★★★☆☆
Nearly ten years since the first Involver compilation and five since volume two, Sasha’s Balearic teaching is still resonant and relevant. Building, taking his time, showing clubbers where to go and what to do when the sun begins its descent, he of a golden age of superstar DJs works up a deep tech house session with as much relish for loosening up and keeping going.
Effortlessly fluent, personally guiding the sun down himself like an airport marshal, Sasha’s set hums sagely while a wiry girly or candle flickering vocal usually wraps itself around the settings (Ultraísta’s “Smalltalk,” Sasha’s own “Shoot You Down”), while ThermalBear’s “Turn the Tide” plays patron for deep and stylish grooves with ripples of expectancy and vim. Remixing The xx, Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka, Ananda Project James Zabiela and more to fit the cause would lead to whispers on the merits of re-tuning all on his terms, were the mix not so accessible in its EDM shushing.
Propped up by a more travel-sized ambient mix, Sasha distils and cleanses the essence of disc one’s contributors. On the surface it just seems to be in thought with itself or has simply lessened the pulse of the source on a two-for-one basis, but is such that the pair become perfect partners as separate entities. Mind soul and body all taken care of, which has always been Sasha’s game.
File under: John Digweed, Nick Warren, Charlie May
