Global Underground 009: San Francisco (CD1)

San Francisco catches Sasha in 1998 at a point where progressive house was beginning to open into something broader and more trance-led. CD1 is patient rather than peak-heavy: Freaky Chakra, Attaboy and Medway establish a deep, slightly psychedelic atmosphere before Stoneproof and Libra present Taylor push the set towards something more emotional.

It is less obviously anthem-driven than some of Sasha’s later mixes, and stronger for it. The tension comes from how gradually the sound changes shape rather than from a succession of obvious peaks. Heard now, CD1 sits neatly between the darker progressive club music of the mid-90s and the increasingly widescreen trance sound that followed.