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With his Bedrock Records imprint currently on fire in 2010, John Digweed continues to deliver the impeccably high standards that have made him the icon that he is. His latest release, Structures, is a bumper package that comes with a two disc mix compilation of typically forward thinking music that displays Bedrock's current potency in addition to a bonus DVD that includes a film documentary and a recorded live show from the Vegabond in Miami last year. Directed by South American producer Pablo Casacuberta, the documentary entitled The Eye of the Storm  gets a privileged insight into the personality of the dance music icon. Filmed during a recent South American tour, it captures Digweed in a host of intriguing settings whilst in his usual open and insightful manner.

I Voice caught up with John and Pablo to discuss Bedrock, the making of the documentary and of course, Ibiza.

When you're putting together compilations like Structures or last year's Bedrock 11, does it really start to hit home for you what an achievement you've made with Bedrock?
Well, if you would have asked me 7 years ago would I be still running the label I probably wouldn't have been able to think that far ahead. The thing that I'm most happy about is the fact that in the last two years, the label has re-established itself. Lots of artists were getting in contact wanting to be on the label, it's turned full circle which I'm really happy about. I think with any label you go through your honeymoon period and for me, it's all about moving things forward and I'll openly admit that there was a period where releases wide, we were still good but we were maybe lost somewhere. But in the last few years we've definitely found it again. Now we seem to be attracting the right artists and getting the right buzz about releases which is part and parcel of running a successful label. Once you have great record after great record coming out, people see that and want to be part of it and we just seem to be on a really good roll at the moment. I think one of the reasons why it all got a bit stuck in the mud was that whole period when vinyl sales just halved and then quartered in a very short period of time and sales just dropped out. A lot of labels were feeling really despondent with the whole business. I mean, you still had the same overheads but your money is dropping by half suddenly in a very short period of time. But with the whole digital sales and everything picking up, it has managed to balance itself out.

As such an established artist as yourself, do you feel an increased sense of responsibility to help the more emerging artists that you work with on the label and anywhere else for that matter?
I think that has always been the policy. The label has always been about trying to discover those new artists. For me, that's the most exciting thing; having someone on the label that no one's really heard of before and suddenly everyone is contacting them wanting to get remixes or original tracks by them and you see their career really taking off as they get gigs, extra remixes and stuff like that which raises their profile. For me, if they only made one record for us and it does well and they go on to do bigger and better things for another label - then I'm happy with that. I'm not about tying people down to five album deals. I want people to be happy with the label and if we do a good job and the artist sees that, hopefully they'll want to release more records with us. I think that's the way we've always worked. I also think it's very important for the scene in general to have new artists coming through. If it was just the same people making all the records all the time it would have got boring a long time ago. Don't treat your fans like they're idiots; give them some respect that they know the releases and everything else. And give them nice artwork instead of giving them a picture of a bird on the front cover...

In recent years music and art have seemingly become more divided. By including the bonus DVD with Structures, was that an attempt to bring music and art that bit closer together again?
I had a documentary producer get in contact last year before the South American tour and he was interested in filming me when I was over there and he sent me over the sort of idea that he wanted to do. So we had this documentary and then when I put this album together I was still trying to figure out what to do with it. Then it just made sense to do it on the DVD bonus. And then instead of just having the documentary you still have more space so why not include a lot of the Bedrock artwork, why not include some photographs from some of the shows and just add a bit more content there really. There's a lot of fans of the label and what we do and in this day and age of everyone just having an MP3 file it's nice to have something tangible in your hand. You can have it for as long as you like really which is something that I think has been missed within the digital age. You don't have that scrolling through the booklet as much anymore because you just download it and it's a very instant way of getting information. Whereas with this, we wanted to do a really nice booklet with all the information about the documentary, the directors and the Vegabond show and everything else just to make it a bit more of a collectors' item. I think it's important that if you're going to put a product out there that you give good value for money. 

It seems to me that dance music and visual media go hand in hand. For instance you always have visuals in a club when a DJ is on. It's quite a nice idea to get that visual aspect on record too.
Yeah, although I have to say I'm not a massive fan of watching a load of people dance in a club. (laughs.) That kind of thing never made sense to me. I think that's something you need to experience, you need to go there. But I'm definitely a big fan of the visual aspect to it. With the label, David Maloney has been designing all the sleeves since day one and he's had such an important part of giving the label its identity over the years because people know a Bedrock sleeve even though every one is different, it has a certain feel about the work he does that gives it a clean feel. He's very influenced by the whole Factory Records, New Order time so you can tell he has that less is more approach, you don't have to ram it full of information. Don't treat your fans like they're idiots; give them some respect that they know the releases and everything else. And give them nice artwork instead of giving them a picture of a bird on the front cover. (A bird as in a girl in a swim suit, not a magpie or something)

How did you find your role in the process of making the documentary? I suppose you've become accustomed to expressing yourself through your music so I was wondering how you got on doing that without music?
It was quite good actually. Pablo mapped everything out before I even landed. It was one of those schedules which on paper looked OK, but then before I left I was in the studio and didn't get much sleep, then did the eighteen hour flight via Sao Paulo and then landed to be told that I was getting picked up at six thirty in the morning. I was thinking are you joking? I've hardly slept. And it was two thirteen/fourteen hour days of shooting in these locations to get a lot of the stock content and then we went to Rio for the carnival and did some more shooting in Buenos Aires. But to get the core footage it was two full on days and I remember being absolutely shattered and I was thinking I can't believe how this is going to turn out because I just don't feel like I'm making any sense, but in actual fact I was really happy with the end result because I think the way he's put the visuals along with my commentary - because with the questions he had figured out what he was going to ask me and how he was going to get the visual aspect to represent my answers, so I think it's quite clever how it's done. When you do so many interviews where you're just backstage somewhere or in a green room or something - they're ten a penny, whereas with this you can tell that the guy has really thought about it and he really did put a lot of thought and effort into how he wanted me to come across in this documentary. It's nice for me to have something that goes all through my history up to present day. I would feel quite happy if someone said right, I've never met John Digweed, I don't know anything about him and you just said well, watch that and you can get pretty much from start to finish. From that aspect, I was very pleased with what he did. Some of the stuff he was getting me to do, I was thinking ah this guy's got me doing things that I didn't feel comfortable with but then when I watched it back I was really impressed with what he did. It was nice to do something that's a little bit different.

Is there any reason that you had never made a live show available commercially before?
Well there are always licensing problems. I mean we had problems licensing tracks on this one and I think that's one of the main reasons. You'll put a mix together and you'll be really happy with it and then you can't get clearance on two or three tracks and the whole thing just falls apart after that. It was never something that I thought about doing before just because I know it can be a bit of ball ache. The Vegabond is one of my favourite club's in the world so for me, it just all seemed to come together pretty well so we said let's just put a bit more content on the DVD.

Moving onto Ibiza, you have two dates this year with Carl Cox. Does it affect the way you play when you're on either before or after such a big personality as Carl?
I think the thing is that Carl's night is so strong there and the energy that he brings to that party, I think he just transforms the whole club that night! It doesn't matter which room you're in, the place is jumping! So I love playing there. The energy there and the crowd that he attracts, I mean he attracts a proper music crowd and that's what I want to play to in Ibiza. I want to play to people that are there because they want to hear good, upfront music. 

What is it about the Discoteca in Space that makes it such a special room? Not just on Carl's night but on any night?
I don't know! It's hard to explain. I think since they've moved the DJ booth more central it's got even better because you are the focal point. Not that I like being the focal point of a room but you have a much better vision of the entire room whereas before you were kind of on the floor tucked away a little bit whereas now you just see this whole club going nuts. It just really ups your game when you play there.

Will you be playing anywhere else in Ibiza this year?
No. Well, maybe the closing party depending on when it is but so far it's just the two nights at Space.

On those two nights will you be doing other stuff whilst you're there or will it be a case of fly in, do the gig and go home?
Yep, that's pretty much it. The schedule is pretty tight so it's hard to stay there and do other stuff when I'll have to nip off to do other shows. It's just pretty much in and out. I'll try and go to Sven's night on the Monday if I can, that will be the only night I'll get the chance to go to any other night.

I think that Ibiza really does cater for every need and that's why when people say that destination or this destination will become the new Ibiza, it is so hard for anywhere to do that because Ibiza is so well catered to for going out and clubbing...What's the biggest difference between Ibiza now and when you first came here? Both in and outside the clubs.
I think it's in a good place now. There's some really strong nights there, obviously Carl's, Cream is strong and on the other end of the spectrum you've got Guetta's night, Morillo's night and now you've got Luciano's night at Pacha. The island has got a lot of stuff covered and if you want a certain style of music, you've got the best DJs in the world playing on certain nights. And if you want something a bit more commercial you've got that aspect covered as well.  I think that Ibiza really does cater for every need and that's why when people say that destination or this destination will become the new Ibiza, it is so hard for anywhere to do that because Ibiza is so well catered to for going out and clubbing. It does tick all the boxes.

Do you think that's why it has remained so relevant for such a long time now? It seems every year it is just as relevant as the last, maybe even more so now. Would you agree with that?
Yeah definitely. I mean, obviously there's been periods where people have said that it hasn't been as good a season but I think even an off season by Ibiza is a lot better than a lot of places could ever hope to be. If you look at the amount of work, effort and promotion that goes into those nights and there's the theatrical aspect as well with lots of performance stuff going on and they really try and make an effort to make the nights very special and I think that's key. When people are on holiday they want something that little bit more memorable and those clubs cater for that. You're in big clubs; you're with 4,5,6,7,000 people sometimes so if it's your first experience of going to Ibiza you're going to be blown away if you've just been going to your normal 800 - 1,500 capacity club in England or anywhere around the world. You go over there and there's about four or five nights a week in different clubs where the level is just fantastic. Amnesia, Space, Pacha, they're all different in their own way buy they all have a very magical feel about them too. They've been around a long time, there's history there. The reason they are still there is that people like going to them - they're great clubs and they deliver!

***

Meet Pablo Casacuberta
Were you aware of John and what he does before you were approached to make the film? If so, to what extent?
I was certainly aware that he is a very well known artist. Generally I work with artists and musicians of other genres and I didn't have the opportunity to work with such a prestigious DJ before. I think that when we met, we were both relieved to confirm that neither of us was inclined to try the typical "cool" DJ documentary. We are the same age, and probably we had enough share of "cool" already. And so we tried to concentrate our efforts in doing something meaningful and sincere.

Did your goals for the film change at all once you met and got to spend more time with John? 
He was very open and very free along the whole process. We didn't feel that there was any significant cultural barrier between us during the creative process. He is a hard working, deeply ethical guy that believed firmly in the potential of visual experimentation and didn't complain even once in the whole shooting schedule, which was very demanding and time consuming.
 
What opportunities did John's character give you, as a film maker?
It's interesting to work with an artist that seems free from the restraints of his own ego. John was sincere and humble all the way. He treated everybody as an equal and approached the whole process as a collaboration and an experimental pursuit, rather than as a biopic of a celebrity.

How did you go about setting up scenarios in which John would express himself as you wanted him to?
My feeling was that it would be interesting, since John is such a reflective guy, to concentrate in the kind of mental processes that are behind his artistic choices or his personal ways of performing. I thought that generally the people that would watch a film about him would have seen him performing already, but didn't have the chance to witness that sort of "inner journey".
 
So I always thought that the best way to go about exploring somebody's  work in film is to try to explore that personal relation with what they do. Why do you think it is important for fans to get a closer, more personal glimpse of their favourite musicians and DJs?
I have the feeling that any artistic exchange implies some sort of friendship that is established between the artist and each one of the individuals that are part of the audience. A pact of mutual trust. And I think that friendships are not based in the way we perceive the "social" behaviour of people, but rather in the few glimpses that we may get about their inner feelings. A deeper sense of "who they are". People connect with what they believe are the "core elements" in a particular artist. So I always thought that the best way to go about exploring somebody's work in film is to try to explore that personal relation with what they do. John is a very warm, very humble and thoughtful guy, and this approach was particularly useful with him, because he had a great disposition to explore his creative process and to share his views.
 
Is video the only way they can really get this side of them?
I got the feeling that he was a very approachable person since the first minute I met him. But sadly not every one of his thousands of fans can have the chance to sit with him and have lunch. And then the only way, if not the best, is to capture his thoughts and the nuances of his conversation on camera, so everybody can experience that first hand glimpse of his ability to explain himself.

CD 1 01. Luis Junior - Colache (Sometimes Mix) 02. Alex Dolby & Santos - Babylon (John Daly Remix) 03. Wiretappeur - My Real Name Is 04. Mutant Clan - On and Amp (Vincenzo Remix) 05. Alex Dolby & Santos - No Walls (Maher Daniel Remix) 06. Dirty Mongrel - Cream (Wiretappeur Remix) 07. King Roc & Dimitri Nakov - Alameda Jau Dub 08. Cristian Verela - Colmedream 09. Rowdent - Put It To Bed 10. Quivver - Boom Boom 11. Cristian Verela - Perras A Tutti 12. King Unique - 2000000 Dubs 13. King Unique - 2000000 Suns (John Digweed & Nick Muir Remix) 14. Quivver - In Your Boat

CD 2 01. Nick Warren - In Search Of Silver (Structures Edit) 02. Guy J - Esperanza (Umbral Aguir Remix) 03. Marc Marzenit - Unexpiritualized (Pete Heller Remix) 04. John Digweed & Nick Muir - Meteor (Beats) 05. Ian O`Donovan - Aurora Borealis 06. Marco Bailey - Jungle Laps (John Digweed & Nick Muir Remix) 07. Marc Marzenit - Neo Galaxy 08. Saints and Sinners - Pushin' Too Hard (Nic Fanciulli Remix) 09. John Digweed & Nick Muir - Tangent (Marco Bailey Remix) 10. Christian Smith - Flyertalk (Wehbba Remix) 11. Mutant Clan - Persuader (Psycatron Remix) 12. Cristian Verela - Etiam 13. Sian - Dreams Are Maps 14. Marco Bailey & Tom Hades - Rayavadee 15. King Unique - Feniksas 16. Luis Junior - BG (Beats) 17. Erphun & Thee O - Collusion 18. Guy J - Esperanza (Sistema Remix) 19. John Digweed & Nick Muir – Satellite (EFX)

Upcoming events with John Digweed
17 August - The Revolution Continues with Carl Cox at Space / Ibiza, Spain
27 August - Be at Space / Ibiza, Spain
28 August - South West Four Weekender: Day 1 at Clapham Common / London, United Kingdom
29 August - Nic Fanciulli presents Saved Sundays at Source Bar / South + East, United Kingdom
05 September - Electric Zoo - Day 2 at Randall's Island / New York, USA
28 September - Ibiza Dj Awards at Pacha / Ibiza, Spain

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