The world renowned DJ John
Digweed is perhaps best known for releasing together with
Sasha the Renaissance “The Mix collection” and the Northern
Exposure series. Under his own name the “Sydney” and “Hong
Kong” releases on the Global Underground label and numerous
releases on his own Bedrock label. He was the first U.K. DJ
(with Sasha) to hold a club residency in the U.S. at the
legendary Twilo club in New York and he's consistently voted
one of the top 10 international DJs in prestigious club
culture publications such as DJ Magazine and Muzik.
Bedrock the label
Besides being a worldwide renowned DJ, John Digweed also
runs a very successful record label that has been in the
forefront on the ever changing club scene. “I’m travelling
the world, young DJs and producers are always giving me
tracks and I think they are great and I’m playing them, but
in the end they are given to other labels. So I wanted to
released them myself – so that’s how it started.” He
continues, “It’s doing really well and the good thing it’s
giving a platform for up and coming producers. If they have
a track or a remix on the label, they get a call from
someone else asking - can you do a remix or a track for us.
So if we can give a leg up for an up and coming producer
than that is a good thing.” he emphasis, “You have to make
sure that the quality of the releases are good, you have to
be thinking about what sound is coming in 3-4 months time,
you have to be on the money. I’m very conscious on where the
scene is going and moving.”
Bedrock the duo
Bedrock might be synonymous with John Digweed, but the
skilled producer and keyboard player Nick Muir is a big part
of the successful duo. ”I was working at the Heaven club in
London in 1991 and a friend of mine brought Nick with him
down one night and introduced him to me. He gave me a record
he had made and the following week he came back and asked me
what I thought – I said I really liked it and asked him if
he wanted to come to my studio and we started working. The
first thing we did was “What Dreams Are Made Of” and we have
been working together ever since”, he says and moves on, “We
have a good relationship - but we do not always agree, but
we end up with the right result and that’s the best thing.
There is no Mexican standoff or standing in the corner
speaking – I think there is a compromise and I think that’s
why the relationship works so well”.
Together with Nick Muir as the Bedrock production team they
have released classic club tracks like “Heaven Scent”, “Voices”,
“Beautiful Strange”, “Emerald”, “Forge” and remixed the
likes of New Order, Luzon, Humate and Underworld. Although
their productions a distinct sound can be found as John
explains, “There is an identity to it and I think that it’s
the way we work and a particularly sound we like. The
“Lovely Day” (Brancaccio & Aisher) remix is quiet housy for
us, but there is still that feel to it, the mood might be
different but there are a few elements in there that is
distinctive for us – I think its nice to have a little
identity stamp on your work”.
Playing the big room
John Digweed has travelled the world spinning music at the
world’s most famous clubs and venues, encountering different
crowds and sizes. “It all depends of what I play– you have
sort of soak up what the room relays back to you, if they
want it bigger and harder then you have to go that way. You
have to take in account how certain records are going to
work differently, some of the records I play are great for a
small vibe, but they don’t translate very well to a big tent.
So you have to approach every gig in a different way”, he
concludes.
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Copyright Clubbing Magazine 2001-2005