John Digweed

This man is the big bang for me. He was the first DJ that I actively followed album to album. His technique is to long play a record, then near its wind down tuck it neatly into the already building next track. He never violates the flow, he follows it. Sounds textbook, but the thing is he brings in the next track halfway through the already playing song. He is known for live sets in which he puts on the constant mix, or the three turntable method. While he employs this to a great extent on the Northern Exposure series with Sasha, who also deserves special mention, in his other work he sticks to the two table method. Of course his mixing technique narrows his selection as far as the style of his records, but he finds his niche well in several albums. When he is on he is on, and he builds so much momentum throughout the albums, that it is always amazing to see how he brings it down for a landing. He practically spearheaded progressive house, a buzzword usually applied lyric-less, mellow slightly electronic house. While I think most of Dig’s new work is pants, I respect him massively and his ability to weave a distinct flow through dense, velvety selections. It is also important to note that I am not familiar with a lot of his picks, he blends them so well that I even to this day like to see them as a whole.

Northern Exposure: S/T, West and East

To write about these albums individually would be stupid, because I always believe they are meant to be seen as a whole. So I will review them as a whole! These are some dense records folks. Tracks are no shorter than 6 minutes, and you can’t tell where one record starts and the other begins, and on top of that each track swells over to over the top and washs all around. I am sorry I get a little existential when I talk about these albums, because they are rather thoughtful. They are meant to listened to and pondered at, much like listening to an orchestra. It would be nuts to hear these blasted at 11! The production is top notch; each track sounds smooth, not shiny, and feel like they belong together. I only began to appreciate this collection more when I heard some of the tracks outside of these albums. A job is only done right when people think you did nothing at all, and in this album’s case this is very true. They disappear into their work, letting these records move through each other at their own pace, and just like that you are in the next song. Of course you only notice this fact when the album is over, true testament to their abilities.

Bedrock

This is a great album, because it was the first Digweed album that wasn’t meant to be a chill think about it out album. It’s more of a “why the fuck are my legs moving to and fro, oh wait I’m dancing this explains things” album. His style of long playing works well here, picking tracks that are more beat oriented, only occasionally sticking in a more languid track. To me this sounds like modern disco, incredibly danceable, yet it has heart and is very soulful. The northern exposure tracks feels like you should stand back and admire their beauty and their delicacy. This album on the other hand immerses you in the action, pounding away track after track smoothly and effectively. Great great album.

GU: 006 Sydney

I remember I picked this album up before heading out to the beach one summer. One day it rained like crazy so everyone was napping, and me not being not so tired decided to park my ass out on the balcony, rock this album in headphones and watch the torrential rain come off the ocean and bounce off the surface of the pool. By track three I was pounding my feet and bobbing my head so hard that I woke everyone up. This is a sworn testimony to bump-i-ability of this album. This is my favorite album of his to this day. The tracks are hard hitting and soft spots are unspeakably beautiful. Like the rest of his albums, the tracks disappear into each other presenting this feeling of overall flow, and with the track variations from song to song, well its quite impressive. This is Dig’s high water mark.
GU: 0014 Hong Kong
Man oh man, I wish I could have seen this live. Of all the albums I would pick this one to hear on high volume on the dance floor, because of all the albums this is the most danceable. It’s his coolest album, and cool meaning ice cold. He uses a much more track to track feel. He still long plays, but his mixes are shorter. This of course is in vein with his selection, which is slightly more across the board than usual. But it works for him, using everything from Underworld to Luzon. It continues to sound fresh every time the next track comes on. This was my head phone jams when I had the flu on top of a sinus infection in 11th grade, it also traveled with me to New Mexico and Texas, so when I hear it always brings back memories. I would also recommend it as a starter album for those who were interested in getting into Digweed.