This is a continuous in-the-mix CD compiled and mixed by John Digweed.
BEDROCK follows from the success of Digweed's very successful night of the same name at London's Heaven. The compilation is something of a departure for Digweed, and its dark, funky blend of deep house and trance shows the DJ distancing himself from the more commercial and formulaic trance popularized by acts such as ATB and DJ Jean, who scored huge chart success in 1999. Here, Digweed creates a much grittier, underground sound that will surprise fans of his earlier RENAISSANCE and NORTHERN EXPOSURE mixes.
The tone is set perfectly by the first track, Raff 'n' Freddy's "Listen," whose haunting vocal and emotive wash of strings sneaks up on you before you are drawn into an increasingly mesmerizing swirl of darkly pulsating basslines. Occasional spoken and whispered sinister vocals and even hints of disco emphasize Digweed's new manifesto for future funk. The second CD returns to somewhat more familiar trance territory with Sandra Collins' "Flutterby" and Slacker's "Flying." The album ends with the sublime "Heaven Scent" (another reference to the club night), produced by Digweed and his recording partner Nick Muir--the track's soaring synthesizer arpeggios close the album in inspiring style.
