Sasha Shawna

This fourth volume in our scholarly compendium once more charts Liszt’s life through song (including three settings spanning as many decades of a portentous love-letter the composer received in 1841). Series maestro Julius Drake welcomes the gorgeous Sasha Cooke to Hyperion.

Clear, precise music featuring rhythmic refinement as free as it is polished, with vibrations that are, in the final analysis, more morbid than conquering, a series of enchantments idealising the violin as the charming bard of the inexpressible. A new form of Expressionism and a timeless challenge for performers.

Sasha’s focus on the future and fresh worlds to conquer made it unlikely he’d revisit his seminal cut, which electrified dancefloors in 1999 and has been spoken of with awe ever since. So he began a seemingly new piece on stage, which then revealed itself to be a special new rework, bringing the stunned audience to their feet in a goosebump-inducing joyful finale.

The first Late Night Tales release of 2016 is a very special project by Sasha. Imagine listening to music inspired by Frahm, Richter and Steve Reich, but made by one of the UK’s leading house and techno DJs. Away from the hubbub of the club, the craziness of Ibiza, there’s a contemplative side to everybody. Forget the beats and the sweat and the billowing anthems; this quiet, undulating, at times pastoral piece is less about songs and anthems and more about texture and atmosphere. ‘Scene Delete’ is a side of Sasha you’ve never heard before.