“I grew up on pop music with synthesisers… it was just the sound of the era.” A Sagittariun talks us through his formative musical moments.
What’s the first record you ever bought?
The first records that were bought for me would have been ABBA’s Greatest Hits Vol 2 which included such favourites as ‘Eagle’ and ‘Name Of The Game’ (I always preferred ABBA’s more melancholic moments), and another pivotal album for me was Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam & The Ants.
The first time you remember hearing electronic music?
The first electronic music that I heard would have been Kraftwerk’s ’The Model’ and the all the big synth-pop acts of the early 1980s, such as Soft Cell, Human League, etc, but I didn’t really make much of a connection to ‘electronic music’ as this was, to my ears, pop music of the day. Having grown up on pop music with synthesisers, it wasn’t a case of, “Oh, this is electronic, it’s different to guitar-based pop music,” it was just the sound of the era.
The guaranteed floor-filler?
Well there are certain staples now in the techno arsenal that will always do the business, tracks like ‘Loop’ by LFO vs F.U.S.E. or ‘Quetzal’ by Los Hermanos, but perhaps the lesser-known record that always unites the dancefloor for me is ‘Mystical Rhythm’ by Vince Watson. It’s just the warmest sounding record that really lifts and unites.
The guilty pleasure?
Oh, I’ve plenty of guilty pleasures. A couple that spring to mind are Cliff Richard’s ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ and Rod Stewart’s ‘Young Turks’. Love em!
The last track of the night?
Well there would be many potential ones here, but something classic and unifying like the Night Writers ‘Let The Music Use You’ or Urban Soul’s ‘Alright’.
The best chillout record?
Has to be The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld for me, an absolute journey of sound and samples, really inventive and so well produced.
The soundtrack to a lazy Sunday afternoon?
Something like Steely Dan’s Aja album, which includes the mighty ‘Black Cow’ or perhaps the Greatest Hits of Bill Withers, whom I absolutely love.
The record you’re proudest of?
One of my own productions? Well it’s probably gonna be something like ‘A Lucid Dream’, which was the B-side on my Rapid Ear Movement EP and also on my first album, Dream Ritual. I think it’s one of the tracks that best managed to capture the A Sagittariun musical aesthetic and vibe. In fact, I’m very proud of both my albums, Elasticity and Dream Ritual.
Sabres of Paradise’s ‘Lick Wid Nit Wit’ is out now on Elastic Dreams, featuring two A Sagittariun remixes. Find him on Facebook and SoundCloud.