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Various Artists - Bedrock 10: Past Present & Future, mixed by John Digweed
Created On November 25th, 2008 by Lambretta
If necessity is the mother of all invention, then electronic music with its endless tendency towards remixing has to be the mother of reinvention. This has never been as true as it is with the latest release from the Bedrock stable, where John Digweed has compiled a double CD of mixes featuring, for the most part, present takes on past classics. OK, so this explains the first two elements of the compilation’s title, but what about the ‘future’? Well, there is also a third, un-mixed disc included, so I’m assuming that the future is you mixing in your bedroom!
Most mixed CDs take me some time to get used to, but this compilation is different. After all, most of the tracks are known to me and while they may have been altered somewhat through remixing, you’re able to recognise the majority of the tunes. Also, John has been fairly prolific with his CD releases over the past two years so his current choice of musical direction is hardly surprising, which makes my role as a reviewer simpler than it has been in the past. All I need to do now is tell my audience if I think it’s any good….
Well the good news is, from the early beauty of Rise In onwards right through until to the end of the two mixed discs, there’s nothing but a near perfect run of brilliantly selected and mixed masterpieces from this label and its enigmatic owner. John absolutely nails the rest of Bedrock 10 and makes my mind melt with monotonous regularity. One of the difficult things about releasing an album full of re-mixes is that the audience is going to be familiar with the originals and will make comparisons. This is understandable, but I find that it regularly leads to disappointment because reinterpretations are, by their very nature, different. I tried as hard as I could not to go down that path, and treat the tracks on their own merits.
Looking back a few years to ‘05, progressive music was going through a ‘big house’ stage where the power and energy in the music made it one of the most enjoyable periods in my fifteen years of listening to this style of music. Many of the tunes John was playing at that time have been re-mixed here and ‘minimized’ to give them a more contemporary sound. Dirtbox is a perfect example – but there’s no denying the frenetic energy in the songs and the pure joy they bring to the listener.
Whilst the front end of this album is crammed full of minimal bleeps and dark, grinding, driving bass lines to please the fans of the minimal/tech persuasion, the second disc is simply bursting with a vibrant house energy: full of wonderful, haunting and mind-twistingly beautiful melodies. From Tom Middleton’s superb remix of Forge at the start of the second mix, right through to the final track, there is not one bad tune included. Watch out for Flyer Talk by Christian Smith (a rarity that appears to not actually be a remix!), it’ll have your brains melting all over the floor whilst your body rocks and swerves to its mesmerising rhythms.
I can’t convey in words just how much I enjoyed this album. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that this it’s quite possibly John Digweed’s best work to date. I rate it that highly. As for the unmixed CD, well, you’ll hardly decide not to buy one of the best compilations Digweed has ever released just because the reviewer wasn’t smitten with an additional unmixed disc, would you? Of course not! Rest assured there are some brilliant moments, including a mind-blowing remake of Santiago by Bedrock. If only this had been included in the mixed CDs, as it’s an absolute monster. So, grab yourself a copy of this truly excellent compilation and prepare yourself to be swept away to a place of mind-bending beauty. But be careful, you may not want to return. You have been warned!
Check out the tracklisting…
Disc 1:
1. Fortunatro & Montresor – Imagine (Estroe Remix)
2. Pole Folder & CP – Dust (Charlie Mayhem Cold Shoulder Dub)
3. Tom Mangan – Chutney (Tom Mangan 2008 Remix)
4. Steve Lawler – Rise`in (Steve Lawler Powder Powder Remix)
5. Bedrock – Santiago (Chab Remix)
6. John Digweed – Warung Beach (Jamie Stevens Remix)
7. Bedrock – Emerald (Seismic Dub)
8. Gutterstylz – Dirtbox (Bruce Aisher’s Resurrection Rewind)
9. Science Dept – Repercussion (Danny Howells Remix)
10. Bedrock – Beautiful Strange (John Digweed & Nick Muir`s Even Stranger Remix)
11. Guy J – Save Me (James Talk Remix)
12. Bedrock – Heaven Scent (M.O.D.E. remix)
Disc 2:
1. Bedrock- Forge (Tom Middleton Remix)
2. Guy J – Lunar
3. Jim Rivers – Empathy
4. Saints & Sinners – Pushin Too Hard (Bruce Aisher Remix)
5. Christian Smith – Flyer Talk
6. Moonface – U Get So Give (Paolo Mojo Remix)
7. Shmuel Flash – Chilling Moments (Kazell Influx Audio Remix)
8. John Digweed & Nick Muir – Aquatonic
9. Misstress Barbara – K10 (Alan Fitzpatrick Remix)
10. Tom Mangan – Chutney (Size 9 Reinterpretation)
11. Guy Gerber – Stoppage Time (Outro Edit)
Disc 3: Unmixed
1. Bradler & Dualton – Six Hours Later (Original Mix)
2. Pole Folder & CP – Dust (Charlie Mayhem Cold Shoulder Dub)
3. Fortunato & Montresor – Imagine (Estroe Remix)
4. Morgan Page & Gregory Shiff Feat Astrid Suryanto – All I Know (Jim Rivers Space Disco Remix)
5. Nick Muir – Gravitation
6. Steve Lawler – Rise In (Steve Lawler Powder Powder Remix Edit)
7. Bedrock – Santiago (Guy Gerber Hotrod Dub)
8. Funk D’Void & Toby Izui – Sensei
9. Pindrop – Madhouse
10. Guy J – Lunar (Late Night Friday Remix)
brenly says...
top review right there! really looking forward to hearing this whilst sitting on another planet...
bonfiglio says...
Summed up nicely! This could easily of gone wrong in so many ways, but leave it to Digweed to pull it off. Love it.
deXXy_Disaster says...
Great review. Don't know how 'monotonous regularity' can make anyones mind melt though...trust the prog fans :P
schap says...
$63 on iTunes. WTF!
brenly says...
or free on any good torrent page!
dazza_b says...
"$63 on iTunes. WTF!" lmao, wtf. bought from jb like $30 "or free on any good torrent page!" booooo!!!
djsteed says...
picked up my autographed copy when john digweed played 'matter' from 10pm til 7.15am non-stop. loved the live performance, love getting into all 3 discs.
Cosmo Cater says...
Nice review, good on you for getting into the Santiago remix, it's a gem!