John Digweed Interview
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We interview English DJ, actor and producer, John Digweed. Here, he divulges his proudest music moments, snippets of his early days as a DJ, and favourite clubs to visit.
Hi John, where in the world are you right now and how has it been treating you?
Just leaving the Neopop festival in Portugal. Last night I played with Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier, Pan-Pot and Underground Resistance. It’s an amazing boutique festival with a really up-for-it crowd. Summer so far has been really good with a mixture of festivals, beach parties and club events.
With over 30 years in the business, do you get phased at all by the accolades people like us place on you? “Greatest DJ in the world”, “Most popular DJ on the planet” etc…
To be honest, I never got into DJ-ing or the club scene to be patted on the back. It was a love of music and the scene that went with it. The fact that I became successful is down to all my dedication, passion and hard work that I put into it over the years. My goals are still the same now as when I started – to find and play the best new music out there to people who want to listened and dance.
There’s no doubt you have earned such high praise, with top 40 hits, film scores and records you have broken, not to mention the amount of gigs you play each year; so what’s your proudest moment so far?
I think I am proudest of the fact that after all these years I am still playing the best clubs and festivals around the world and that I have a fantastic and loyal fan base.
You told us previously that the Internet allows new artists to explode overnight without having to trudge around small clubs; was this a big part of your experience and emergence in the ‘80s? Have you returned to the same clubs?
I would never change anything about my career as I think all those years of slogging it out in small and sometimes crappy clubs made me who I am today, but also makes me appreciate what I have today as well. I still play for quite a few of the same promoters from 15 – 20 years ago, although sadly not many of those original clubs are around anymore. Change is good so I always try and look to the future, not the past.
As someone that gives consistently standout shows, is there a method you live by to ensure 100% success? Do you have any rituals or mantras?
Not really, just know your music before you get to the gig, I never practice or work mixes out beforehand as I prefer the spontaneous feel of DJ-ing where you get a vibe from the crowd and go with the flow.
You return to Australia in November, bringing your enviable beats and bass lines to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth; what memories do you hold of playing here?
I first played in Oz exactly 20 years ago this year for the first time. I have always enjoyed coming to Australia and I love the parties, clubs, people, food and culture. There are too many parties to name check but let’s say I have made many great friends over the years and hopefully will continue to come back and play for many years to come,
When was the last time you suffered a set malfunction or technical fault? How do you recover from that?
I have had the odd SD card freeze on me, but apart from that things seem to be problem-free at the moment, which is a good thing.
You’re headlining Chinese Laundry’s Garden Party which is always a great event; What is it about Laundry that makes their parties go off?
They attract a really up-for-it party crowd that know their music, which for me is the perfect crowd. Plus Sydney is such a great place to be in. It’s a real shame I don’t have more time there on this trip.
What has been your favourite set of 2014 so far?
My last night at the Vagabond in Miami back in March. I knew the club was closing down, but the crowd didn’t. As I was involved with the club, it was a very emotional night and I poured my heart and soul into the set. The atmosphere was electric and I was so happy we got to release it as part of the ‘Live In’ Series.
You’ve recently released ‘Underground Sound Of Ibiza’ and there’s mention of something new on the way with your partner, Nick Muir; can you give us a clue as to what to expect?
The physical copies of the Underground Sound of Ibiza have nearly sold out already. We are really pleased with how the series is going and the feedback to the downtempo mix has been incredible. The project with Nick Muir is an album based on an international best selling book with quite a mysterious author who not even his agent or publishers have met. It’s going to be released on October 6th so look out for more details on this very soon.
Say you weren’t enjoying a life of music, what path would you have gone down?
I get asked this a lot and it’s really hard to answer as I always wanted to be a DJ from the age of 11 so was never thinking about doing anything else.
If you could give your 15-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Production is a really important part of a DJ’s career now so try and get started early with making some original sounding tracks to go with your DJ gigs.
Thanks, John!
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