Leave it to apt-get upgrade to break something....

this something in my case is the functionality of SDL audio. I'm using the program Kstella, a front-end for the Stella atari 2600. Yesterday sound was working fine, however today one apt-get upgrade later I get no sound.

the error message i get is as follows

/usr/games/stella -video soft -gl_filter nearest -gl_aspect 2 -palette standard -framerate 60 -zoom 2 -fullscreen false -gl_fsmax true -sound true -volume -1 -fragsize 512 -accurate false -grabmouse true -hidecursor true -paddle 0 -sssingle 1 -ssname romname "/home/hayabusa/atari roms/Cosmcark.bin"
WARNING: Couldn't open SDL audio system!
No available audio device

not sure why SDL is bitching, sound works just fine everywhere else in linux using ALSA/ Anyone have any experience with SDL? Any pointers on how to remedy this annoyance would be greatly appreciated