are currently once again bringing house music to the US.

Alexander Coe grew up in Hawarden, near Chester in the North of England. At 17 he passed the entrance exam to the elitist Epsom public school, but the young Northerner hated it and left before his A' Levels. He moved to Bangor in North Wales to be with his father, where his stepmother forced him to take piano lessons. At the time, he hated the lessons. But after his first studio session - and this is typical Sasha - he phoned her to say thank you.

In nearby Manchester, the now legendary Hacienda was lighting the torch for acid house. One visit and the young pony-tailed Sasha was hooked. "The smoke machine, the strobe lights, everyone trance dancing, wearing bandanas and smiley T-shirts," he smiles now. "It definitely had a fuck-you attitude compared to the rest of pop music."

Sasha and his friends began driving up to the Hacienda every weekend. He moved into a friend's flat in Disley, South Manchester and got himself a telesales job. "I was always late for work, I was always in trouble, I'd always be half asleep until about 3 o'clock."

Sales funded his nocturnal activities and a burgeoning collection of acid house tunes. One night the DJ who played in their local pub announced he was looking for DJs for a tour. Sasha stepped forward, and found himself making his debut in nearby Stockport. "I'd never even touched a Tec