There’s a massive buzz about Sasha’s return to Ministry of Sound in less than a month’s time. The Renaissance party is going to be a huge return for him, both to the club and to London, as he doesn’t play here that often these days.

In the 10 years since he last graced our turntables, lots has changed in the DJing world. So much so that Sasha has abandoned traditional decks altogether in favour of his custom-built ‘Maven’ controller.

This device - that has more than a hint of sci-fi about it - alows him to break up tunes and remix them during his sets using Ableton’s Live computer software. Some people have complained that because the program automatically does the beatmatching it takes the skill out of DJing, while others think it just looks boring to see a DJ using a computer.

Loads of DJs have still followed Sasha’s lead and are now using Ableton, however nobody else has been able to get hold of his custom-build controller, made to keep the hands-on look and feel of knobs and faders in his sets.

There has been growing speculation that the Maven will eventually go on public sale sometime next year, and although there are plenty of DJ controllers already available, having the seal of approval from Sasha should make it a big hit, although there is no idea of how much it may cost just yet.

Check out the man and his Maven on Dec 15th and let us know what you think…