The Best House and Techno Tracks of 2021

Belgium

Sacha Robotti

The king of Sloth Acid, Sacha Robotti, has made a name for himself over the last decade as a champion of all things weird and funky. A mainstay in the American house and techno scene, Sacha established a reputation for genre-bending sets and a tasteful ear for talent through his label Sloth Acid. His career began long before he became a staple of the US scene. And many of his influences and inspirations stem from a childhood spent in European clubs.

Sacha was somewhat of a musical prodigy as a child. “My sister was a pianist. She’s a professor now in Southern Germany. Growing up around her I always wanted to play an instrument. I wanted to play double bass but I was too small so I played the cello. I was really good at it without studying too much, it just came easy to me. I thought about following it professionally, I played in an orchestra. My mother died when I was 15 and it killed my motivation to play the cello. I just thought about her when I played.”

After the tragic passing of his mother, Sacha discovered electronic music and the subsequent community that surrounds it. His rave friends became his family, he started regularly attending shows and began DJing. 

“We had a little room in a church that we would throw parties at and do graffiti in. Eventually the church threw us out but it was a great introduction… Brussel [Belgium], where I spent many years of my youth has amazing clubs. Fuse Club is one of the best in the world. Seeing legends like Jeff Mills, Dave Clark, and Green Velvet there really inspired me to take up DJing. When my sister was studying piano in Berlin, I visited and ended up staying for a few years.”

The allure of Berlin kept Sacha long enough to establish himself as a touring DJ. He founded the Robosonic with his friend Cord Henning Labuhn. The duo created music and toured during the late 2000s before Sacha moved to America to begin a solo career. 

He arrived in the US with a suitcase, computer, and one show booked. After seeing the scene in LA, he quickly realized it did not resonate with the things he loved about music. Sacha felt the need to create a space that strayed away from the typical bottle service clubs and 60 minute set times. He quickly began to throw events, aptly titled Comfort Zone.

“I always liked sloths… I felt like the sloth face would be a cool logo to match the brand name. My friend in Portland designed the logo and we just put it everywhere. I kind of look like a sloth so it was great. I tried to do it less in a cute way. Sloths are kind of weird and creepy so I wanted to play on the fact that they are slow and endangered but also weird and operate at their own pace.” 

After finding success with events, Sacha built up his solo career. He quickly got tracks signed to Dirtybird and released "The Major," which was pulled down due to copyright infringement. After some Dirtybird compilation inclusion, Sacha connected with Kill Frenzy and the two put out the 

“We just hit it off and made some music together. I felt like Dirtybird was really putting out their best music in the first five years. Times change and the label grew bigger.”

Sacha continued to pull the thread of his early branding and founded the Sloth Acid record label. He's also become an internationally renown DJ. As he has solidified his place in the scene, he felt the freedom in recent years to experiment with his DJ sets and music, working hard to never put out repetitive sounds and stay ahead of the curve creatively.

“I get really bored super quick when I hear a DJ play an hour of the same genre. For me, I want to play everything. People like Tiga or Eats Everything do such a great job of playing all kinds of genres… Production is the same thing, I just make whatever I like to do at that moment."

His new single "Fuck The Pain Away" is out now and represents the very best in Sacha’s production ability. He is on tour now, hitting cities across America. 

The king of Sloth Acid, Sacha Robotti, has made a name for himself over the last decade as a champion of all things weird and funky. A mainstay in the American house and techno scene, Sacha established a reputation for genre-bending sets and a tasteful ear for talent through his label Sloth Acid. His career began long before he became a staple of the US scene. And many of his influences and inspirations stem from a childhood spent in European clubs.

Sacha was somewhat of a musical prodigy as a child. “My sister was a pianist. She’s a professor now in Southern Germany. Growing up around her I always wanted to play an instrument. I wanted to play double bass but I was too small so I played the cello. I was really good at it without studying too much, it just came easy to me. I thought about following it professionally, I played in an orchestra. My mother died when I was 15 and it killed my motivation to play the cello. I just thought about her when I played.”

After the tragic passing of his mother, Sacha discovered electronic music and the subsequent community that surrounds it. His rave friends became his family, he started regularly attending shows and began DJing. 

“We had a little room in a church that we would throw parties at and do graffiti in. Eventually the church threw us out but it was a great introduction… Brussel [Belgium], where I spent many years of my youth has amazing clubs. Fuse Club is one of the best in the world. Seeing legends like Jeff Mills, Dave Clark, and Green Velvet there really inspired me to take up DJing. When my sister was studying piano in Berlin, I visited and ended up staying for a few years.”

The allure of Berlin kept Sacha long enough to establish himself as a touring DJ. He founded the Robosonic with his friend Cord Henning Labuhn. The duo created music and toured during the late 2000s before Sacha moved to America to begin a solo career. 

He arrived in the US with a suitcase, computer, and one show booked. After seeing the scene in LA, he quickly realized it did not resonate with the things he loved about music. Sacha felt the need to create a space that strayed away from the typical bottle service clubs and 60 minute set times. He quickly began to throw events, aptly titled Comfort Zone.

“I always liked sloths… I felt like the sloth face would be a cool logo to match the brand name. My friend in Portland designed the logo and we just put it everywhere. I kind of look like a sloth so it was great. I tried to do it less in a cute way. Sloths are kind of weird and creepy so I wanted to play on the fact that they are slow and endangered but also weird and operate at their own pace.” 

After finding success with events, Sacha built up his solo career. He quickly got tracks signed to Dirtybird and released "The Major," which was pulled down due to copyright infringement. After some Dirtybird compilation inclusion, Sacha connected with Kill Frenzy and the two put out the Go to the Mo EP. 

“We just hit it off and made some music together. I felt like Dirtybird was really putting out their best music in the first five years. Times change and the label grew bigger.”

Sacha continued to pull the thread of his early branding and founded the Sloth Acid record label. He's also become an internationally renown DJ. As he has solidified his place in the scene, he felt the freedom in recent years to experiment with his DJ sets and music, working hard to never put out repetitive sounds and stay ahead of the curve creatively.

“I get really bored super quick when I hear a DJ play an hour of the same genre. For me, I want to play everything. People like Tiga or Eats Everything do such a great job of playing all kinds of genres… Production is the same thing, I just make whatever I like to do at that moment."

His new single "Fuck The Pain Away" is out now and represents the very best in Sacha’s production ability. He is on tour now, hitting cities across America. 

Sacha Robotti

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Gray Area Editorial Team