Sasha - Global Underground 009: San Francisco FLAC download

This is the sound of Sasha in 1999/2000 taking you on a deep, percussive, progressive trip. There are elements of other worldy ambient, deep house, tech house, progressive and the cooler more underground end of progressive trance, even some techco ala Jark Prongo-Movin' thru your system. A classic journey that many come back to time and time again.Why was there never a vinyl LP release like there was with Sasha-Ibiza GU? I think GU mixed a trick there.

The first 20 or so minutes of Disc 2 are pure bliss.

one of the most important sets ever released - this is sasha at his very best presenting electronica like no other... masterful mixing and selection of tracks... both cd's are stunning & emotional and the technical value of the mixing and the tracks themselves - total sonic orgasm... ahead of its time and still timeless, no one does it like sasha!!!!... im rediscovering this release since 1998 - this odyssey of music never lets me down .... 10/10

You can't go wrong with disc 2. A lot of people don't like it, because of its perceived "lack of mixing". But then again, not a lot of people appreciate that mid 90's trance was meant to be mixed this way, long, drawn out and tracks in their entirety.

Who have you ever heard complain about a perceived lack of mixing on cd2? That's quite possibly the most absurd comment I've ever heard about this mix!

The first disc is the better of the two. The second lacks direction and dabbles a bit too much in generic trance. The first features several outstanding peak-time hits such as "Bulgarian" and "Everything's Not You". It also is brilliantly mixed, the mixing on this first disc is phenomenal and is one of Sasha's best performances. He manages to loop certain beats and layer several tracks, creating a really smooth and seamless experience. The second isn't terrible, it just doesn't do much and sort of lacks the mixing complexity of the first disc.

There are only two of the GU mix compilations that are absolutely essential for collectors who appreciate a really well sculptored mix and this is the first. The other is GU13, also by Sasha. CD1 does it especially. Great tracks and great sequencing but it's the mixing which leaves you stunned by the time the CD draws to a close. This was Sasha at the top of his game for me. I think it's ironic that this is unsurpassed by his Ableton work. I'm all for technical progress but compare this and GU13 to Fundacion!

That's not so much Ableton as it is the music. I mean even back then they used Pro Tools and Cubase to do mixes like these.

Yes, to be fair the Athens one is great, but not London, no way, in my opinion, one of the worst GU's

BS. There are quite a few essential Global Underground releases, such as both of Tenaglia's.

A lot can be said about Sasha’s San Francisco set for GU. Not only has it become one of the most endering and everlasting cds that can be as memorable as your first listen, but that there really is a timeless quality that encompasses this 2 disc set. Everyone that knew of Sasha already could tell that this was going to be a special mix. It was his time to show the world that he could do it on his own. He is a master of his craft, just like his partner-in-crime, John Digweed. I personally don’t care if all of his complilations are Pro-Tooled to death and I don’t care if trendy people just want to call what he plays is Trance. All that matters is he still is doing what he loves and that he still has a passion to share his talent with all of us. I live in San Francisco, born and raised; I was only 17 at the time when Sasha came over with GU to record this and I wasn’t able to sneak my way through the clubs, but thankfully Sasha always left his heart in San Francisco (yea yea so what) all those years prior or he wouldn’t have chosen this destination for one of the landmark releases to show that you didn’t need to be a clubber, a raver, or trend follower, you just needed a love of music to enjoy this.

This is the mix that provides the perfect blur where deep house can walk hand in hand with uplifting progressive and banging techno/trance. It also goes to show the true great dj's shouldn't be pigeonholed into one sound or style because when you least expect it, they'll pull something out of their sleeve and shock you. Top shelf mixing here!

Sasha is what got me into this mess. Thank God! I own all of the GU Series and I must say, I never get bored of this 2 CD set. Took me a long time to like CD "1" but now I can finally say that the whole album is Sasha at his best. Get it and I sure you won't be disapointed! :)

Sasha has been around forever and is always outstanding but as far as I am concerned he gets it altogether on this release. Building layers on layers and sonic bass-lines before cascading into peaks as only Sasha knows how, this is what you want, quality...'let me hear that rhythm, movin' through your system'.