Bedrock Records
Vinyl 4 Soundcloud all tracks mixed
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There are a few household names in the EDM world that have been around for over a decade. There are even fewer that are still relevant in the current scene. Even further down the way is the amount of DJs that are experiencing the same popularity as they had years prior. John Digweed is one of those names.

Believe it or not, there are still people who don’t know that Digweed was producing tracks in the early 90’s. He was releasing tracks before some of his fans at his shows today were even a glimmer in their Daddy’s eye. Way before cracked versions of Ableton floated around the internet, giving every kid an opportunity to make his own beats. With such a long and impressive career, it’s easy to understand why we were so excited to have this opportunity to chat with him. Of course we wanted to know what it’s been like to transcend trends in EDM, to travel the world playing every significant venue, and to get his thoughts on the scene for today. And, of course we’re excited to share what John Digweed had to say with you.

TMN: Thank you for taking some time to sit down with us. With such a long and illustrious career, we’re obviously really excited to ask you a few questions. Let’s start off by talking about way back when. You first came onto the scene in 1993 with a residence at Renaissance. Talk to us about what the scene was like back then.

JD: The UK had gone through the whole big acid house rave culture and people where looking for something that was more focused on the quality of music putting the experience back into clubs with cool decor and it was mind-blowing attracting like minded people who wanted to hear cool futuristic music without all the rave gimmicks. The scene constantly changes over the years from every new generation and new styles of music that come and go. This is whats so good about the electronic scene just when you think you have seen it all something new happens the changes everything.

TMN: You have some releases that are older than some fans at your shows these days. Do you ever find yourself having to school youngsters on the origins of EDM?

JD: To be honest, the new generation have so much new music to absorb and I prefer to be playing new music rather than looking back to what I produced years ago that I don`t see it as a problem. if they want to research older tracks that’s fine with me, but not important that they know the history of electronic music.

TMN: Do you find that younger EDM fans have a grasp on how the industry came to fruition and the origins of its rich history?

JD: Again it`s great if they take time to look into some of the origins of how we got to this point, but what’s really important is that they enjoy the music and try to keep discovering different genres of music to broadening their tastes.

TMN: Let’s fast forward a few years to the start of Bedrock. At what point did you decide to create your own label?

JD: When I realized that is was better to be in control of how and when my tracks where released as well as being able to sign new and exciting artists from around the world. It`s a lot of work but also very rewarding.

TMN: Your label has included releases from household names in electronic music including Guy Gerber and Morgan Page. What has your strategy been in discovering new talent for Bedrock throughout the years? What kinds of tools on the internet do you leverage to find new talent?

JD: Sometimes it`s just as simple as someone handing me a cd in a club others come from colleagues who pass on tracks that they think might work for the label and a few come from producers who send me links over the internet. I think the label has a good history and has been pretty constant over the years with good and varied release schedule.

TMN: Alright, let’s talk about your most recent release which came out earlier this month, “Live in Slovenia.” What was the significance behind this show? Was there a particular reason you chose to record live at this event?

JD: The idea behind these “live in” album is that I never know where they are going to come from, I record every gig I do and there is always one gig that just seems to pop that little bit more than some of the others so if the tracklistings look like they wont be too much trouble to clear we crack on reaching out to the labels. We live in a era where people expect free live mixes on soundcloud etc but the artists never see any money from those mixes so at least by releasing legit mixes there is some revenue going to the labels, Also I think that people still like to have a physical CD expecially if they went to the party of are fans building their collection. The party in Slovenia was really good and I think you can feel the energy of the room in this mix and that’s why I decided to release it.

TMN: Speaking of large shows, you’ve played at the largest venues in the world. Do you have any that stand out in your mind?

JD: I have played some amazing parties over theyears but the biggest one that stands out is The Big Beach boutique 2 in Brighton with Fatboyslim when over 250,000 people showed up to a free party on the beach it was incredible.

TMN: Do you notice a difference in the crowds from country to country? Do you feel that certain countries have a higher EDM IQ, so to speak?

JD: I think i have always attracted a pretty clued up crowd in terms of their knowledge of music, I mean I don`t really play any biganthems during my sets so you have t be pretty interested in underground music to come to hear me play, in terms of reactions the argentinian are pretty hard to beat in terms of going crazy to my music.

TMN: What are your thoughts about the recent resurgence in popularity of Deep House and Tech House?

JD: It never went away in my eyes it`s just part of the ever changing trends in dance music where a few cool tracks suddenly start putting more of a focus on a particular sound so it`s great that it`s getting some good attention.

TMN: Alright, let’s change the pace up a little bit. There’s a rumour that your brother is 20 time World Clay Shooting Champion George Digweed. Is that true? If so, how good of a shot are you?

JD: Yes it`s true he is pretty much a living legend in that sport, Last time I shot I got 7/10 so I guess it runs in the family

TMN: Alright, back to music. You’re currently on tour right now supporting “Live in Slovenia.” What are some of your favorite venues here in the states that the tour hits?

JD: Well this is only a short tour as I am heading off to Australia and Hong Kong after the weekend. I have just played Beta in Denver which was great and I have vancouver and LA this weekend, LA always shows me a lot of love at clubs such as The Mayan, Avalon or The Exchange. There is a new club in Brooklyn which is amazing called Output which has a no VIP/Table service and best of all no cameras policy, It was fantastic playing there as people are there just for the music and dancing without any distractions. The Vagabond in Miami is also one of my favourite clubs to play.

TMN: Well, we’ll wrap this up and give you an opportunity to tell our readers and your fans anything else you’d like to say. Thank you so much for the opportunity to have this virtual chat. We’ve been longtime fans, and we’re looking forward to many more years of your music.

JD: Thanks for all the support over the years I love the fact I get to play new and exciting music every week to people who want to escape from the commercial sounds that are out there and if you want to find out more about what I am doing check out www.johndigweed.com

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