John Digweed (born as Thomas John Digweed[1] on 1 January 1967 in Hastings, England) is an English DJ and record producer.Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Discography 2.1 Compilation albums 2.2 Singles 2.3 DVD 3 References 4 External links
[edit] Biography
John Digweed began DJing around age 13. His breakthrough came in 1993 when he got a gig at the Renaissance Club in Mansfield after fellow DJ Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) heard his demo.
Digweed is known for promoting the progressive house sound that became popular in Europe and North America in the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing several popular mix compilations on labels like Renaissance and Global Underground. He started the record label Bedrock Records to further promote the music he was playing at the time. In addition to starting the Bedrock imprint, he and friend Nick Muir produce under the Bedrock alias. In his sets, Digweed is noted[citation needed] for adopting tracks with new and different styles.
Between 2000 and 2005, Digweed promoted his "Bedrock" sound with monthly club nights for members and newcomers to the electronic music scene. He played Thursday nights at Heaven in London and Friday nights at a smaller club night at The Beach in Brighton. These nights featured numerous guest DJs including Phil Thompson, Hernan Cattaneo, and Chris Fortier. As Digweed's international schedule increased, these events drew to a close, although occasional reunions are still held at Heaven. Digweed celebrated 10 years of his Bedrock club night at Matter, London on 10 October 2008 with a near on 10-hour set.
In addition to Europe, Digweed has enjoyed popularity in North America. Digweed, along with Sasha, established a monthly residency at the now defunct New York club Twilo, a residency that established itself as a key location for the American electronic music scene. The residency began in 1996 with a lukewarm reception but grew into one of the most popular club nights in New York City by the end of its run in 2001. Sasha and Digweed played at Twilo on the last Friday of every month, playing sets that lasted between 8 and 12 hours. In early 2001, Sasha suffered an ear injury in a car accident and was unable to play for some time.[citation needed] Digweed continued to play the time slot by himself until May 2001 when Twilo was forced to close down.
Digweed DJed as himself in the Greg Harrison's 2000 movie Groove. Groove tells the story of an all night rave in San Francisco. John's performance led to one reviewer dubbing him "the new De Niro".[citation needed]
In early 2002, Digweed underwent a six week country-wide tour of the United States with Sasha and Jimmy Van M called Delta Heavy. Promotion of the tour was done by Clear Channel and attendance reached 85,000.[citation needed] The tour took place in a variety of venues but was completely self-reliant from a technical point of view. Sound, lights, and visual setups were brought along to every gig of the tour. Also in 2002, Digweed created the soundtrack to the film Stark Raving Mad.
In addition to worldwide touring, Digweed has been broadcasting a weekly radio show on Kiss 100 in the UK since September 2000, where he provides a personal one hour DJ set, followed by another one hour set from a guest DJ. Since September 2006, John Digweed's show has been available on all 3 Kiss radio stations. The show is now called Transitions and has also branched off into a series of mix albums released every six months by Digweed.
2008 saw Digweed and Sasha reuniting for a Spring Club Tour that once again featured performances all over North America. Also in 2008, Digweed's music is to be featured in the film movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
In 2008, he was voted the number 9 DJ in DJ Mag's annual Top 100 vote. He has featured in the top 10 for the last 10 consecutive years and was voted number one in 2001.[2] [edit] Discography [edit] Compilation albums 1994: Journeys by DJ Volume 4: Silky Mix (Music Unites) 1994: Sasha & John Digweed - Renaissance: The Mix Collection (Renaissance) 1995: Renaissance: The Mix Collection Part 2 (Renaissance) 1996: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure (Ministry of Sound) 1997: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure 2 (Ministry of Sound) 1997: The Winning Ticket (Jackpot) 1998: Global Underground 006: Sydney (Boxed) 1999: Bedrock (INCredible) 1999: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure: Expeditions (INCredible) 1999: Global Underground 014: Hong Kong (Boxed) 2000: Sasha & John Digweed - Communicate (INCredible) (Billboard 200 #149) 2001: Global Underground 019: Los Angeles (Boxed) 2002: MMII (Bedrock Records) (Billboard Top Electronic Albums #7) 2003: Stark Raving Mad (Thrive Records) (Billboard Electronic #9) 2004: Layered Sounds (Bedrock Records) 2005: fabric 20 (fabric) (Billboard Electronic #13) 2005: Choice – A Collection of Classics (Azuli Records) 2005: Layered Sounds 2 (Bedrock Records) 2006: Transitions (Renaissance) (Billboard Electronic #16) 2007: Transitions Vol. 2 (Renaissance) 2007: Transitions Vol. 3 (Renaissance) 2008: Transitions Vol. 4 (Renaissance) 2008: Bedrock 10: Past Present Future (Bedrock Records) 2009: Bedrock Eleven (Bedrock Records) 2010: Structures (Bedrock Records) [edit] Singles 1993: Bedrock - "For What You Dream Of" (Stress Records) (UK #25) 1997: Bedrock - "Set in Stone" / "Forbidden Zone" (Stress Records) (UK #71) 1999: Bedrock - "Heaven Scent" (Bedrock Records) (UK #35) 2000: Bedrock - "Voices" (Bedrock Records) (UK #44) 2001: Bedrock - "Beautiful Strange" (Bedrock Records) 2002: Bedrock - "Emerald" (Bedrock Records) 2003: Bedrock - "Forge" (Bedrock Breaks) 2005: Bedrock - "Santiago" (Bedrock Records) 2006: Bedrock - "Warung Beach" (Bedrock Records) 2007: John Digweed - "Gridlock" (Renaissance) 2009: John Digweed & Nick Muir - "Tangent" (Bedrock Records)
