John Digweed – Choice

by Azuli Records

The choice collections are fast becoming a who?s who of influential figures. With legendary artists such as Jeff Mills, Louie Vega, Derrick Carter, Francois Kervorkian, Tony Humphries, Danny Tenaglia, X-Press 2 and Frankie Knuckles hosting previous releases it is just a matter of time before your own personal hero gets this unique opportunity to really communicate their own musical history. The concept is a simple one, but the results are so filled with textures, stories, moods and memories that it immediately becomes much more about character than concepts, much more about documenting a development than capturing a part of time. As you would expect from some of the worlds finest DJs these compilations are filled with classics and rarities, huge anthems and wild obscurities all presented with the Midas touch that made their owner famous. It is almost like a musical interview that is conducted with some of the best hindsight in the business.

For many fans of John Digweed this collection will look back through time, past the point where their current understanding of him reaches, beyond the touch of fame and the spark of celebrity. It stretches back to a more innocent musical time, long before he achieved most of his international recognition and global success. It goes back prior to the days when he began to be defined as much by his success as by his unique talents. This mix is much more a ‘collection of favourites’ than it is any attempt at a history of those times, though in many ways it functions as both. It covers much territory and tells several stories at once: the story of each individual track, a story of those times, the story of the mix and the story of a DJ… From his very early days in Hastings, England as the son of a butcher to the far reaches of the known world John Digweed has slowly and carefully mapped out a trajectory for his life that would bring him ever closer to the thing he truly loved: music.

John?s story is one of perseverance and commitment. From his earliest contact with DJing at the age of twelve to his first residency at local club ?Saturdays? Johns?s youth was centred around DJing. He would continue this success throughout his early career never giving up at the sign of hard work, emerging as a competent and dedicated participator in the scene. Eventually it was this do it yourself attitude that would propel John to host his own night called ?Bedrock? and with guests such as Carl Cox, Fabio and Grooverider, Eddie Richards and Pete Tong attending it could not fail to succeed. All this energy and enthusiasm would all eventually pay off as breaks from first ?Rage? gigs at Heaven and then Renaissance finally established John?s credentials as a huge talent that had to be respected. It was a long road filled with pitfalls and hard times but it is testament to his skills that he is still a major player in the now international dance music community. There are too many clubs, parties, cities, countries and continents to name since then. Besides… that is the history that has already been told. We’re here to tell a different history, the history of Choice.

The mix that John has done for Choice is likely not a mix that he would have done all those years ago but rather one that he can do now, as a music fan, a DJ and longtime record collector looking back. Being a true fan of music can be one the most pleasantly difficult obsessions at times, the mind naturally wants to categorize and make some personal sense out of it all, while the best records defy groupings, or end up inadvertently creating new categories by the many imitators they produce. Records like The Peech Boys “Don’t Make Me Wait”, Beat Club “Security”, The Grid “Flotation” and Underworld’s “Mmmm Skyscraper, I Love You” easily qualify as being at the top of their respective categories, yet somehow also above the very categories they preside over. While simple and infectious records that captured a moment in time still have a powerful magnetic charm of their own, records like Hypnotone “Dream Beam”, Smith and Mighty “Dark House”, and Dance 2 Trance “We Came in Peace” certainly qualify as being among the very best examples of truly irresistible house.

In pleasantly typical fashion John turns up the pace a little bit on the second CD with tracks as diverse as Megatonk, St. Etienne, Young American Primitive and The Cure. Creatively manipulating the mysterious authority of music he experiments subtly with tempos, styles, space and sounds. He does again what he has done so well for so many years now: to just present the best music he has in the most non-obtrusive way. Listen and listen again, that is the real joy…

This CD will very likely surprise many who buy it. They will expect the John Digweed they have known for the past ten years. But John has been spinning and collecting records for many, many years. He could have included much older tracks but he opted to include as much musical territory as he possibly could, from his early beginnings in 1982 up to and through the birth of what we’ll call “modern house”… As a DJ it is a very difficult task to sustain both musical diversity and international success. Success can be restrictive in ways that are not so apparent. A DJ’s fan base can have very weighty expectations… invisible limits placed on diversity and the potential creativity that distinct music encourages. A dedicated fan-base comes to expect ‘more of the same’ from their hero and sometimes very little else. The mark of a great DJ is that they can deliver to those limiting expectations while also transcending them in a uniquely creative and vibrant way. This is something that John Digweed has made a lifelong career practice of, and that’s his real story.