John Digweed

John Digweed is a masterful DJ. Given that he began playing in nightclubs at 16, it's probably only right he should be. Back then, kids in the suburbs could only access house music on illegal rave tapes, or through recordings of U.S. radio stations like New York's Kiss FM. A pal introduced John to both and, immediately smitten, he set about getting equipment, and chasing down import copies of the records he'd heard. He split his time between working - firstly as a part-time gardener, later as a full-time bar manager - going to clubs in London, and DJing locally. Predictably, he found getting gigs hard, so he set up his own night, Bedrock, and invited his favourite DJs to play. All these years later, Bedrock events take place worldwide, and it has spawned a firmly established record label of the same name. John Digweed is now recognised as one of the world's greatest exponents of his profession, his name easily ranking alongside those of his influences. In addition, he's a broadcaster, a producer, a promoter, and an active A&R Executive, working hard to give new artists their first break, on decks or on vinyl.

John Digweed's name is synonymous with lush, deep, engulfing frequencies that move through a mix in waves. 'Fabric 20' is bookended by two records containing them; 16b's kick-free re-work of Pete Moss, and Goldtrix' blissed-out version of Matrix & Danny J. In between, John builds and blends a stunning set, featuring tracks that challenge the preconception of his tastes. Adam Johnson's bass-driven 'Traber' leads into Richard Davis' zany remix of Repair, some classic Rasoul stutterfunk, and Ralph Lawson's disco-tinged take on The Glass. Billy Dalessandro gets heavy and hypnotic; Bobby Peru provides the off-the-wall 'Venom'; Martin Solveig soars; and Freestyleman drags Slam way down deep. Peaking in the perfect matching of Angel Alanis' vicious vocoder and Josh Wink's low-slung Infusion remix, 'Fabric 20' closes out with Michael Mayer firing up Superpitcher's sensual 'Happiness', and Joel Mull's wonderfully weird and wired 'Emico'.