In August, UK underground house maestro John Digweed teamed up with fellow veteran Danny Tenaglia for a widely heralded gig at NYC’s Governors Beach Club. It was surely a match made in heaven; while Tenaglia is a much-loved EDM household name in America, Digweed is his British equivalent of sorts, with just as much history, heritage and craftsmanship. Here though, he’s throwing on a few premium tunes to celebrate the 14th anniversary of his Bedrock Records label; featuring 21 exclusive tracks, from artists both old and new.
Newcomers to EDM might not be aware that Digweed has been a tireless supporter of dance music in North America since way back in the mid 90s, in the glory days when he ruled supreme alongside his DJ compatriot Sasha at New York’s iconic Twilo nightclub. His record label was also responsible for some classic anthems back in the day (ask your grandparents about “For What You Dream Of” and “Heaven Scent”), though it continues to renew its relevance to the underground house and techno scenes, and Bedrock 14 is the perfect showcase for this.
Rather than being mixed together like one of his meticulously constructed DJ sets, here Digweed instead presents “Bedrock 14” as an unmixed collection of tracks. There are a lot of names here that connoisseurs of the underground might already be well aware of; techno heavyweight Christian Smith finds his funky side on The Judgement, while producer geniuses Marc Marzenit and Henry Saiz unite for a rather epic track in the form of Sirens Land. Meanwhile, longserving Bedrock resident Quivver ensures his presence in Digweed’s record box aint gonna change anytime soon, with the slick progressive of his new track Fakes and Bullshit.
Digweed has always been a tireless supporter of up-and-coming talent though, and he opens the album with the deeper sounds “Eagles & Butterflies,” tipped by Bedrock for big things. Proud patriots will also be pleased to know that some hot new American talent has made its way onto Bedrock 14, with Miami’s Kurtz & Bomber responsible for the first track on the second disc.
It’s hard to escape the fact that fans would have preferred an intricately prepared studio mix, the likes of which only Digweed can create. This might ultimately limit the appeal of Bedrock 14 to DJs; however, lovers of excellent electronic music that is a little (or a lot) left of deadmau5 and Swedish House Mafia might still enjoy the excellent tunes on offer here.
Check the minimix of CD 1 : http://www.mixcloud.com/johndigweed/john-digweed-presents-bedrock-14-cd1-minimix/
Released Oct 8th, you can snag the whole thing on iTunes.