Sasha & John Digweed: OPEN TO CLOSE

If there are boundaries yet to be broken, then you can bet that Sasha has got them in the crosshairs. He's been battering them down since Shelley's, The Hacienda, Renaissance and Twilo; from Airdrawndagger to Invol3r. Since 2011, he's carved a new way with his increasingly pivotal Last Night On Earth imprint, the label that has introduced into its family fiercely forward-thinking producers like My Favourite Robot's James Teej, Simon Baker, ThermalBear, Ejeca, Ghosting Season, Max Cooper and Knox. Then there was the arrival of the long-awaited third album in his 'Involver' series in 2013, the intricate and challenging 'Involv3r'. It combined on one disc Sasha's peerless command of dancefloor sensibilities and on the other his skilful exploration of beatless soundscapes, featuring his exclusive interpretations of tracks from The xx, Blondes, Little Dragon, Benjamin Damage, Foals and ThermalBear. It also featured 'Shoot You Down', his own spine-chilling anthem with vocals from the beguiling Swedish chanteuse Kicki Halmos. Boundaries out of the studio have been equally unsafe. His Never Say Never parties at Ibiza's breakthrough success of recent years, Ushuaia, have seen him bring together the venerable. Last summer, for 13 weeks, he held court on Sundays at Ushuaia’s Tower, supported by the likes of Cassy, Guti, Butch and many more. The fact that these parties were free was pretty much unprecedented on the island, harking back to old school raving, when all that mattered was the music. But then, that's really all that's ever mattered to Sasha. His most recent sell-out event and his first NYE show in UK’s capital in over a decade, was the Last Night on Earth celebration at London’s O2 Brixton Academy. The event was supported by world-renown dance music names such as Guy Gerber, Nic Fanciulli and Ellen Allien. At the moment Sasha is back in the studio working hard – so we can expect to hear a continuation of the musical journey this year.

Some DJ careers are built on hype. John Digweed’s career is built on substance. One of the planet’s most popular DJs, his sets never fall out of favour with clubbers the world over, as his relentless global gig schedule testifies. From ethereal, swirling cinematic soundscapes to energy-infused bass-bothering tech growlers, a new generation of clubbers are learning what we already know - that there’s nothing quite like being locked into a John Digweed set. But John Digweed is much more than a DJ. Bedrock – his record label, promotions company and production partnership with Nick Muir – is a mothership of creative ingenuity and integrity that other labels orbit around. His vision for the Bedrock record label has been realized over 12 years, as he continuously seeks out mixes and remixes from the world’s best producers. Techno mainstays like Marco Bailey, Christian Smith and John Selway sit comfortably alongside hot new talent like Guy J in the Bedrock camp. In a dance scene increasingly inhabited by inflated egos and gimmicks, John’s approach remains all drive, no drama, a heads-down crack-on attitude that has won him the respect of his peers. However, the fact remains that John Digweed has notched up a mighty list of groundbreaking achievements since he first became involved in the embryonic acid house scene as a 15-year-old lad in Hastings. From Top 40 smashes ‘Heaven Scent’ and ‘For What You Dream Of’ (with Nick Muir) to world renowned mix CDs for Renaissance, GU and Northern Exposure, it’s little surprise he was voted No.1 DJ in the World by DJmag readers in 2001. Ten years on, the excitement John Digweed generates is even more palpable today. With Nick he has scored a Hollywood film (Stark Raving Mad) and Spiderman`s animated series for Sony/MTV. toured with David Bowie and Moby, and transformed Brighton Beach into the UK’s biggest beach party (250,000 people) with Fatboy Slim. His Transitions, Bedrock and Structures albums continue to turn new fans on worldwide, Bedrock’s recent 12th birthday party at London’s O2 Brixton Academy was a road-blocked sell-out and his Transitions radio show is one of the world’s most successful dance music shows, broadcast across 45 countries to a staggering weekly audience of over 14 million. But the real beauty in John Digweed’s story lies in his unflinching belief in the music he plays. And with new music comes new chapters in an already astonishing career.