Game Changer: Sasha & Darren Emerson 'Scorchio'
- 6 years ago
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Game Changer: Sasha/Emerson ‘Scorchio’ (DeConstruction, 2000)
DJ Mag brings together two DJ legends — Sasha and Darren Emerson — to talk for the very first time about their seminal progressive track...
A sketch in the BBC comedy programme The Fast Show in the late ‘90s regularly depicted a low budget TV channel — Chanel 9 — in the ‘Republicca Democratia Militaria’, a fictitious Latin American dictatorship. During the news, they’d cut to the weather forecast — read by meteorologist Poula Fisch, played by Caroline Aherne (aka Mrs Merton, or Denise Royle from The Royle Family). Aherne would attach sunshine stickers to the nondescript map of the territory, signalling high temperature values such as 46-degrees centigrade. Everywhere. “Scorchio!” she’d proclaim as she attached a sticker to the map, repeating the process several times in other places before handing back to the news anchormen (played by Paul Whitehouse and Paul Shearer).
The sketch was genius, as it fed into the experiences of baffled Brits abroad catching the TV news on a hot foreign holiday, where — unlike in the UK, with its perpetually unsettled weather — it’s always scorching hot. The dialogue in the sketch consisted of mushing together bits of the Greek/Spanish/Portuguese/Italian languages, along with assorted made-up words like ‘sminky-pinky’ — and ‘scorchio!’ The subsequent gobbledegook could be said to mirror the feelings of Brits abroad when faced with languages on holiday they’d been too lazy to learn — how the foreign lingo could feel like surreal mumbo-jumbo, punctuated by the odd familiar word. Especially if you were a bit spangled (at Ibiza airport coming home, for instance).
Along with other catchphrases from the Fast Show — “jumpers for goalposts”, “suits you sir!” and so on — “scorchio” caught on in the general vernacular in the UK. So when Darren Emerson and Sasha were looking for a name for the scorchin’ new dance track they’d just made together during a blazing hot summer in the UK in 1999, they didn’t have to look very far.
If there are boundaries yet to be broken, then you can bet that Sasha has got them in the crosshairs. He's been battering them down since Shelley's, The Hacienda, Renaissance and Twilo; from Airdrawndagger to Invol3r. Since 2011, he's carved a new way with his increasingly pivotal Last Night On Earth imprint, the label that has introduced into its family fiercely forward-thinking producers like My Favourite Robot's James Teej, Simon Baker, ThermalBear, Ejeca, Ghosting Season, Max Cooper and Knox.
Then there was the arrival of the long-awaited third album in his 'Involver' series in 2013, the intricate and challenging 'Involv3r'. It combined on one disc Sasha's peerless command of dancefloor sensibilities and on the other his skilful exploration of beatless soundscapes, featuring his exclusive interpretations of tracks from The xx, Blondes, Little Dragon, Benjamin Damage, Foals and ThermalBear. It also featured 'Shoot You Down', his own spine-chilling anthem with vocals from the beguiling Swedish chanteuse Kicki Halmos.
Darren Emerson is one of the most influential figures in dance music, with a 17 year career that has seen him work with everyone from Depeche Mode to Jamie Cullum. His success is evident in the numerous million-selling hit albums and singles he has been a part of and his stunning DJ skills. When he turned 18, Rick Smith invited him to become the third member of techno band Underworld.
1993's dubnobasswithmyheadman was their commercial breakthrough onto the then burgeoning British electronica scene. While working on their second album, 1996's Second Toughest in the Infants, they released the single "Born Slippy", which was an instant hit following its inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie, Trainspotting. During his time with Underworld, the band released three albums and sold over a million albums world wide.
Top 100 DJs: http://www.djmag.com/top100djs
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1tr9sNh
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1AxeMR6
Google+: http://bit.ly/1k6xlq5
SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1pE3QIU
Mixcloud: http://bit.ly/UK6i85
Game Changer: Sasha/Emerson ‘Scorchio’ (DeConstruction, 2000)
DJ Mag brings together two DJ legends — Sasha and Darren Emerson — to talk for the very first time about their seminal progressive track...
A sketch in the BBC comedy programme The Fast Show in the late ‘90s regularly depicted a low budget TV channel — Chanel 9 — in the ‘Republicca Democratia Militaria’, a fictitious Latin American dictatorship. During the news, they’d cut to the weather forecast — read by meteorologist Poula Fisch, played by Caroline Aherne (aka Mrs Merton, or Denise Royle from The Royle Family). Aherne would attach sunshine stickers to the nondescript map of the territory, signalling high temperature values such as 46-degrees centigrade. Everywhere. “Scorchio!” she’d proclaim as she attached a sticker to the map, repeating the process several times in other places before handing back to the news anchormen (played by Paul Whitehouse and Paul Shearer).
The sketch was genius, as it fed into the experiences of baffled Brits abroad catching the TV news on a hot foreign holiday, where — unlike in the UK, with its perpetually unsettled weather — it’s always scorching hot. The dialogue in the sketch consisted of mushing together bits of the Greek/Spanish/Portuguese/Italian languages, along with assorted made-up words like ‘sminky-pinky’ — and ‘scorchio!’ The subsequent gobbledegook could be said to mirror the feelings of Brits abroad when faced with languages on holiday they’d been too lazy to learn — how the foreign lingo could feel like surreal mumbo-jumbo, punctuated by the odd familiar word. Especially if you were a bit spangled (at Ibiza airport coming home, for instance).
Along with other catchphrases from the Fast Show — “jumpers for goalposts”, “suits you sir!” and so on — “scorchio” caught on in the general vernacular in the UK. So when Darren Emerson and Sasha were looking for a name for the scorchin’ new dance track they’d just made together during a blazing hot summer in the UK in 1999, they didn’t have to look very far.
If there are boundaries yet to be broken, then you can bet that Sasha has got them in the crosshairs. He's been battering them down since Shelley's, The Hacienda, Renaissance and Twilo; from Airdrawndagger to Invol3r. Since 2011, he's carved a new way with his increasingly pivotal Last Night On Earth imprint, the label that has introduced into its family fiercely forward-thinking producers like My Favourite Robot's James Teej, Simon Baker, ThermalBear, Ejeca, Ghosting Season, Max Cooper and Knox.
Then there was the arrival of the long-awaited third album in his 'Involver' series in 2013, the intricate and challenging 'Involv3r'. It combined on one disc Sasha's peerless command of dancefloor sensibilities and on the other his skilful exploration of beatless soundscapes, featuring his exclusive interpretations of tracks from The xx, Blondes, Little Dragon, Benjamin Damage, Foals and ThermalBear. It also featured 'Shoot You Down', his own spine-chilling anthem with vocals from the beguiling Swedish chanteuse Kicki Halmos.
Darren Emerson is one of the most influential figures in dance music, with a 17 year career that has seen him work with everyone from Depeche Mode to Jamie Cullum. His success is evident in the numerous million-selling hit albums and singles he has been a part of and his stunning DJ skills. When he turned 18, Rick Smith invited him to become the third member of techno band Underworld.
1993's dubnobasswithmyheadman was their commercial breakthrough onto the then burgeoning British electronica scene. While working on their second album, 1996's Second Toughest in the Infants, they released the single "Born Slippy", which was an instant hit following its inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie, Trainspotting. During his time with Underworld, the band released three albums and sold over a million albums world wide.
Top 100 DJs: http://www.djmag.com/top100djs
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1tr9sNh
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1AxeMR6
Google+: http://bit.ly/1k6xlq5
SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1pE3QIU
Mixcloud: http://bit.ly/UK6i85