SASHA RASKIN | SEA SAND
Sasha Raskin’s experiment was to make this time music in a totally new way. For this project he composed different songs with musicians who he never met via the internet based on one vocal recording he sang. For a year he worked on the drafts sent to him by ScottM from Canada, Tatsuya Shimazaki from Japan, and Fedepiano from Italy. For the fourth song Raskin recorded Miri, a singer from Israel whom he met only once. The final song was recorded from scratch by Raskin at the end. The result is offered as a free download, like all Raskin’s music, out of principle. Sasha Raskin didn’t come to save the music industry. He came to save the music from the industry. Sea Sand is Sasha Raskin’s second album, released 11.1.2013 | It can be downloaded for free here Scott M’s collaboration with Sasha, “Sea Sand (Atlantic)”, starts with a very folky vibe which then transcends into a mystical mechanical outer body experience with an ethereal subtext of layered textured sounds. Tatsuya Shimazaki’s interpretation with Raskin, “Sea Sand (Pacific)”, goes a different route that takes gospel elements strained through world music routes and turns into an electronic backbeat that is hypnotic in nature and freefalling giving the listener an out of body experience. Fedepiano’s take on “Sea Sand (Arctic)” begins slowly only to build in tempo, putting you on the dance floor in the club, the pulse breathes through here as the syncopation rolls like a machine only to roll to a grinding halt. “Sea Sand (Indian)” with Miri is immediately striking due to Miri’s vocals. This would be the standout single if there was one. Raskin’s signature sound is definitely there but the harmonies bring the song to a different level than the other pieces and work on a more commercial level. The final piece, “Sea Sand (Southern)” is Sasha Raskin on his own and allows the listener to see where the unique blends of tonality originate from. Sasha’s voice is a great one to collaborate with but also stands on it’s own. The dreamlike quality of the piece is truly accentuated here and it works as a concluding remark as a whole. Lyrically and emotively Sea Sand is a beautiful collaboration of musicians experimenting in a way only the new flat world offers. |