Sashkanash

Episode 07

For the 7th episode of Abracadaba Radio, I'm super happy to host Sasha Kanash aka Sashkanash.

Sashkanash, or Sasha Kanash, originally from Minsk, lived for a while in Vienna and is now based in Warsaw.

By day, Sasha works as a business analyst, but he’s also an enthusiastic DJ. What’s fascinating is how both roles share a similar purpose: they’re about seeking out the unusual and turning it into something meaningful. Whether it’s uncovering insights in data and business or spinning rare, obscure tracks, both require curiosity, creativity, and a relentless drive to dig deeper. Sasha brings that same energy to everything he does, leaving people with something they won’t forget—whether it’s a perfectly crafted analysis or a mix that takes you on a journey.

This mix is a great example of what makes Sasha stand out. It’s dark, atmospheric, and layered, pulling you in and keeping you hooked. It’s not just music—it’s a story.

There’s not much about Sashkanash online—just some really great mixes and a collection of analog photos—but maybe that’s the point. For Sasha, it’s about letting the work speak for itself, and it speaks volumes.



^{1. Musical Background:}

Firstly, how are you today?
_{Hey-hey, all good:)}

Can you talk about your musical background?
<sub>When I was around 13-14, I discovered the world of street dance and I was deeply involved in this culture for more than 10 years. I was less active the last few years, but I still enjoy to share the dancefloor with my fellas either alone at home or somewhere in nature 😊
I started with breakdance/hiphop/house/popping improvisation, I participated in countless dance battles in Belarus and around Europe and also took part in a couple of performances, tried contact improvisation and all other movement concepts and experiments. That’s where I first learn something about how to make people’s bodies movin’ (at least mine😏).

But in the end, I was tired of constant competition and constant demands to PROVE something to someone (there is always something like “I’m better than you at this moment”). So, in Minsk there was an alternative dance movement called “bounce of nature” and key member and great dj Kostya TSYD was a crucial person who showed and excited me in the electronic music scene in Minsk. I guess, around 2017-2018, I realized that I was super curious about what is happening in the electronic music landscape of Minsk: legendary Huligan bar, crave.dig party series, select record store, trata, parties organized by Artyom Dorokhov, body talk, gap, and a looot of other stuff happened in Minsk between 2015-2020. A golden Belarusian era for me personally😌. All that to say, yeah it was a smooth transition from the street dance world into electronic music world.</sub>



Tell me about a musical memory or moment that made you realize you wanted to start your own journey?
_{I started to dig music around 2012, but it was mainly digital stuff from Bandcamp or Soundcloud and mainly street dance-related. Around 2017 I realized that when I come to a street dance event, I know 80% of the beats that dance djs would play. I was not excited, everything was predictable and, in the end, boring.  So, the crucial moment was when one of my friends gave me a MIDI controller to play around with for a weekend 😌 In half a year I bought my own one and this is how the whole dj story started 😉.}


What’s your relation with vinyls?

<sub>I’ve been collecting records only for about 6 years now and haven’t come up with a final relation.
If we are talking about music storage medium: Atm, I love to collect music on any medium: vinyl, cd, digital, or cassette (rarely, but still). IMHO, the medium is irrelevant, the important thing is what's on it.

However, if we’re talking about the DJ setup I feel more comfortable with a pair of Technics rather than CDJs. CDJs are simply more error-prone devices that make me more stressed rather than playful. Ofc, it’s a matter of experience and a proper soundcheck, but now I feel like that 😌  Worth mentioning that my vision is dynamic: it all might change in a few months/years/decades :)</sub>


Do you remember what was the first vinyl you owned?

_{Yes!!! It was:} 

_{Life in general, and the people I meet during this exciting journey 😉}

Do you feel your country of origin influences your musical tastes?

_{Of course! Although I haven’t explored pure Belarusian music deeply (some quite interesting niche projects require further digging) the music and culture of our region in general have affected me a lot. This is the context in which I’ve grown and lived for 23 years.} 

Do you have other big influences? _{I’ve already mentioned dancing and I guess that this is my biggest influence. But other people, obviously, are also influencing me: my friends, our local community of Belarusians in exile, and many other bright minds. I could also add traveling and discovering new communities, venues, cultures, and differences between them. And last but not least: Asian tea and tea ceremony in general: I’m a big fan of partying just with tea 😉}

Do you find that your professional life as a business analyst and your DJ career intersect in any surprising ways?

_{They are interested in a lot of ways: classification, organization skills, decomposing skills, digging skills, and communication skills are very useful in both areas. And the most useful yet surprising insight for me: you need to know when to stop when trying to analyze, rationalize, or classify anything, but especially any form of art 😌  One extra, I call it professional deformation: my English might sound a bit formal, due to daily work-related communication in English, even in some informal contexts like afters.}
^Passions:
Besides DJing do you have other creative passions that keep you inspired?

<sub>I’m quite a curious human being: I’m into dancing, movies, books, analog photography, traveling, bike touring, Asian tea, and a lot of other stuff..

I’ve seen that you seem to shoot on argentic cameras, what’s your relation with those? Do you want to talk about that? Do you have a specific picture to share?

It was an experiment for me: I just borrowed a camera from my friend on one of the trips, and I loved this experience and result back then - after a while, I got my own camera and from time to time I’m taking pictures on it :) I’m not a film photo enthusiast, rather a real newbie, who simply takes random shots on his basic Minolta AF101 camera. What I enjoy the most is the fact that you’re pretty limited with this setup: you have 36 shots, minimum controls and you don’t know the final result until your scans are ready. So you kinda have to be selective: some films I was shooting for around 6 months and even forgot shots that I’ve made so I’m super excited to see the result :) Maybe in the future, I will dive into shooting, cameras, the process of developing, etc., will see. er when I felt it!</sub> 


Talking about movies, can you mention one that you think is worthing it?
_{I’m a big Lynch fan, and I guess everyone is at least familiar with him, but still: atm, my nr.1 is Mullholland Drive without any doubt - simply this is the quintessence of cinema language for me. Regarding other movies: I’m trying to keep my Must profile updated so we can stalk each other's movie wantlist if you want 😉}



The Set: 

What was your approach with this set?
_{Not a lot to tell tbh: It is a snapshot of my dance music selection which represents my current explorations and discoveries in this music area at this particular moment in time. I guess also it is worth mentioning that this set contains tracks from my friends, Anton exthract and Philipp rtwo, members of newly incorporated Warsaw-based label Qualia. Check out their first release!
I’ve tried to record this set multiple times within the last few months but was generally tired and overwhelmed with the routine and struggling with set compiling. So, I had a 2-week break during Christmas, a nice recharging time in the Polish mountains, and then after I came back from there, puzzle was solved quite smoothly with a fresh head 😌}

Any artists to watch?
_{Check High hopes party series in Warsaw: a child of Elena_embind that I’m happy to support her with 😊}

What’s your relation with magic?

_{All I know is that you have to be careful, when you play with it 😅}


What does Abracadabra mean to you?

_{The word represents nonsense from the 1st sight, but quite an exciting magical spell that leads to unpredictable consequences from a deeper look 🙃}