sounds :: Northern Exposure by Sasha and John Digweed

CD :: Northern Exposure
Artist :: Sasha and John Digweed
Produced ::
Released :: 1996
Label :: Ministry of Sound

There is no easy way to explain this CD. My first exposure to it was in SF, listening to various samplings from the world of electronica at the Virgin Megastore on Market Street. This was my tradition every friday night as i waited on someone to show up.

At this point, the only electronica i was listening to was ambient. My appreciation of House would not come for another year... and a profound loss and change later. This CD was on the listening rack quite a bit and i had this fascination with the album cover. Okay, i admit, that's a weak reason to want to listen to something, but it worked. I'd don the headphones to give it a listen, to see if my opinion had changed any but for that time in my life, i just wasn't ready for what these CD's had to offer.

Things changed and barriers that i had in my mind gave way to an acceptance of new experiences. This collaboration, Northern Exposure, was one of my first forays into what House music was (and yes, for those of you who want to pick nits, i'm aware that you might not agree with calling Sasha and Digweed purveyors of House music, but that's really not my problem).

0• North starts off with a narrative that goes on for about 2 minutes and slowly submerges the listener with a steady and somewhat predictable offering of rhythms (to the best of my knowledge, all House is 4/4, so that's not necessarily a bad thing). By the time the second track, Cascade by the Future Sound of London, kicks in, you'll find yourself wrapped and bound in melancholy lingering, even languid sounds that sets the stage for the rest of the CD. You'll find yourself peering over the horizon while standing on the crescendo that tracks like These Waves, Out of Body Experience and I'm Free have to offer. The urge to sway should soon be natural as this CD goes deeper and deeper into the recesses of imagination; into the recesses of desire and passion. I do suggest if you have someone to dance with at this point, that you do take full advantage of the situation.

The first CD is unnaturally long. That is, after listening to it for a while, i keep thinking i've heard the closing track, whereupon i learn that i've actually only listened to a little more than half and the best is yet to come.

The closing track for CD 1 is Banco de Gaia's Last Train to Lhasa . This piece alone is uplifting and exhausting and frankly, i think it would have been a stronger piece to finish the 2nd CD with, as when it's over, i often forget that the journey that is Northern Exposure, is only half way finished.

0• South does not start off with the same level of energy that North left off with, but at the same time, it isn't quite as sedate and introductory as Satellite Serenade was on the first CD. However that's not to say that the level of energy has somehow changed from one CD to the next. No no no, the warmth and organic flow that was established earlier is continued here. What's not as obvious is the deliberate ups and downs that were fairly obvious in the first CD. This isn't an entirely bad thing, as 0• South is just about as diverse and enjoyable as 0• North. One major shift that occurs in 0• North is during the track, Plan 94 (The Voyage), a key change, sanguine and uplifting sounds emerge, bringing the energy back up.

The closing track, Dark and Long by Underworld is long and takes a while to build it's groove. The reward for listening is a nice sedate finish to one of the best journeys that Sasha and John Digweed have ever taken me on. Granted, i think 0• South is nowhere near as robust, bold or adventurous as 0• North is, but it is a competent following complete with it's own offerings and rewards for the traveler willing to walk it's path.

-swt :: 12 april 2001