Hastings native John Digweed had been DJing for close to ten years when his DJ remix tape caught the ear of Renaissance promoter Geoff Oakes. He was soon working alongside the likes of another popular Renaissance DJ, Sasha. The new position gave the DJ what he needed for his big breakthrough, and he has continued to prosper ever since. Soon a Renaissance CD compilation containing some of Sasha and John's best remixes was released. The album was a surprise huge seller, warranting a follow-up, Renaissance 2, which soon approached gold status in Europe. Like Sasha, Digweed isn't limited to remixing other people's records. He promotes shows in Europe under such pseudonyms as Babealicious and Northern Exposure. Sasha and Digweed continued their collaboration with the Northern Exposure series, compiling the duo's best remixes for other artists (the second volume was released in 1998 in completely different East Coast and West Coast editions). Digweed scored two Top 30 hits in 1997 with remixes of Chakra's "I Am" and Bedrock's "For What You Dream Of" (featured in the hit movie Trainspotting). Digweed also bought a dance club in the south of England in order to perform there on a weekly basis. Via the Global Underground mix series, he released volumes recorded in Sydney and Hong Kong during 1998, then premiered Bedrock -- his combination label and production concern -- in late 1999. A starring appearance in the American rave movie Groove also increased his stateside visibility. The new millennium saw another release from Bedrock, a double disc of fresh singles and collective new cuts called Foundations. Several mix albums followed in the early 2000s, including Stark Raving Mad, additions to the popular Fabric and Choice: A Collection of Classics series, and two volumes of Transitions. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
John Digweed began DJing around age 13. His breakthrough came in 1993 when he got a gig at the Renaissance Club in Mansfield after fellow DJ Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) heard his demo.
Digweed is known for promoting the progressive house sound that became popular in Europe and North America in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He started the record labelBedrock Records to further promote the music he was playing at the time. In addition to starting the Bedrock imprint, he and friend Nick Muir produce under the Bedrock alias. In his sets, Digweed is noted[citation needed] for adopting tracks with new and different styles.
Between 2000 and 2005, Digweed promoted his "Bedrock" sound with monthly club nights for members and newcomers to the electronic music scene. He played Thursday nights at Heaven in London and Friday nights at a smaller club night at The Beach in Brighton. These nights featured numerous guest DJs including Phil Thompson, Hernan Cattaneo, and Chris Fortier. As Digweed's international schedule increased, these events drew to a close, although occasional reunions are still held at Heaven. Digweed celebrated 10 years of his Bedrock club night at Matter, London on 10 October 2008 with a near on 10-hour set.
In addition to Europe, Digweed has enjoyed popularity in North America. Digweed, along with Sasha, established a monthly residency at the now defunct New York club Twilo, a residency that established itself as a key location for the American electronic music scene. The residency began in 1996 with a lukewarm reception but grew into one of the most popular club nights in New York City by the end of its run in 2001. Sasha and Digweed played at Twilo on the last Friday of every month, playing sets that lasted between 8 and 12 hours. In early early 2001, Sasha suffered an ear injury in a car accident and was unable to play for some time.[citation needed] Digweed continued to play the time slot by himself until May 2001 when Twilo was forced to close down.
Digweed DJed as himself in the Greg Harrison's 2000 movie Groove. Groove tells the story of an all night rave in San Francisco. John's performance led to one reviewer dubbing him "the new De Niro".[citation needed]
In early 2002, Digweed underwent a six week country-wide tour of the United States with Sasha and Jimmy Van M called Delta Heavy. Promotion of the tour was done by Clear Channel and attendance reached 85,000.[citation needed] The tour took place in a variety of venues but was completely self-reliant from a technical point of view. Sound, lights, and visual setups were brought along to every gig of the tour. Also in 2002, Digweed created the soundtrack to the film Stark Raving Mad.
In addition to worldwide touring, Digweed has been broadcasting a weekly radio show on Kiss 100 in the UK since September 2000, where he provides a personal one hour DJ set, followed by another one hour set from a guest DJ. Since September 2006, John Digweed's show has been available on all 3 Kiss radio stations. The show is now called Transitions and has also branched off into a series of mix albums released every six months by Digweed.
2008 saw Digweed and Sasha reuniting for a Spring Club Tour that once again featured performances all over North America. Also in 2008, Digweed's music is to be featured in the film movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
In 2008, he was voted the number 9 DJ in DJ Mag's annual Top 100 vote. He has featured in the top 10 for the last 10 consecutive years and was voted number one in 2001.[2]
