Sacha Robotti

With a REAL name like Robotti, it may seem obvious that you’re set for a life working in a synthesizer factory or in Artificial Intelligence. However, this Italian-German, Belgium bred 3rd culture polyglot with a Russian first name, has a huge talent for music, which surfaced very quickly when he started to play the cello from age 7. In his teens in the 90s, Sacha discovered the rumblings of the underground house and techno scene of his native Brussels, which inspired him so much that he put down the bow and picked up the turntables. Influenced by the greats of this era: Green Velvet, Aphex Twin, Jeff Mills, DJ Funk, Thomas Bangalter, Dave Clarke, he was soon honing and mastering his own DJ skills. Graduating with an architecture degree from Edinburgh, he moved to Berlin to get fully submerged in the underbelly of the city’s nightlife at the turn of the millenium.

After first self-released vinyls around 2004, Master studies in music with Karl Bartos (formerly of Kraftwerk), and an album under the Berlin DJ duo alias Robosonic with his production buddy Cord, Sacha Robotti put his name on the map as a solo producer with his toe-wobbling debut “Tingly Trumpets” in 2010. Focusing on solo work, Sacha then found a home on Klasse, teaming up with label head Luca Lozano for their first release “Bartok”.

2012 started as an Olympic year for Mr. Robotti as his track “The Major” feat. DJ Rush dropped on Dirtybird, the label from SF he’s loved since its beginning! His track was played by DJs like Seth Troxler, Ellen Allien, Miss Kittin, Joris Voorn, and the whole DB crew. Later that year, Sacha released some epic remixes: of Audiojack feat. Kevin Knapp on Gruuv, of Zombie Disco Squad feat. DJ Funk on Made To Play, and of Deo & Z-Man on Opossum. Also, his original “Move EP” with remixes by Tim Green and Michael Tello of PillowTalk, as well as the ghetto-house flavoured “The Big Ol EP” dropped on Klasse (with a remix by the legendary Waxmaster Maurice of Chicago’s Dance Mania fame!). Moreso, Sacha met up with his Belgian buddy Kill Frenzy in Brussels to make two signature tracks: “Go To The Mo” for Dirtybird, and “I Like It” which was signed to Shadow Child’s label FOOD – together with a remix by B-Ju and a fun Kill Frenzy & Sacha Robotti radioshow on BBC 1 Xtra.

2013 made another dream of Sacha’s come true, when his collaboration with Claude Vonstroke was released on Dirtybird: a VIP version of “Lay It Down – Re-Smoked”, the final track of his latest album “Urban Animal”.

In summer 2014, the release of his collab with Look Like “Loca Lola EP” on Dirtybird, as well as his collab with Kevin Knapp “Puppet” on Jesse Perez label Mr. Nice Guy, as well as a cheeky edit of a 90s ghetto-house track on Klasse’s sublabel Down2House, made him new friends and fans all over the world, especially in the USA. DJ gigs as far out as Mexico, Sydney, Toronto as well as an extremely busy production and international tour schedule with his other projects, haven’t stopped Sacha from remaining a club motor in Berlin – relentlessly playing in all the clubs worth their salt – whatever the season, with realness, skill and a positive attitude, killing it on the decks!

January 2015 saw Dirtybird celebrating 10 years – Sacha’s addition to the birthday compilation, “Thump Bumper” with Kevin Knapp, got voted by Mixmag as one of the 10 tracks that defined Movement Festival Detroit, being played by every DJ with a love for bass and dirt, and enjoying big support from Green Velvet, one of Sacha’s teenage heroes. Later this year, the collab EP “Shaky” with ZDS on Toy Tonics saw the light and has since been slammed on dancefloors worldwide, particularly by Claptone.

Although Sacha’s sound has evolved throughout the years, you can recognize his signature in everything he creates: meandering between the dirty bassheavy “booty” plains of electronic dance music and its’ futuristic shores; his music is funky, creative, has character, uses a palette of rich sounds and tells a story with layers of depth and emotion. It also has a sonic quality that makes it stand out.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this gentleman with a weird little thing for sweaty dance workouts & happy bass-massaged faces…