As the sun set on the first day of 2012, for some, the attention was on a party that was yet to come. The latest in the series of One Night Only parties, the January 1 event combined one of the biggest names in electronic dance music, Sasha, with one of the biggest party days on the calendar. Throw in a 5-hour set and Sasha fans were suitably excited.

Unlike the first ONO party in 2009, which was just 6 hrs of Danny Tenaglia, this was more than just Sasha. Sharing the bill was techno big man Radioslave, ably supported by Robbie Lowe; and in the side-room, the Lair, New York based duo In Flagranti supported by the Future Classic crew. The scene was set.

The Metro can be notorious when it comes to logistics; as queues outside and at the overpriced bar can often make for hard work. While bar prices on the night were still ridiculous, entry was relatively pain free and we were able to sashay up to the three well-resourced bars easily throughout the night.

The good vibe at the bar meant for a great space for In Flagranti who did well all night. I walked out there more than a few times and heard them playing what could be described as equal parts disco, electro and funk. Together with the Future Classic DJs, the Lair provided the perfect foil to what was going on in the main room.

Inside, it was Radioslave (who I had seen only a matter of hours earlier across town) and while there were a few highpoints, it seemed to lack imagination – then again, maybe I’d just heard enough serious techno for the day. While I can appreciate that playing before a 5hr set requires some discipline, for me, it was like he was merely killing time. That being said, people looked to be having fun. Nevertheless, as 1am approached, I was perhaps ruing that this One Night Only had not been more like the Tenaglia party – one DJ. Hell, even with Sasha running a good twenty minutes late, Radioslave appeared completely uninterested, with just the same repetitive rolling bass line going on for what seemed an eternity.

But then, finally, the man and the moment arrived and the crowd broke into an opera of hoots, whistles, claps and cheers. Sasha threw down some early solid bass lines as he tried to find his groove, but with the bass a little overbearing in the stands we moved down in search of greener pastures. It was a nice comfortable crowd: just that little bit of room to enable you to have fun, while not being in face of strangers around you.

By the start of the second hour we were settled and it would seem that Sasha had similarly found his groove. He proffered up lots of the techy sound that he has moved to over the last few years and laced with some almost-hands in the air melodies and a sea of addictive bass lines, he threatened to belt the dance floor for six. We were having a ball.

The tunes continued. The third hour was dotted with belters such as Pushing Too Hard from Saints and Sinners and the Eric Prydz remix of the J/Saiz collaboration Meridian, and the fourth threw up the likes of Ragysh from Todd Terje. All up, the tunes were solid and everything in between was fine, but every time he threatened to launch us he would just as quickly take it back a notch.

This meant that one minute your arms were raised in an almost trance like pose and the next, you were techno fist punching like it was going out of fashion. Hell, there was even a sprinkling of acid. Like pawns, he was moving us around all night – giving us all morsels here and there, teasing us, titillating us even, prepping us for that killer blow, that perhaps never quite came.

He kicked off the last hour with the Robert Babicz rework of the Hardfloor tune Acperience 1 and I looked back into the stands and was immediately impressed with how much he had managed to hold the crowd. Hardly surprising though, there’s a reason why he has been doing this for years – he does it well.

While some may snub their nose at what has arguably been a change in direction for the Sasha sound, tunes like his booty rework of Crystalised by The XX, and a bootleg of You Wanted A Hit by LCD Soundsystem for me, topped the night off. Nothing earth shatteringly amazing, but ridiculous amounts of fun, and at that time of day it left most of us with a smile on our face.

To all those that say Sasha isn’t what he used to be: well no, he is not. His style has changed considerably over a long period of time. But the reason he continues to pack out parties however, is that despite pumping out at times a very different sound, he continues to bring a pretty wicked party and on Monday morning, that’s all we ever wanted. Sasha delivers, and that’s what will keep crowds coming back.