Tweet
digweed interview,from trustthedj .com
John Digweed: I’m human, not a robot
26/09/2005
“I don’t like hearing any tennis shoes in the washing machine; I like it to be as perfect as I can, and people know me for that as well. It’s one of my main features; people know when they come to see me playing they will hear lots of records they haven’t heard before and mixed together very well. I’m a perfectionist.”
Chatting down the line from his London studios, Bedrock chief John Digweed is the first to admit he’s more than confident of his turntable abilities, though also stresses he can occasionally slip up.
“I’m human, I’m not a robot but I’d rather make a mistake, learn from that mistake and get it right the following night, than just go in there with a pre-planned set that is exactly the same from start to finish, every night of the week, because there’s no fun to that, no spontaneity” he adds.
“Obviously within the set you have certain records and certain mixes that you might play for a few weeks but to me, it’s about going out there and approaching every night as thought it’s a new painting. To just go and do the same thing night after night, wouldn’t inspire me.”
He also admits that he’s more than conscious of the demands that being one of the world’s most popular DJs inevitably brings, after more than ten years around the top of the superstar DJ league.
“In terms of feeling the pressure to live up to those expectations, I’d say the only time when it freaked me out a little bit was when I won the number one DJ in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs several years ago, “ he continues.
“Then you go to places and it’s like ‘Here he is, the number one DJ in the world’ and people’s expectations would be ‘what’s he going to do special?’ I’m not one of those guys who will show a lot of emotion when DJing, everyone thinks I don’t look like I’m having a good time but it’s just down to the concentration levels I reach when I DJ, that’s just the way I am. I’m not waving my arms around, I’m not doing a lot of showboating; I’m just very transfixed on trying to give the best musical output that I can.”
Though jocks like Adam Freeland increasingly use stage antics to add to their allure, John points out that while some rock bands rock out, others will hardly move on stage, a stance he’s no intention of changing in the foreseeable future.
“All that showboating just reminds me too much of Jeremy Healy doing moon-walking years ago,” he chuckles. “I like Jeremy and I’ve known him for years but when the whole big thing appeared in magazines saying he was going to play Michael Jackson and do the moonwalk, I thought ‘Oh no, what’s it come to when everyone is talking about his moon-walking more than the music he’s playing’.
I think that’s one thing I‘ve always felt really strong about; I want people to come to listen to the music and dance. If you are going to arrive and expect your entertainment to come from me as some sort of circus act, then you are at the wrong gig.”
DJ antics (or otherwise) aside, he’s also just completed his latest compilation album Layered Sounds 2, which he releases on his own label Bedrock shortly, comprising two CDs of tracks from the likes of Luke Chable, Luke Fair and Pole Folder, though he’s keen to point out its difference from his recent DJ mix album for Fabric.
“The Fabric album reflected me as DJ, because I was putting those records together as I would in a club set, whereas this is purely an album centered on artists who are signed to the label and a more chilled out take on some of the tracks that are also signed to the label,” he explains.
“It reflects Bedrock as a label with more than just one style, it shows that we can branch out and encompass different music within the label. It’s primarily a compilation.”
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): How much effort did you put into the sequencing and such factors?
John Digweed: “Working on so many mixes for so many years you get to know what you want and just by knowing the tracks, you can plot something out on paper first, have an idea of how you want it to sound and the mood that you want to create when you put these records in these selections. You want to keep people’s interest but also you don’t want to give them everything within the first twenty minutes. Ideally you want people to listen and want more.”
Skrufff: You also did a retro compilation recently, though I understand you’re still spending hundreds of pounds on new records every week, are you focused totally on new stuff in your current DJ sets?
John Digweed: “No, I always like to drop the odd older track. Recently I’ve being playing Suggestive by Advances which is on my Journeys By DJs CD. I played it at Pacha on a Friday night recently and this kid came up and asked ‘what’s this track? What’s this track?’ I was like ‘it’s thirteen years old’. But it sounds like it’s current; it’s one thing to dig out old classics, but I think it’s more about digging stuff out which still has a relevance that shines through.”
Skrufff: How about newer records that slipped through the cracks more recently?
John Digweed: “I’m always buying new music but I also regularly go back to tracks I might have bought six months ago but never played and bring them into my set, more often than not also getting people asking ‘what’s this track?’ So much new vinyl comes out each week that it’s physically impossible to be on top of everything; there’s too much music out there to play it all. I’m quite lucky to have a radio show where I get a chance to play music which I think is not really for the club, but sounds great on the radio. I’m a music lover and I don’t just buy records to play them out in clubs. I think my position is there to share the music and promote it as well.”
Skrufff: How important is that radio show?
John Digweed: “it’s hugely important to me because it’s syndicated all over the world. Gig wise, I could probably do two or three shows a week, but I can’t be in Romania, Malta, Jordan or South America every week but the radio show allows me instead to reach the fans who are into that music every weekend, everywhere. It’s a really good way of sharing the music that I like, but also promoting some of the new talents that are coming through.”
Skrufff: Do you maintain the same passion for dance music all the time?
John Digweed: There’s obviously certain periods where there’s not much good music around or you don’t seem to be so inspired by what’s being made, but during the week because I receive so many CD’s and tracks, I have to slowly work my way through them, otherwise on Friday morning I’d be sitting there with a hundred tracks to listen to. Personally, I spend a few hours a day, then have a break from it, then go back and do a little bit more. When I’m in the car I also take a few CD’s with me. To give tracks quality time you should make sure not to have any other distractions, or you could turn up at a club thinking this sounds great then halfway through it’s got some guitar solo. You must make sure you are 100% on top of your music.”
Skrufff: You regularly spin alongside Carl Cox, who last year suffered a heart attack, how easy has it been for you to stay healthy?
John Digweed: “It’s down to your willpower really. For me 2001/2002 was such a chaotic year, because I was touring ridiculously all over the place. I definitely was on a roll with that mindset where you think you are invincible. We did The Delta Heavy tour which was three months on the road, when I finished that I was doing even more crazy schedules, then when I did the Area 2 tour and it got to the last day of it, my body told me to stop. I was so tired, I just felt like I couldn’t get on that last flight. I cancelled it and I thought I had 24 hours to sleep before I went back to England, went to the hotel room and didn’t sleep a wink. I eventually came back and I didn’t sleep for ages; my body clock was so bent out of shape it wasn’t funny.
It takes a little warning sign like that for you to realize that your body is telling you something. I eat really healthily. I haven’t got any Keith Richards type . . . habits. I think it’s one of those things where you’ll either get a warning or you won’t get one at all. Your body is quite resilient and it can put up with a lot, but there comes a time when if you haven’t slept for the best part of eight months properly, something is going to give. When you are on a roll and you are flying all over the place, you feel invincible but you’re not, really.”
Skrufff: I guess at most of these gigs you are playing to thousands of people, do you ever do any tiny gigs or ever play for free still?
John Digweed: “We did a free party at Herbal in London last June, when we hadn’t had a Bedrock at Heaven and instead of saying it’s free, we publicized it on the Internet with 200 boys tickets and 200 girls tickets. I think we’d sold most of them in half a day. It was great, so I think we are planning a few more of those. It’s good to give something back.”
Skrufff: Your old Hastings compadre Danny Howells often talks of his interest in fashion, do you wear designer clothes?
John Digweed: “I wear designer record label T shirts. Every time I am in New York I always go to this place called Union and get loads of t-shirts. It’s kind of, a bit of, not skateboardy, but that kind of hip-hoppy type thing. They do really cool t-shirts there. I’m not one of these guys who dresses top to toe in Armani or stuff like that.”
Skrufff: Are you married with kids?
John Digweed: “I’m engaged.”
Skrufff: Is she in the music business?
John Digweed: “No, no, she’s got a proper job.”
John Digweed: I’m human, not a robot
26/09/2005
“I don’t like hearing any tennis shoes in the washing machine; I like it to be as perfect as I can, and people know me for that as well. It’s one of my main features; people know when they come to see me playing they will hear lots of records they haven’t heard before and mixed together very well. I’m a perfectionist.”
Chatting down the line from his London studios, Bedrock chief John Digweed is the first to admit he’s more than confident of his turntable abilities, though also stresses he can occasionally slip up.
“I’m human, I’m not a robot but I’d rather make a mistake, learn from that mistake and get it right the following night, than just go in there with a pre-planned set that is exactly the same from start to finish, every night of the week, because there’s no fun to that, no spontaneity” he adds.
“Obviously within the set you have certain records and certain mixes that you might play for a few weeks but to me, it’s about going out there and approaching every night as thought it’s a new painting. To just go and do the same thing night after night, wouldn’t inspire me.”
He also admits that he’s more than conscious of the demands that being one of the world’s most popular DJs inevitably brings, after more than ten years around the top of the superstar DJ league.
“In terms of feeling the pressure to live up to those expectations, I’d say the only time when it freaked me out a little bit was when I won the number one DJ in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs several years ago, “ he continues.
“Then you go to places and it’s like ‘Here he is, the number one DJ in the world’ and people’s expectations would be ‘what’s he going to do special?’ I’m not one of those guys who will show a lot of emotion when DJing, everyone thinks I don’t look like I’m having a good time but it’s just down to the concentration levels I reach when I DJ, that’s just the way I am. I’m not waving my arms around, I’m not doing a lot of showboating; I’m just very transfixed on trying to give the best musical output that I can.”
Though jocks like Adam Freeland increasingly use stage antics to add to their allure, John points out that while some rock bands rock out, others will hardly move on stage, a stance he’s no intention of changing in the foreseeable future.
“All that showboating just reminds me too much of Jeremy Healy doing moon-walking years ago,” he chuckles. “I like Jeremy and I’ve known him for years but when the whole big thing appeared in magazines saying he was going to play Michael Jackson and do the moonwalk, I thought ‘Oh no, what’s it come to when everyone is talking about his moon-walking more than the music he’s playing’.
I think that’s one thing I‘ve always felt really strong about; I want people to come to listen to the music and dance. If you are going to arrive and expect your entertainment to come from me as some sort of circus act, then you are at the wrong gig.”
DJ antics (or otherwise) aside, he’s also just completed his latest compilation album Layered Sounds 2, which he releases on his own label Bedrock shortly, comprising two CDs of tracks from the likes of Luke Chable, Luke Fair and Pole Folder, though he’s keen to point out its difference from his recent DJ mix album for Fabric.
“The Fabric album reflected me as DJ, because I was putting those records together as I would in a club set, whereas this is purely an album centered on artists who are signed to the label and a more chilled out take on some of the tracks that are also signed to the label,” he explains.
“It reflects Bedrock as a label with more than just one style, it shows that we can branch out and encompass different music within the label. It’s primarily a compilation.”
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): How much effort did you put into the sequencing and such factors?
John Digweed: “Working on so many mixes for so many years you get to know what you want and just by knowing the tracks, you can plot something out on paper first, have an idea of how you want it to sound and the mood that you want to create when you put these records in these selections. You want to keep people’s interest but also you don’t want to give them everything within the first twenty minutes. Ideally you want people to listen and want more.”
Skrufff: You also did a retro compilation recently, though I understand you’re still spending hundreds of pounds on new records every week, are you focused totally on new stuff in your current DJ sets?
John Digweed: “No, I always like to drop the odd older track. Recently I’ve being playing Suggestive by Advances which is on my Journeys By DJs CD. I played it at Pacha on a Friday night recently and this kid came up and asked ‘what’s this track? What’s this track?’ I was like ‘it’s thirteen years old’. But it sounds like it’s current; it’s one thing to dig out old classics, but I think it’s more about digging stuff out which still has a relevance that shines through.”
Skrufff: How about newer records that slipped through the cracks more recently?
John Digweed: “I’m always buying new music but I also regularly go back to tracks I might have bought six months ago but never played and bring them into my set, more often than not also getting people asking ‘what’s this track?’ So much new vinyl comes out each week that it’s physically impossible to be on top of everything; there’s too much music out there to play it all. I’m quite lucky to have a radio show where I get a chance to play music which I think is not really for the club, but sounds great on the radio. I’m a music lover and I don’t just buy records to play them out in clubs. I think my position is there to share the music and promote it as well.”
Skrufff: How important is that radio show?
John Digweed: “it’s hugely important to me because it’s syndicated all over the world. Gig wise, I could probably do two or three shows a week, but I can’t be in Romania, Malta, Jordan or South America every week but the radio show allows me instead to reach the fans who are into that music every weekend, everywhere. It’s a really good way of sharing the music that I like, but also promoting some of the new talents that are coming through.”
Skrufff: Do you maintain the same passion for dance music all the time?
John Digweed: There’s obviously certain periods where there’s not much good music around or you don’t seem to be so inspired by what’s being made, but during the week because I receive so many CD’s and tracks, I have to slowly work my way through them, otherwise on Friday morning I’d be sitting there with a hundred tracks to listen to. Personally, I spend a few hours a day, then have a break from it, then go back and do a little bit more. When I’m in the car I also take a few CD’s with me. To give tracks quality time you should make sure not to have any other distractions, or you could turn up at a club thinking this sounds great then halfway through it’s got some guitar solo. You must make sure you are 100% on top of your music.”
Skrufff: You regularly spin alongside Carl Cox, who last year suffered a heart attack, how easy has it been for you to stay healthy?
John Digweed: “It’s down to your willpower really. For me 2001/2002 was such a chaotic year, because I was touring ridiculously all over the place. I definitely was on a roll with that mindset where you think you are invincible. We did The Delta Heavy tour which was three months on the road, when I finished that I was doing even more crazy schedules, then when I did the Area 2 tour and it got to the last day of it, my body told me to stop. I was so tired, I just felt like I couldn’t get on that last flight. I cancelled it and I thought I had 24 hours to sleep before I went back to England, went to the hotel room and didn’t sleep a wink. I eventually came back and I didn’t sleep for ages; my body clock was so bent out of shape it wasn’t funny.
It takes a little warning sign like that for you to realize that your body is telling you something. I eat really healthily. I haven’t got any Keith Richards type . . . habits. I think it’s one of those things where you’ll either get a warning or you won’t get one at all. Your body is quite resilient and it can put up with a lot, but there comes a time when if you haven’t slept for the best part of eight months properly, something is going to give. When you are on a roll and you are flying all over the place, you feel invincible but you’re not, really.”
Skrufff: I guess at most of these gigs you are playing to thousands of people, do you ever do any tiny gigs or ever play for free still?
John Digweed: “We did a free party at Herbal in London last June, when we hadn’t had a Bedrock at Heaven and instead of saying it’s free, we publicized it on the Internet with 200 boys tickets and 200 girls tickets. I think we’d sold most of them in half a day. It was great, so I think we are planning a few more of those. It’s good to give something back.”
Skrufff: Your old Hastings compadre Danny Howells often talks of his interest in fashion, do you wear designer clothes?
John Digweed: “I wear designer record label T shirts. Every time I am in New York I always go to this place called Union and get loads of t-shirts. It’s kind of, a bit of, not skateboardy, but that kind of hip-hoppy type thing. They do really cool t-shirts there. I’m not one of these guys who dresses top to toe in Armani or stuff like that.”
Skrufff: Are you married with kids?
John Digweed: “I’m engaged.”
Skrufff: Is she in the music business?
John Digweed: “No, no, she’s got a proper job.”
dat was kool
Comment