Sasha - Da Vinci Genius (2LP) [Night Time Stories]

Dance music royalty, Sasha, returns to Night Time Stories with his latest project – the soundtrack to Da Vinci Genius, an immersive exhibition celebrating the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, the great Italian Renaissance polymath.

His 2016 release, Scene Delete, on the same imprint showcased Sasha as you’d never heard him before – an imaginary film soundtrack, an adventurous turn for the veteran DJ/Producer, who rarely sticks to the known.

Fast forward to 2024, and we find Sasha dabbling in classical music, combined with the deep sounds he is famed for. He used his experience as an electronic music producer and film buff to reconfigure his work, recruiting Scene Delete veterans Dennis White, Dave Gardner, and Barry Jamieson to assist in this complex task.

“I’d never before scored music for a project like this, so it was so exciting and interesting working with the show designers, Flora and Fauna Visions (FFV), on this incredible commission.

The show is a glimpse into the past, present, and future of Da Vinci’s mind, featuring many of his iconic works, using computers to play around with them, and creating an amazing visual experience. We needed the music to support and enhance that.

We wanted to capture some of the atmosphere of those amazing film scores we love, and the modern electronic composers who inspired us. People like Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, Steve Reich, even Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre. We were inspired by Kubrick’s approach to using classical music in his films, but also modern film composers like Hans Zimmer, who use classical movements with amazing electronic sounds around it.

We also managed to find some medieval choral music from around LDV's time by a renaissance composer, Josquin des Pres, which inspired some of the more ambient sections. When we started the soundtrack, we hadn’t seen any of the visuals, so we had to be guided by FFV’s mood boards. It was a different and challenging way of working, but I hope people will think it’s one of the most accomplished things we’ve done.” Sasha

A dream-like journey from start to finish, the nuances, atmosphere, and melodic layers of compositions such as Mosaic, Equality, and Clouds weave into gentle melodies and emotive timbres, presenting themselves perfectly. It is only with compositions such as the beatific Super Hero (with Sentre) and Into The Metaverse that Sasha returns to more familiar sounds.

With Da Vinci Genius, Sasha seems completely at home in unfamiliar territory, enjoying the simply beautiful and undeniably moving music he has created. He recounts, “I really wanted to take something classical but flip it, make it modern. Although the show focuses on Leonardo’s original art, at most points in the show it is being electronically altered. For example, the Mona Lisa appears out of thousands of digital fragments, and some of his other famous portraits meld into visual electronic glitches. I wanted to frame the show with a classical vibe but then allow the electronics to pulse behind it. It was a wonderful collaboration with FFV and I loved doing this.”