John Digweed - fabric 20

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.

"I think long and hard about each gig, and I'm very professional. Attitude is very important to me, I want every aspect to be right. I've never understood those DJs that say they'll play their two hours and that's it. If the party's great, you've got the crowd in your hands, why wouldn't you want to play more than two hours? Sometimes I have to be pulled off the decks, I just don't want to handover. The soundsystem at fabric makes records come alive; I can play tracks there that I just couldn't in any other club on the planet; they just wouldn't have the same effect. This CD is a five hour fabric set, condensed into 74 minutes. I hope it surprises a few people." John Digweed

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'.

TRACKLIST:
1. Pete Moss - Strive To Live (16b Mix) [Alola Records]
2. Adam Johnson - Traber [Merck/Narita]
3. Repair - Forgive + Forget (Richard Davis Remix) [Sub Static Records]
4. DJ Rasoul - True Science [DJ Rasoul]
5. The Glass - Won't Bother Me (20:20 Mix) [Fine/Four Music]
6. Billy Dalessandro - In The Dark [Kompute Musik]
7. Bobby Peru - Venom [20/20 Vision]
8. Martin Solveig - Rocking Music (Martin Solveig Dub) [Defected Records]
9. Slam - Lie To Me (FreestyleMan Thirsty Monk Dub) [Soma Records]
10. Angel Alanis - Knob Job [A Squared Muzik]
11. Infusion - Better World (Wink Interpretation) [BMG]
12. Superpitcher - Happiness (Michael Mayer Mix) [Kompakt]
13. Joel Mull - Emico [Elp]
14. Matrix - Vertigo (Goldtrix Remix) [Metro Recordings]