If there are boundaries yet to be broken, then you can bet that Sasha has got them in the crosshairs. He’s been battering them down since Shelley’s, The Hacienda, Renaissance, and Twilo; from Airdrawndagger to Invol3r. Since 2011, he’s carved a new way with his increasingly pivotal Last Night On Earth imprint, the label that has introduced into its family fiercely forward-thinking producers like My Favourite Robot’s James Teej, Simon Baker, ThermalBear, Ejeca, Ghosting Season, Max Cooper and Knox.
Then there was the arrival of the long-awaited third album in his ‘Involver’ series in 2013, the intricate and challenging ‘Involv3r’. It combined on one disc Sasha’s peerless command of dance floor sensibilities and on the other his skillful exploration of beatless soundscapes, featuring his exclusive interpretations of tracks from The xx, Blondes, Little Dragon, Benjamin Damage, Foals, and ThermalBear. It also featured ‘Shoot You Down’, his own spine-chilling anthem with vocals from the beguiling Swedish chanteuse Kicki Halmos.
Boundaries out of the studio have been equally unsafe. Taking over with his Last Night on Earth parties around the globe, Sasha has brought nothing but the finest line-ups to clubbers around the world. Last summer he hit the world-renowned Space Ibiza with a monthly LNOE residency, which showcased the likes of Scuba, Catz & Dogz, Heidi, Magda, and of course, Sasha himself. He also hosted his first festival arena with Last Night on Earth at SW4 in the capital last year.
It doesn’t stop here though. 2015 will see Sasha taking things to another level on and off the dance floor. Expect big things from his parties around the world, which he is running alongside his imprint label Last Night on Earth. In his own words, Sasha says, “We have some really exciting things planned for 2015, some great releases and I will be collaborating with some of the very talented artists we have championed.”
# # #
Some DJ careers are built on hype. John Digweed’s career is built on substance. One of the planet’s most popular DJs, his sets never fall out of favor with clubbers the world over, as his relentless global gig schedule testifies. From ethereal, swirling cinematic soundscapes to energy-infused bass-bothering tech growlers, a new generation of clubbers are learning what we already know – that there’s nothing quite like being locked into a John Digweed set.
But John Digweed is much more than a DJ. Bedrock — his record label, promotions company and production partnership with Nick Muir — is a mothership of creative ingenuity and integrity that other labels orbit around. His vision for the Bedrock record label has been realized over 12 years, as he continuously seeks out mixes and remixes from the world’s best producers. Techno mainstays like Marco Bailey, Christian Smith, and John Selway sit comfortably alongside hot new talent like Guy J in the Bedrock camp.
In a dance scene increasingly inhabited by inflated egos and gimmicks, John’s approach remains all drive, no drama, a heads-down crack-on attitude that has won him the respect of his peers. However, the fact remains that John Digweed has notched up a mighty list of groundbreaking achievements since he first became involved in the embryonic acid house scene as a 15-year-old lad in Hastings. From Top 40 smashes ‘Heaven Scent’ and ‘For What You Dream Of’ (with Nick Muir) to world renowned mix CDs for Renaissance, GU, and Northern Exposure, it’s little surprise he was voted No.1 DJ in the World by DJmag readers in 2001.
Ten years on, the excitement John Digweed generates is even more palpable today. With Nick, he has scored a Hollywood film (Stark Raving Mad) and Spiderman`s animated series for Sony/MTV. toured with David Bowie and Moby, and transformed Brighton Beach into the UK’s biggest beach party (250,000 people) with Fatboy Slim. His Transitions, Bedrock and Structures albums continue to turn new fans on worldwide, Bedrock’s recent 12th birthday party at London’s O2 Brixton Academy was a road-blocked sell-out and his Transitions radio show is one of the world’s most successful dance music shows, broadcast across 45 countries to a staggering weekly audience of over 14 million.
But the real beauty in John Digweed’s story lies in his unflinching belief in the music he plays. And with new music comes new chapters in an already astonishing career.
