08.06.13
We hope you enjoy this archive of a 1993 mixtape made by our friend Sasa Cronbnja. It was recorded just before the launch of the famed, underground NYC party series “Organic Grooves,” which was to last until 2000. In this mix Sasa perfectly sets the tone for what was soon to come in his cosmic music universe. Thanks to Say Yes Party for saving this mixtape. See their write up about it below. Special thanks to Sasa for letting us share this!
In New York, during the mid 1990’s, music lovers became dissatisfied with the current sounds of deep and tribal house, the ridiculousness of Club Kids and Runway shows and the Mayor’s crackdown on nightlife. With decent parties to the point of near extinction and with no place to listen to music other than pseudo intellectual nights DJ Sasa Cronbnja aka Inflagranti (who also ran a clothing company and shop in the Lower East Side at the time) got together with other musicians and DJs and started a real alternative weekly party.
“The party was called Organic Grooves and it started in 1994 in New York. The idea was to have a different kind of party as I was getting bored with house music and hearing the same tunes when going out,
so I went back to my roots of cosmic music back in the early 80′s
and mixed Trip Hop with African music and pitched down jungle with
easy listening…”
Alongside Sasa, musicians, percussionists and sometimes vocalists would jam but this was not a concert – it was a dance party. At a time when the city had passed a law making it impossible to dance in venues without cabaret licenses, people only went out in Manhattan. This was all to change, as the roving party would sometimes regroup in Brooklyn and Queens. Taking place from basements, antique shops, old theatre spaces, empty restaurants and roof tops similar to the raves in the UK you’d phone up to find out where the party was happening.
Sasa was the main DJ but would sometimes be joined by Marcus (Shit Robot) and Tim Sweeney from Beats in Space. The party continued for 8 years, kick-starting Codek records and releasing 4 Organic Grooves albums. Here we have a mixtape from Sasa from 1993 that has never been heard before…. – Say Yes Party
