John Digweed: good quality music has always been the foundation

Established in 1999, Bedrock Records has been instrumental in defining the sound of underground dance music for over twenty years, delivering a steady stream of first-rate output from some of the most creative and talented names in the scene. Now, as John Digweed commemorates the label's landmark 200th digital release, he and production partner Nick Muir invite esteemed German DJ & producer, Jonathan Kaspar, to remix two very special tracks from their extensive back catalogue. We caught up with John to find out more.
— Hello John, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. How has 2022 been for you so far? Any highlights?
— It's been great to get back out on the road again and be part of that energy and vibe you get in a club. As always the tour I did in South America at the start of the year was fantastic.
— Massive congratulations on your huge Bedrock 200 milestone. Can you talk to us through the release and why you chose Jonathan Kaspar to mark the occasion?
— I've been playing a lot of his music and featured a couple of his releases on my recent 'Live in London' album recorded at Fabric in February this year, so we reached out to him hoping he'd like to do something on the label. As a result he picked these two tracks to remix which is a huge honour for myself and Nick Muir and consequently it lined up perfectly for our 200th digital release.
— 200 digital releases is a huge achievement. I know this might be like asking to choose your favourite child, but are there any extra special records that really stand out from the two hundred?
— They're all special if I'm honest as we really have worked with some amazingly talented artists and producers over the years. It's been quite a journey over the past 13 years going from the early releases like 'Dope' from Electric Rescue and 'Stars & Shines' from Marco Bailey & Tom Hades (which were both massive releases for the label) up to more recent tracks like the 8Kays remix of Quivver's 'Hold' and 'The Loop' by Aubrey Fry which have both been absolutely massive for me this year.
— Bedrock has been defining the sound of underground music for over 20 years now. What, in your opinion, has been the key to the label's success?
— Good quality music has always been the foundation and we've thrived on having a very diverse range of sounds on the label; from breaks to techno and melodic house through to ambient and electronica. This has meant we've worked on a very broad range of interesting projects over the years from the banging club sounds of the "Live in…" series, to the downtempo and dubbed out grooves of the Pig&Dan albums.
— Looking forwards, do you have any goals or objectives you would like to achieve with Bedrock in the future? Where do you go from here?
— I think the main focus is just to keep on looking for and signing great music, there's some very exciting projects in the pipeline.
— You and Nick have been making music together a long time now. What roles do you each assume in the studio when you make a record together? Have these roles changed and evolved over the years?
— Nick is a genius in the studio and his musical skills have no limits, so Nick has always been more hands on in the studio than me. I have my ear to the dance floor and know how I want records to sound. This combination has worked incredibly well since we started working together as Nick always seems to understand my vision.
— Do you specifically make records you want to play in your own sets, is there a direct link like that?
— It's funny as it's more the other way round. When Nick and I are working on a track I'll often road test in my sets to see what works and what doesn't. Certain parts might not work and sections my be too long or short so it's always good to be able to play out and try the tracks and music out.
— Where can we see you DJ over the coming months? Any big tours planned?
— I am off to Ibiza for 2 exclusive shows at Carl Cox's new night at DC10, plus a 2 week tour of USA and Canada. In between that there is Spain / Berlin / Poland and many more. Check my socials for more info.
— Finally, do you have any other projects coming up soon that you'd like to share with us?
— We've just dropped the new Pig&Dan 'Destination Unknown II' album last week which is the perfect soundtrack for the summer and we have a couple of other interesting album projects in the pipeline. We have some new names signed up to the label for the latter half of the year along with some new remixes of a classic track we originally released about 20 years ago on the label.