SAS crafts a sonic identity from Beirut to Berlin and Milan

DJ and producer SAS (born Sarah Assi) is steadily carving out her niche. Hailing from Lebanon and now splitting her time between Berlin and Milan, she’s become a name tied to industrial techno and hard-hitting kicks. Her sound fuses raw, dark tones with hypnotic grooves, keeping dance floors in motion while weaving in atmospheric layers that lend a haunting, almost eerie edge. Whether she’s leaning into the weight of industrial techno or exploring emotional, trance-like tracks, SAS brings a dynamic energy that feels both current and forward-looking.

Beyond her own productions, SAS is the mind behind EKSTASIS, a record label and event series launched in June 2021. Focused on spotlighting experimental sounds, EKSTASIS kicked off with a debut event featuring Nico Moreno as headliner. Since then, it’s grown into a platform hosting nights in Lebanon’s top venues and across countries like Germany, Italy, Belgium and Jordan. The likes of Vendex, Cassie Raptor, Aida Arko, 753, BSLS and Parapher have made their Lebanese debuts under its banner. By December 2022, EKSTASIS had evolved into a label, rolling out a series of releases that now includes SAS’s brand-new debut album, “Industrial Fairytale”.

The album itself is a journey through shadowy romance and feminine energy, clocking between 100 and 170 BPM. It sits comfortably between hypnotic techno and industrial’s jagged edge, blending distorted synths with eerie melodies. Driving percussion and metallic textures round out a sound that’s distinctly hers; rooted in femininity yet cloaked in a brooding, enigmatic vibe.

Rayan Khalil, EKSTASIS’s art director, reflects on how their creative partnership took shape. “As sounds of the industrial, hardcore world of music emerged in Lebanon under EKSTASIS's umbrella, our first collaboration came in Summer of 2022, when Sarah approached me for a collaboration on her release ‘Drum n SAS’,” he says. That track remains a personal highlight for him. “The aggressive, in-your-face, unapologetic graphic style I wanted to implement kept growing project by project as I experimented with visualising each release and event.”

Listening to the diverse roster of artists tied to EKSTASIS—both live and in quieter moments—shaped his approach. “My love for brutalism and harsh monochromatic treatment of imagery made me take in everything around me and employ a different medium, layout, and communication each time; allowing us to deliver a consistent yet one-of-one approach to each release,” he explains. “No templates, no press kits, no guidelines. And I think this is my little touch, an homage to the release; a visualisation of it under the EKSTASIS lens.”

The visual world of SAS extends beyond the music, too. For a recent photoshoot, Milan-born photographer Pietro Agostini, who’s been wielding a camera since their teens, brought a cinematic eye to the project. After studying Communication Design at Politecnico di Milano, Agostini’s work has spanned cultural, fashion, and advertising industries, often exploring aesthetics, gender identities and social roles through film photography and digital filming. Colombian stylist Andres, based in Milan, lent his two decades of fashion experience to the shoot, drawing on his knack for brand identity honed with luxury labels. Giuseppe Sestito handled hair, Anna Agostena took on makeup.

SAS and EKSTASIS together mark a steady rise; one that’s as much about building a community around underground sounds as it is about her own evolution as an artist. With “Industrial Fairytale” and a growing slate of events, she’s proving there’s space for Lebanon’s experimental pulse to resonate far beyond its borders.