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John Digweed AOL Interview

Author: Phil Watkins
Friday, January 6, 2006
John Digweed has released his first ever digital album called the 'AOL Music DJ Session', something that makes both him and the rest of us here at TranZfusion very excited as it allows his music to be a lot more accessible. I got to talk to him just before NYE about a few things coming up for the New Year and this is what he had to say…

With the release of the 'AOL DJ Session' it struck me that the advent of the digital format is well and truly here. I noticed on your site you have podcasts available for people to download. How have you - individually - and Bedrock taken on this format and do you have any plans for future expansion in this format for 2006-
The debut podcast met with a great reaction. It got a lot of attention and it's definitely going to play a massive part in marketing and promotion of acts and new music, especially in the next six months as people get into it. I'm planning to make them a regular feature attached to my Transitions radio show as well as for artists on the Bedrock label. They're an amazing, succinct way of just getting all the info you want to people including the music which is the most important thing.

We had Sasha visit us not so long ago, and his forward thinking DJ Sets using Ableton have proved to be very popular around the world. He has been quoted as saying that the use of this programme has in essence saved his DJ career mainly because it allows him to add variety to his sets while on tour, where in the past he has found he lost his passion after playing the same set for two months straight. You are probably one of the few people whose tour dates rival the son of God, during some of your mammoth tours of the US. Are there things that you do in order to keep your sets fresh-
I've never ever planned sets which I think is important for keeping things sounding spontaneous and fresh. It really does come across to a crowd if the DJ is just going through the motions. But with the technology in the DJ booth, these DJs, CDJs and samplers you can do a lot with the music. Plus you simply have a lot more at your disposal these days playing off CD rather than carrying around 2 boxes of records but having a fraction of the music. Most importantly, though, I've always tried to make each night unique. Of course you have certain tracks that are big at a particular time but I like to keep experimenting with styles and genres for my own benefit as much as the crowd.

You have been booked to play NYE with Jimmy Van M in Los Angeles at the Giant Village, which boasts a great lineup. Obviously money is a big part in choosing where to play for NYE, you must get a list of different offers every year for your sets on NYE and I believe you have even played Melbourne not so long ago for NYE 2001, what do you look for when choosing your destination to bring in the New Year-
I've played in LA for 4 years now and the main attraction is that it's such a great party. It's important for me to have a good time at New Year, too, so the fact that I know what New Year in LA will be like to an extent plays a big part. You always look for a big party too, as you want something that reflects the significance of the night, so the Giant one ticks all the boxes.

In the studio with Nick Muir, you have forged out some great tunes, some of which are due for release very shortly, Santiago was featured not long ago as Pete Tong's Essential New Tune. I have found that over the years you have always been very consistent in the studio, steadily releasing a great standard of music, is there any word of an artist album or something like for that for Bedrock in the future-
Nick and I are really happy with the way Santiago turned out and especially the remix package that was put together with Guy Gerber and Parallel Sound there's a lot of different styles covered. We're still working on new music so you'll have to watch this space. Never say never.

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