Now a global clubbing phenomenon, Renaissance was founded as a club night in March 1992. The emphasis from the very beginning was on quality. Classical imagery derived from the paintings of the Italian Renaissance were the trademark of the clubs advertising and immediately stood in out in stark contrast to the identities of its competitors. Nothing like this had been seen before, and there was an instant excitement and curiosity, created by what was a carefully thought out marketing campaign.Venue 44 played original host to Renaissance and from the start barriers were broken and trends set. It was the first club to use 3 or 4 high profile guest DJ's every week, backed up by the afore mentioned advertising campaign, which seemed to feature in every magazine you opened; a practice that has since become standard industry formula. The concept reaped instant rewards for Renaissance, and the club was a massive success. With the image of the club complete, the focus naturally turned to the music. Once again this was an area where Renaissance excelled. In a typically innovative move, Sasha was announced as the weekly resident DJ, and a then relatively unknown John Digweed chosen as his partner. These two DJ's are now responsible for leading dance music at the cutting edge and, in turn, creating a worldwide demand for British club culture. In October 1994 Renaissance released their first album 'Renaissance - The Mix Collection', mixed by Sasha and John Digweed. It demolished sales figures of any complitation album before, and is still recognised as the benchmark for all club compilation albums.