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 world’s 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 dj’s 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 people’s 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 cd’s and mp3’s of the various broadcasts across the internet. John shares his platform weekly by bringing in worldwide guest dj’s.
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.
Some DJ careers are built on hype. John Digweed’s career is built on substance. One of the planet’s most popular DJs, his sets never fall out of favour with clubbers the world over, as his relentless global gig schedule testifies. From ethereal, swirling cinematic soundscapes to energy-infused bass-bothering tech growlers, a new generation of clubbers are learning what we already know – that there’s nothing quite like being locked into a John Digweed set.
But John Digweed is much more than a DJ. Bedrock – his record label, promotions company and production partnership with Nick Muir – is a mothership of creative ingenuity and integrity that other labels orbit around. His vision for the Bedrock record label has been realized over 12 years, as he continuously seeks out mixes and remixes from the world’s best producers. Techno mainstays like Marco Bailey, Christian Smith and John Selway sit comfortably alongside hot new talent like Guy J in the Bedrock camp.
In a dance scene increasingly inhabited by inflated egos and gimmicks, John’s approach remains all drive, no drama, a heads-down crack-on attitude that has won him the respect of his peers. However, the fact remains that John Digweed has notched up a mighty list of groundbreaking achievements since he first became involved in the embryonic acid house scene as a 15-year-old lad in Hastings. From Top 40 smashes ‘Heaven Scent’ and ‘For What You Dream Of’ (with Nick Muir) to world renowned mix CDs for Renaissance, GU and Northern Exposure, it’s little surprise he was voted No.1 DJ in the World by DJmag readers in 2001.
Ten years on, the excitement John Digweed generates is even more palpable today. With Nick he has scored a Hollywood film (Stark Raving Mad) and Spiderman`s animated series for Sony/MTV. toured with David Bowie and Moby, and transformed Brighton Beach into the UK’s biggest beach party (250,000 people) with Fatboy Slim. His Transitions, Bedrock and Structures albums continue to turn new fans on worldwide, Bedrock’s recent 12th birthday party at London’s O2 Brixton Academy was a road-blocked sell-out and his Transitions radio show is one of the world’s most successful dance music shows, broadcast across 45 countries to a staggering weekly audience of over 14 million.
But the real beauty in John Digweed’s story lies in his unflinching belief in the music he plays. And with new music comes new chapters in an already astonishing career.