Airdrawndagger

Sasha is the ultimate superstar DJ. The Hacineda kingpin, he is known as ‘Son Of God’ to countless ravers. Conquerer of America, he lives the kind of life – involving clubs, first-class travel, VIP rooms, drugs… oh, and playing records – that millions can only dream about.

So is Airdrawndagger, his hugely anticipated and heavily hyped debut album, the real deal then? Sadly, I don’t think so.

Indeed, the first four tracks – all floaty synths, rolling atmospherics and sparse beats – segue by with little to distinguish one from another (or the wallpaper, for that matter).

Things get more interesting after that – ‘Immortal’ could fit on a better Orbital album, ‘Fundamental’ is a decent breakbeat track – but in truth, there’s nothing especially remarkable about Airdrawndagger.

There’s no mystery, and little real excitement – it’s basically a collection of middling-to-good breaks/progressive/trance tunes with the odd potential Tampax ad theme (‘Requiem’, ‘Dremples’) thrown in for good measure. If it wasn’t made by Sasha, it’d be ignored. And that is how it should be judged.

Dance music certainly isn’t as interesting as it used to be, but there are still is enough invigorating and innovative things going on to get excited about.

This relatively inoffensive album isn’t one of them.