John Digweed is a British DJ and record producer from Hastings, England. Born in 1967, he begins DJing at around the age of 13 and later becomes closely associated with progressive house, house, techno and progressive trance.

Career

Digweed first builds his profile by founding his own nightclub, Bedrock, and booking major DJs such as Carl Cox to play there. His breakthrough comes when Sasha, who is also known as Alexander Coe, plays at Bedrock in Hastings and then offers Digweed a residency at the Renaissance club in Mansfield. The partnership leads to the mix compilation Renaissance: A Mix Compilation Pt One - Sasha and Digweed, described as the first club mix compilation of its kind.

Working with Sasha as Sasha and Digweed, he helps promote a progressive trance and progressive house sound that becomes widely popular in Europe and North America in the 1990s. As trance develops into a brighter style, the progressive scene moves toward darker, more minimal and tribal forms in the 2000s.

Aliases and projects

With Nick Muir, Digweed records under the Bedrock alias. He also works under the name Petoken and is part of the Sasha & John Digweed pairing. Bedrock Records is his label.

Notable work and appearances

Digweed has a weekly radio show on Kiss 100 in the UK, structured as a one-hour mix from him followed by a one-hour guest set. In North America, he builds a strong following through a monthly residency at the Twilo club in New York, which becomes a significant part of the rise of progressive trance and house in the American mainstream. He also follows this with a country-wide Delta Heavy tour.

His music appears in film as well: he appears in the 2000 film Groove, music associated with him is included in the adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, and the Bedrock track For What You Dream Of appears in Trainspotting.