I was in Waterstone’s the other day looking for a present for a friend, when I spotted a book in the music section entitled, “God is a DJ, but he only warms up for Sasha” by Brendan Blood.  Instantly intrigued, I had a quick scan through and felt like I just had to read it. Not only have I always been a fan of Sasha for years, a man who’s been leading the rave scene since before I was born but I thought it would be a quality read for the various train / plane / coach journeys over the next few weeks. I expected to read maybe a couple of chapters at a time over 6 weeks maybe, not the whole book within 48hours.

A unique story, recounting the rise to fame of one of Manchester’s heroes and a pioneer in the World of dance music in which we live, first hand from a friend who saw the saga unfold, through thick and thin. Written in a way that is easily related to by any clubber who lives and breathes for their weekends at Sankeys, The Warehouse Project or suchlike across the country. Although, quite rightly, has a big emphasis on the Manchester rave scene in the early 90′s.

If this book was a film, what a film that would be for a start but the soundtrack would be unbeatable. Reminiscing about nights in underground raves across the North, with all the classic tunes from K-Klass – Rythym is a Mystery to Groove Armada – Superstylin to  Sasha’s incredible Xpander. Just reading the names of the tracks, with the detailed descriptions of the euphoric scenes, sends goosebumps down your arms, whether you were there (like we were at the Warehouse Project in 2007) or not.

It’s incredible to think how in the late 80′s when warehouse parties were, all the rave (get it?? … I’m sorry, I’ll stick to writing reviews, not jokes), the government intervened with the Criminal Justice Bill, banning any, “unlicensed party that played, ‘sounds, wholly or predominantly, characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats’, would have all equipment confiscated indefinitely and fines and arrests would be made.” Kill joys.

The guest list of cameo appearances reads like a who’s who of dance music legends, from John Digweed to James Zabiela, spoken both casually as personal friends and as idols to the rest of us mere mortals. This unique way of writing allows readers to relate to their idols whilst relating to the writer who still hasn’t lost his appreciation of the sheer scale of the gigs he was witness to.

I won’t ruin the book for you, you simply need to read this book if you were or still are a clubber that will cherish the memories of nights like these. If you’re a fan of Sankeys, The Warehouse Project, Cream or any similar venues, just read it. If you appreciate Sasha as a DJ, you will idolise him by the end. Well written, interesting and most of all a truthful account of his meteoric rise to fame and one of the best reads we’ve had in a while. We’re sharing the book through the DMM team as I’ve not stopped talking about it since the weekend, reading it hungover after Fire It Up  at Sankeys, Venus last Sunday and Pout at Revolutions on Monday. Need a new read for the hungover flight home from Ibiza next week now, any recommendations?

You can order and download the book here and the DMM team recommend that you do.

Follow Sasha and the author Brendan Blood on Twitter and share your thoughts online. We’re working on a Spotify playlist with as many tracks as we can find to share, feel free to contribute via our Twitter @dancemusicmcr or our Facebook page!