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If there's one man who signals a maturing in clubbing attitudes, it's Ashley Casselle. In recent times, Ashley has brought a more developed sound to the nation's dancefloors, dropping his unique blend of beefy, fromage-free dancefloor tracks and deep house.
Casselle has been involved in music for the best part of a decade, originally turned on to acid house since catching Paul Oakenfold way back in 1989. Ever since those halcyon days, his agenda has been first and foremost to mix it up, whether playing at his seminal Riveira night, run with Stuart Patterson in London's Kensal Road, or in the backroom at Bedrock. It's this variety which has been the key to Ash's success, one of the main reasons why he was given a gig at the first ever Bedrock night on Hastings Pier, dropping an alternative selection of dub, house and disco.
You can see it oozing from every beat of his slick progressive productions that he records under the Ashtrax moniker. Take 'Helsinki', Ashley's paean to Finland's capital that's heavy on the dancefloor pressure but easily appeals to DJs right across the musical spectrum. "A lot of people who I see as my contemporaries, like Sasha, Timo Maas, Sander Kleinenberg and Nick Warren have been playing it," smiles a bashful Ashley. "But what I really like is that other people like Adam Freeland have been playing it in their housier moments - I love that."
Clearly then, being pigeon-holed as a pioneer of the new progressive sound doesn't actually interest Ashley? "I do see myself as a bit of a genre buster," admits Casselle. "That's what I want to achieve, making records that diverse people will play because they like it and want to include it. For no other reason than that."
So, if you're looking for a beat that's block-rocking and genre-busting, which steers clear of conformity, then check Ashley Casselle. After all, good music comes along too seldom to warrant missing out on.
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