Search - Sasha :: Invol2ver

More of the same, rich with atmosphere

Torley | torley.com | 09/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you liked the first Involver, you'll also like this. Sasha's studio intricacy belies the end result, which is seamless to listen to from start from finish. However, numerous edits have reformed, rearranged, twisted, and warped the original tracks, with steady 4/4 beats grounding most of the mix -- which is to say there's less breakbeat action here than on the first Involver, but definitely no shortage of magical "floaty" feel here.



Invol2ver (clever name!) isn't a radical style shift: many of the most beloved changes have to do with tiny details. It begins and ends on a lush, ambient note -- the rush of traffic and heavily-processed sounds begin the voyage, and a similar lifting with a rapidly accelerating crescendo and a hi-hat-into-white-noise accompanies the end, after the beats + bass have faded out to infinity.



Male and female vocals drift in and out, often accompanied by echo, flange, and other effects used to gel them deeper into the entire sonic tapestry. Invol2ver begins slowly and gradually speeds up over the course of 73-something minutes. Although the pace tends towards more mellow, atmospheric grooves -- even those which suit peak-time dancefloor well -- there's plenty of little eclectic bits to like.



Take for example, the 80s-esque snare that breaks in at 49:49 and is repeated several times afterward. There are lots of clever edits to vocals and other elements which go beyond the usual crossfades, which add to the overall sonic "signature". These gated, chopped snippets tempered by reverb are a skillful way to "stitch the quilt", so to speak.



Newcomers will be hard-pressed to name which tracks are which, while veteran trainspotters will be rewarded by how individual pieces have been reshaped to fit the entire "quilt", and quite masterfully at that.



Throughout it all, there's a techy minimal influence which serves as instrumental meat for the vocal melodies, such as the repetitive bassline that hosts the aforementioned tricky edits as part of Home Video's "That You Might". These kind of vibes wouldn't be alien in a Richie Hawtin set, and showcase Sasha's ongoing excellence as a diverse dance music ambassador regardless of silly genre labels. If there's one important thing we can learn from this sonic stew, that's it.



There are some unsettling yet very danceable moments too, like the timestretched, stuttered (but done noticeably differently from, say, the way BT developed his trademark "stutter edit") declarations spread across Ladytron's "Destroy Everything You Touch". It's a bit gothy in its pessimism, yet the head-nodding beat gives the whole affair a surprisingly hopeful-in-the-middle-of-dystopia feel.



Overall, this is a masterful mix album. It may grow more on me yet, but isn't one of my consumate faves because of the lack of really catchy standout tracks -- arguably, this may balance the mix out better, but compared to say, Steve Porter's Porterhouse where the hooks are laden and the variety is exciting, the progressions here take longer to unfold.



On a sidenote, I would've loved to have illuminance like Sasha's own EmFire imprint singles especially remixed -- or at least, riffs to make cameo appearances. The likes of "Coma" and "Who Killed Sparky?" have a great amount of melodic riffing AND deft variation which made them both powerful on the surface and underneath, and if more of that influence had been present here (e.g., like the Bach-esque arpeggiation @ 30:00 in), Invol2ver would've been all the better for it.





P.S. This review is for the regular single-CD edition. I haven't heard the bonus tracks on CD2 yet."

An icon's return to form

Shane Carpenter | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Now, I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore trance/ electronic fan, but I've been following Sasha since the late nineties. It began with the Northern Exposure series and continued on to Airdrawndagger. I thought Sasha had reached his peak. Surely, he couldn't top Airdrawndagger and then he hit us with Involver. Sasha gave us an eclectic sample of electronic music that was true to the scene, but accessible to the casual listener. That was one of his strengths; that was why I followed him.



Sasha proceeded to release Fundacion NYC and the EmFire collection. Suffice it to say that those were two of the worst albums I have ever purchased and that I almost lost total respect for Sasha as an artist and DJ. I thought Sasha pulled a DJ Shadow and was calling it a career, not by retiring, but by creating such a ridiculously wacky album. And not just one wacky album like DJ Shadow's "Outsider", but TWO wacky albums in succession.



Honestly, Sasha was off my radar. I didn't care if he ever released anything again. I had his previous work and that's what i wanted to remember him by. And then a funny thing happened. I was browsing music at a local record store today while my friends were looking at vinyl LPs. I discovered Invol2ver and immediately experienced an entire range of emotion: happiness, apprehension, grief, and skepticism. Would my fandom of Sasha be rekindled? Is this truly another Involver or just another way to trick me out of $20 (I bought the limited edition).



So I went ahead and purchased the album and immediately put it in my CD player. The music started playing and happiness and relief washed over me, and in that order. Sasha is back and I'm elated for him. With this release, he has solidified himself in my pantheon of respected artists. For all the impact he's had on the electronic music world for who knows how long... I'm glad he could come back after all these years and hit us with maybe, just maybe... one last home-run. I've been waiting for you, old friend. Thanks for not letting me down (again)."

Deliciously fantabulous!

midnightjewel | USA | 09/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, I have to admit that I still have a soft spot for the first Involver album - I mean, I could put "Watching Cars Go By" on repeat for five hours straight and never once get tired of it. But I'll also say that Invol2ver is really growing on me as well. I found the Ladytron track to be rather grating at first, but now it's one of my favorite tracks (my top honors would probably go to "3 Little Piggys" by the Man himself). Be sure to try it out with the headphones; there's lots of little electronic nuances that get lost when you just try to listen to it in the car or on your computer.



Yet another genius album. I love Sasha."