It is Friday, 4:30 PM, and Alexander Coe is supposed to be asleep.

The gifted guy from Wales, known better as DJ Sasha, has had his nocturnal routine since the late 1980s when started his career as a DJ at the age of 18.

However, this time during his second Chinese tour, Sasha was already awake in his hotel room in Shanghai, ready for a meeting with the local press.

He was invited by Scotch producer turned global promoter Chivas Regal to join the "Chivas World Top DJ Tour" in China, along John Digweed and Deep Fish.

His first visit to China was around the same time last year with three gigs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in promotion of his mix compilation Involver. The tour was widely acclaimed though it also aroused some savage criticism even from Sasha himself: "The venues were too big, too grand for me to feel any connection with the crowd."

The venues for this year's tour are much smaller and Sasha expressed his confidence that "everything is going to work out this time."

However, when the DJ, clearly suffering from jet lag, showed up for the press meeting, he looked so tired that people doubted if he could handle the three-hour set later in the evening.

However, seven hours later, the DJ, claimed as the world pioneer of progressive house and trance music, was found behind the decks, nodding and sweating, mixing strong trance beats that made every foot in the packed VIP room to move.

The next night in Beijing saw a bigger crowd in Club Banana fall under his spell. In the coming weeks, he will move on to Chongqing in Southwest China and then on to Guangzhou, where he will team up with his old partner at Renaissance in London, John Digweed, for another night on the wheels of steel.

Digweed expressed music as his first love, to which Sasha nodded in agreement with a big smile. But what gives him a real buzz is being able to share his music with others.

In the pre-tour press conference, Beijing Weekend managed to grab a few precious minutes with the DJ from the valleys:

BJW: When did you start to become a DJ and how did it happen?

Sasha: I started going out clubbing when I was 18 years old. It seems such a long time ago (he laughs). It was near Manchester, the Hacienda. One visit and I was hooked. While I listened to the other DJs they inspired me to get into the scene. And then I guess I was in the right place at the right time, and my career kind of exploded with the scene. Now I spend most of my time at airports. I don't know how it happened.

BJW: Hip-hop is really hot now almost everywhere. As a trance house DJ, what do you think of the phenomenon?

Sasha: Yes, hip-hop is rather popular nowadays and it has changed the club scene a lot. But house trance is still absolutely massive everywhere. It may not be found during the biggest Saturday night does when the more commercial crowd will spend more money on expensive alcohol. There are still people going around to listen to the kind of music I play and other DJs play. I think it is still a big movement.

BJW: In your opinion, what should people do if they want to get into deejaying?

Sasha: If you look at the DJ 100 of this year and compared it to that five years ago, you will find there are so many new names coming out of nowhere, even on the top agenda, like DJ Hernan (Cattaneo) from South Africa. Through his experience as a resident DJ in a local club to gradually getting sponsored to travel internationally, he worked really hard to become an international DJ. He's now busy all year around. This can't be done without a load of hard work. I went through it as well.

BJW: Although you have many fans here in China, some say that the progressive house music you play is out of date. Do you agree?

Sasha: Of course, I doubt (he chuckles). House and trance have been changing and evolving all the time. What the sound people called I guess the progressive house may be something I played seven or eight years ago. I am not really a purist DJ. Over the years, I have been adding new influences into my sets. I guess, always pushing yourself to listen to new music so as not to get left behind, is the key business for a trance DJ.

BJW: What's your definition of deejaying?

Sasha: My definition of deejaying keeps changing all the time. In my previous years, I thought it was to put together different sets of music so as to create a sound of my own. Now I think it is basically about reading the crowd and reacting to that energy through your live set, making sure each of them leave the club with a smile on their face. In other words, you are there to entertain the audience, and at the same time, you try to play some new music so that you almost educate as you go along.

BJW: You have become immortal in a sense through your music. How would you like to be remembered in a hundred years time?

Sasha: I would be glad if I were still remembered in a hundred years (he grins). I will be glad if I am remembered as a quality DJ.

(China Daily November 11, 2005)