If you are not an avid follower of dance music but are tuned into popular culture at all youve likely experienced music touched by the hands of John Digweed. Originally hailing from England but having clearly arrived on the global scene nearly a decade ago, John has long since cemented his name in the pages of dance music history. His list of achievements is groundbreaking to say the least.
Highlights would be the first proper dj mix compilation (Renaissance, done with Sasha), being the first British dj to hold a residency at what was then the worlds most well known club in NYC (Twilo, also with Sasha) as well as having remixed tracks by Danny Tenaglia, Underworld and New Order.
John Digweed is a DJ's DJ. The beauty of what he does lies in just how different he really is from his contemporaries. From his early beginnings in Hastings, England at the age of 15 in the blossoming scene of acid house to the apex of the international dj'ing world, he has created and maintained a level of integrity that is the benchmark for both djs and producers globally. In fact, he has reached the very top of his profession, being voted ..1 in a voter's poll by DJ magazine in 2001. John Digweed has become the peoples choice while maintaining his longstanding presence in underground dance culture. His popularity as both a dj and a person seems to have no limits, but his efforts transcend dj'ing alone, he is as much a producer and promoter. His moniker Bedrock is actually three things: a record label, a promotions company and a studio production partnership (with Nick Muir).
His management and creative direction for the Bedrock record label has helped launch the careers of Danny Howells (with Dick Trevor as Science Department), Jimmy Van M, Chris Fortier and Phil Thompson (Moonface). He has had the vision and creative insight to seek out mixes and remixes from artists as varied as Rui Da Silva, POB, Freelance Icebreakers and the Second Hand Satellites. The label has effectively served as a foundation for artistic expression and a medium for creative output, allowing underground artists to break through to a much wider audience. To have a record released on Bedrock serves as the global stamp of production quality, ingenuity and integrity for producers worldwide.
In fact, the name John Digweed is synonymous with quality, ingenuity and integrity. From the nights he has either created or been a part of (Bedrock, Northern Exposure, Renaissance) to his world renowned mix cd's (Renaissance, Global Underground, Northern Exposure, Communicate and Bedrock) he has consistently produced characteristic products that stay in demand, himself included. Even with all of his global traveling he has still been able to hold down two monthly Bedrock residencies in both London (Heaven) and Brighton (The Beach).
As one half of Bedrock the production duo he has landed two tracks in the top 40 (Heaven Scent and For What You Dream Of) the latter of which made it into the hit movie Trainspotting. He has even tried a bit of acting himself ("Groove"). He and Nick Muir as Bedrock the production team also recently scored a Hollywood film (Stark Raving Mad).
His Kiss100 radio show is quickly coming up on its second year as one of the most successful dance music shows in all of England with internet broadcasts to all of the world. It has achieved a near cult status with listeners trading cds and mp3s of the various broadcasts across the internet. John shares his platform weekly by bringing in worldwide guest djs. As a person John's lack of pretense is enveloped in imagination and invention. Good reason for John being one of the most respected, analyzed and imitated dj's in the world. Digweed is both solid and durable with unyielding precision. His sinuous dj'ing and production sound has become its own convincing dance ethic. He is centered to the principles of life, living and friends in such a way that he generates an aura of self-explanatory excitement and enthusiasm. Without heroic pretensions his sets are filled with moodiness and musical mystery but held down with a punchy distinctiveness and earthly rhythm. Always emanating a sense of boundlessness he overlaps dream events that spill into reality with an enormous certainty.
