''The Qat Collection'' is the debut studio album by Welsh DJ Sasha. It was released on 23 August 1994 through

Deconstruction Records Deconstruction Records is a British record label founded in 1987 by Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst, together with Mike Pickering of M People. According to '' DJ Magazine'' it is "best remembered for marrying underground credibility and div ...

. The album features co-production from Tom Frederikse and was released with two singles: "Magic" and "Higher Ground", both featuring vocals from

Sam Mollison Sam Mollison is an electronic music producer and vocalist. He has collaborated with Sasha for his release of "Magic" and '' The Qat Collection''. He has also had his own work released on FFRR and INCredible Incredible may refer to: Music A ...

. Upon release, the album charted on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, reaching position 56. Later in 1994, an extended revision of the album was released, titled ''The Qat Collection Version 2''.

Background

The release's classification as an album has been disputed. In a review of Sasha's second studio album, '' Airdrawndagger'', Paul Cooper from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated "don't call it an album nor an EP" in reference to ''The Qat Collection''. In a 2005 review of Armin van Buuren's second studio album, '' Shivers'',

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

reviewer Jack Smith noted that "we'll discount 2003's '' 76'' an Buuren's debutas that would be like saying Sasha's first full-length album was ''The Qat Collection''". Dorian Lynskey from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' cited the album as his debut, writing that "he released is debut albumin 1994, the underwhelming ''Qat Collection'', but that has been erased,

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

-style, from his history". Despite ''The Qat Collection''s release, Sasha's 2002 album, '' Airdrawndagger'' was advertised as his "debut artist album".

Release

The album's two singles, "Higher Ground" and "Magic" were produced by Sasha and Tom Frederikse, featured vocals from

, and were released through

. The first single, "Higher Ground", was released in 1993 and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The album's second single, "Magic", was released in 1994 and peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 11 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...

. The album was released on 23 August 1994 and charted on release, peaking at number 56.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes. *Alexander Coe ( Sasha) – writing, production (all tracks) * Tom Frederikse – writing, production (all tracks) *

– writing, vocals ("Magic" and "Higher Ground") *Donna Gardier – vocals ("Vegetable Qat") *Ray Mann – trumpet ("Minimal Qat") *Gaëtan Schurrer – additional production

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qat Collection 1994 debut albums Sasha (DJ) albums