INSANE at PACHA with John Digweed

John Digweed began DJing at age 15 and made a name for himself in his home town of Hastings where he put on successful club nights, the most famous of which were successful raves on Hastings Pier where the likes of Carl Cox and The Prodigy performed. His breakthrough came in 1993 when he sent a mix tape to Geoff Oakes, the founder of Renaissance Club in Mansfield who played it to fellow DJ Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) heard his demo. The two DJs struck up a long-term friendship and working relationship despite Sasha twice failing to turn up for gigs that Digweed had booked him for in Hastings. In partnership with Sasha, Digweed is known for promoting progressive house and notable for producing the first commercial compilation for a nightclub when they released the 1994 compilation of mixes from the nightclub Renaissance entitled Renaissance: The Mix Collection. Until then mixtapes from clubs had only been circulated by DJs on an amateur basis. The Renaissance CD was first time that a compilation CD had been planned strategically for marketing from the artwork to promotion. The two DJs famously followed this up with their Northern Exposure compilations and those on Global Underground. He then started the record label Bedrock Records to further promote the music he was playing at the time. In addition to starting the Bedrock imprint, he and friend Nick Muir produce under the Bedrock alias getting their big break when their first track 'For What You Dream Of' was used in the film Trainspotting. Digweed has enjoyed popularity throughout North America in addition to Europe. Digweed, as well as Sasha, established a monthly residency at the now defunct New York club Twilo, which proved a key location for the American electronic music scene. The residency began in 1996 with a lukewarm reception but grew into one of the most popular club nights in New York City by the end of its run in 2001. Sasha and Digweed DJ'd at Twilo on the last Friday of every month, playing sets that lasted between 8 and 12 hours. In early 2001, Sasha suffered an ear injury and was unable to play for their last 4 dates until Twilo was closed by the New York City authorities. Digweed continued to play the time slot by himself until 6 May 2001 when Twilo was raided by the NYPD and subsequently forced to close down. 2008 saw Digweed and Sasha reuniting for a Spring Club Tour that once again featured performances all over North America. In 2011, Digweed's music was featured in the film movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy.[not in citation given] In 2013 John ranks No. 17 best DJ in the world in the Resident Advisor top 100 DJ charts. In 2010, he was voted the number 29 DJ in DJ Mag's annual Top 100 vote. He has been featured in the top 10 from 1998–2008 and was voted number one DJ in 2001. In 2009, he started coming down the Top 100 Djs list drastically. He currently ranks No. 98, 43 spots below his last ranking of No. 55. See his set live in Dubai at Pacha in the Main room. Doors open 11pm. Tickets available at the door.  For info & bookings: 045670000 | reservations@pacha.ae