06 -ASH & DASH - da SENSATION (Skender daBalkanimal & Mel Hammond) - RIVA SESSIONS Live 2 Two

17/11/2025 7 min
06 -ASH & DASH - da SENSATION (Skender daBalkanimal & Mel Hammond) - RIVA SESSIONS Live 2 Two

Listen "06 -ASH & DASH - da SENSATION (Skender daBalkanimal & Mel Hammond) - RIVA SESSIONS Live 2 Two"

Episode Synopsis

06 -ASH & DASH - da SENSATION (Skender daBalkanimal & Mel Hammond) - RIVA SESSIONS Live 2 Two

From the dust laden warehouses of Chicago emerges “Ash & Dash”.

The voluminous collaboration of Skender Makota and Mel Hammond.

Well respected in their own right, individually these two madmen have done more than most duos can conceive.


Skender Makota a.k.a. “The Balkanimal” has leant his talents to legends like Frankie Knuckles, Roy Davis Jr., Julius The Mad Thinker and The Monkeynuts Project.

This Berklee School grad is the multi-instrumentalist of “Ash & Dash”.

Delivering funky live and synth bass licks with heavy jazz filled keys atop signature drum programming from Hammond.



Mel, the best kept Chicagoland secret, is known for his beat driven productions, which keep the dance floor moving, as well as deep spoken word vocals in all of the Ash & Dash productions, and other well known classics, such as “From Chicago to Paris”.
The prose he provides is not only thought provoking but entertaining as well.

The group also has a few guest vocalists and players in rotation.

“Ash & Dash” delivers all of these elements in one futuristic sonic mélange.

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