Elektro Interview with John Digweed
Having begun his DJ career at the age of 15, John Digweed has established himself as one of the most well known DJ’s to date. His latest venture “Versus” is a three-disc project with longtime collaborator Nick Muir and “some of [their] favourite producers to create a unique album that blends [their] music with other artists.” “Versus” is set to release next monday October 7th via Bedrock Records.
Tell about the production behind “Versus."
JD: It`s spread over 3 cd`s; CD1 I have mixed all the club tracks together; CD2 is the tracks unmixed for budding DJs and CD3 is 8 brand new, downtempo and electronica style tracks from Nick Muir and myself. The project took around 12 months to put together and we are happy with the result. We have really gone the extra mile with the packaging, creating a limited edition box set with embossed CD wallets and a foiled print box.
"Versus" is set to be a three-disc project. Why three discs as opposed to the traditional one disc release?
JD:It would have been a single CD but then you have the dilemma that if it was the mixed version on CD you would not have the individual tracks like you do on iTunes, so it made sense when we make a physical version for it to be the same as the Digital version, so people don`t think they are missing out. The downtempo electronica CD was something Nick and myself wanted to do to add a balance to the more club oriented tracks on CD1
How is "Versus" unique to anything else you've produced thus far?
JD: Well it`s the biggest project that Nick and myself have ever done together. It's a whole body of work that has taken over 12 months to put together and covers downtempo, electronica, deep house, breaks and techno
You and Nick have had the opportunity to collaborate together for two decades now, how do you think the "scene" has changed? For the better? The worse?
JD: I think you just grow with the changes in the scene. We try and make music that we are happy with and hopefully our fans like it as well. What's great is that after 2 decades of working together we still enjoy what we do and try to make things better.
We saw you at Electric Zoo this past August, we noticed that you had some fans that were probably younger than some of your earlier releases (myself included). Do you find it interesting that Deep House and Tech House are gaining more interest in the newer/younger crowd?
JD: When I look out at the dance floor every week I see that the majority of the crowd is young. I am not playing old music, I am playing cutting edge tracks and it`s the best feeling in the world that a young fan base wants to hear me play week after week.
With Electronic and Dance Music breaking into the mainstream, how to keep true to yourself, your roots and your fans?
I am not bothered about the mainstream, I just try and just try focus on what I do and the parties I play. I have never strived to be in the top 10 radio playlists. I play the music I love with 100% passion and I think people can see that
Any last words to your fans?
JD: Thanks for all your support over the years and for keeping me on my toes week after week
Pre-order at - www.versusalbum.com - Available to pre- order Vinyl / Limited Edition Box set / iTunes
Release date is October 7th on Bedrock