Sasha’s LUZoSCURA playlist is my favourite playlist on Spotify.
Throughout the pandemic, this playlist has helped me find a lot of producers who are creating ambient and breakbeat, two genres that have become more important to me than ever.
Now as the world begins to open up, Sasha and his team are following signals from his loyal fan base and coming up with ways to develop LUZoSCURA from a Spotify playlist to a brand.
Remember the blueprint to success is right in front of you, you just have to look in the right places.
Sasha started his LUZoSCURA playlist in 2019 alongside close friend Benjamin Dumazot.
The playlist is a step away from the tracks you would normally hear in a Sasha club set. The main focus is on the ambient side of breakbeat – something Sasha has been listening to for inspiration at home and in his studio.
LUZoSCURA now features over 13 hours of music (152 tracks) and has over 0,000 followers on Spotify. The description of the playlist reads:
“Beautiful light and inspirational darkness that I’ve been listening to in the studio and at home.”
More of The Blueprint…
The Branding
The word ‘luz oscura’ translates to ‘dark light’ in Spanish.
The translation above is the key to this whole project. Elements of beautiful light and inspirational darkness are consistent throughout, whether it be the name of the playlist, the sound, or the architectural imagery featured regularly on his social media.
LUZoSCURA is updated bi-weekly and shared on Sasha’s social media channels with an animated 9:16 asset with no sound. This is a unique approach in itself as the whole project is focused on sound. The video assets are 3-15 seconds long, with a simple text template added as a layer, spelling out LUZoSCURA in capital letters.
The text template is key to all of LUZoSCURA's branding. As the brand evolves, all the assets change to fit the product, while the text template remains consistent throughout.
The Event
With cases down and the world looking like it would open up at the end of 2020, Sasha teamed up with London-based club promoters Percolate to announce the first-ever LUZoSCURA club show at Alexander Palace in London.
In a social media post on the date of the launch, Sasha said:
“LUZoSCURA initially started as a Spotify playlist, although as time has evolved, and more music and demos have landed my way resonating to this sound, I’ve realised there’s an entire world around it. After months of keeping my head down in the studio, I’m finally able to start showcasing it.“
The Album
In the next step of the evolution of LUZoSCURA, Sasha has recently confirmed the first LUZoSCURA compilation with 21 exclusive tracks from artists including MJ Cole, Rival Consoles and Nocow.
“For the first time in over 20 years, I had no reference point for banging club music, so I gravitated towards the LUZoSCURA playlist. I threw more energy into curating it because the sound felt right for that time, and I quickly realised I wanted to make some of my own music with this theme.”
The compilation also includes three brand new Sasha tracks and will be released in both mixed and unmixed formats, on triple vinyl, CD and digital through Sasha’s new label Alkaane and !K7.
Credits:
Artist: Sasha
Luzoscura playlist collaborator: Benjamin Dumazot
Manager: Maren Brombeiss
Management Assist: Noah van Putten
Marketing: Handmade Media
Label: Alkaane (via !K7)
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