Bad-fucking-ass:

Federico Epis' October 2011 Sensations show has some superb, 3am at Twilo moments around the one hour mark. Man, 30 minutes of nasty, dark, chugging house...

This is an interesting music video from Depeche Mode for their recently released Stargate remix of Personal Jesus. You can listen to the single on the Remixes 2: 81-11 album:

This is an absolutely amazing remix of Sasha's "Cut Me Down" by Federico Epis. Once you listen to it and you're blown away then go back and listen to Infusion's 2003 remix of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". Is there a possible influence there? Listen for yourself. Both are ridiculously moving and 100% invigorating.

N-tcbhl's July 2011 set on Frisky Radio is incredible. I also believe there's a remix of Polaroid's "So Damn Beautiful" in there near the end. Check it out, my rating is 9/10.

N-tchbl - Frisky Radio (July 2011)

I've been listening to a lot of Depeche Mode lately and found this video on YouTube of a dude playing "Never Let Me Down Again" on his keyboards. Very geeky but so fucking badass. He's got almost the entire track down except of Gahan's vocals. Brilliant.

John Digweed's new album "Structures Two" is out as of this past Monday. It includes 43 tracks in total where two of those tracks are continuous mixes. The first continuous mix is titled "Blissed Out Electronica" and is a blend of the tracks on the album and the second is a live set from Avalon in Los Angeles. The rest of the 41 tracks comprise "Structures Two" and the atmospheric direction Digweed has chosen for the second installment in the series. If you're coming back from a late night out and need to unwind or you're en route to work during the week and you need relaxing music this album is for you. The album is artisically strong as it focuses on the elements in the music rather than keeping the attention on the dancefloor. Check it out on iTunes.

I discovered this women's set on Frisky Radio and it's incredibly good music. If you like the old school build up with tribal beats incessantly building to a mellifluous crescendo and all part of a nefarious journey, this set is for you:

N-tchbl - SUBLIMINAL on friskyRadio - 21. March 2011

Bio blurb from SoundCloud:

Marija Nikolic aka. N-tchbl, born in 1984. and raised in Serbia. Through all of her childhood science and music were the main spots of her world, nothing was that interesting and played more of a role in her life. A teacher in primary school spotted her ability to 'catch by ear' and quickly reproduce the solo parts of the songs played on the classes of music education she attended, and soon forced her to start learning piano, but it lasted no longer than a couple of months cuz of the financial inabilities caused by the '90s atmosphere of the country she lived in. But she continued practicing her playing skills on the musical education classes in school and at home on Yamaha keyboards, oftenly playing piano on school celebrations and ceremonials. Then she fell in love with a guitar, again, easily catching the solos and chords from the songs and playing it with no tabs seen, just with a little help of a 'catchy ear'. But the guitar has stayed there in the past being only a hoby and a great love, even nowadays.

Then at the end of 90's she discovered electronic music, thanks to her brother and first rave parties happening in her town at that time. Prodigy and Kraftwerk raised her to the whole new world of something that was not that classical like piano or guitar were at those times. It was a pure inovation in the world of music for her. In the times of revealing the differencies betwen genres, names like Deep Dish, Satoshi Tomiie, John Digweed, Sasha, Dave Seaman and Hernan Cattaneo brought the feeling that progressive house with a soft spots of trance inside was something that suits her the most of all of the music left in this world. Collecting artists and their pieces of that kind, trying to catch every second of it, going to parties to hear how 'big names' are doing it live' she fell in love with it like with nothing else before! Progressive house was something she wanted to live' and love.

In 2006th she decided to try herself out at the first ever party of hers in a small underground club called 'BauHaus' in her hometown. A couple of parties more of that kind followed in next couple of months and then she stopped, being burdened by university duties and striving to finish those ones first. In march 2007th she hitted Belgrade for the first time, playing 5hrs set in an underground Belgrade clubs Infinity and Biro which was a great expirience, seeing people reacting unexpectedly extatic to the music she played. Being listened then by a couple of capital DJs and getting compliments and pursuasions for going forward and climbing the stairs of being a DJ, she gained confidence and continued doing it.

In 2008th she became a part of the "iFACE Agency" crew, together with her friends and collegues DJ Alexandar, Marko Nikolic, Ascaloon, John Deere, Danny Way etc. Played in all of the Serbian capital cities and also internationally in venues like Escape (Bulgaria), Cacao Beach (Bulgaria), Energija, Mamolo, Namaste, Compressor, Soda, Cubo, with names like DJ Tarkan, DJ Alexandar, Keekos, Pete Thompson, John Deere, Life4Funk, Pleta, Danny Way, Straw, Ascaloon, Marko Nikolic etc. In july 2010. she won the "EMC - EXIT Music Conference 2010" competition as one of the chosen DJs by the audience public voting to attend the EMC on EXIT Festival (Serbia) together with fellow DJs and leaded by names like Josh Wink, Tim Exile, Moderat and many more.

Her music was broadcasted on almost all of the worldwide popular radiostations, amongst other less known FriskyRadio, KissFM, PureFM, Proton, 16bit Moscow, Tribalmixes.org, Danceradio.gr, Eilo.org, EnSonic Radio, Insomniafm.com being a guest of many wellknown DJs in this area. In August 2009th she started her second monthly exclusive project called "DEVOTION" on Pure.FM, running also as a monthly podcast of the underground portal Beattunes.com. This has brought her the opportunity to present the whole new side of deep and dark progressive sounds, the female way, progressive sounds that made her fall in love with them back in the previous decade and let that sound never be forgotten

Visit www.n-tchbl.com for being up to date with all of the info.

My video footage of Digweed @ Ruby Skye last Friday. Enjoy.

In 4 days, on March 30, 2011, it will have been a decade since Digweed's epic solo set for the 4 year anniversary of Sasha and Digweed at Twilo. I was there that night and Digweed was too and he's reminiscing by putting his Kiss 100 set from the night back up for listening on SoundCloud:

John Digweed - Live at 4 Year Sasha and Digweed Anniversary Party

And check out what he says about Twilo:

Twilo - It`s almost 10 years since I played my last set in the best club in the world. I’ve got so many good memories from that period. I played there every month for four and half years, and anybody who ever went to any one of those Twilo nights will remember it. Every single one was special, memorable.
It was more intense than crazy, every month just seemed to get better and longer. I think the music that was around at Twilo suited that sound system and era, and now we are in a different era."

America and clubland lost something very special when Twilo closed.
Lost but never forgotten

Here is a recording of one of the last sets there from me enjoy

John

In case you weren't there, here's my decade old review of the night...

John Digweed & Jimmy Van M @ Twilo [March 30] [New York, NY]

Early in our childhood we all learned that the science of mathematics contains all kinds of numbers. There are the rational numbers, the integers, the whole numbers, the irrational numbers, the prime numbers and even the real numbers. And the ability to distinguish between all of these numbers is fully dependent on learning quite a few mathematical definitions. For instance, where does the number 3 belong? For starters, it's an integer. It's also a real number and a whole number. Oh yeah, it's a rational number and it's a prime number because it's only factors are 1 and 3. Are you confused yet? Well, it is exactly this confusion that makes folks stray away from mathematics. There are so many definitions and so many rules that it makes it hard to get a grasp on exactly what is going on. But, in all of this confusion, there is one set of numbers that folks don't confuse. That set is the constants. Constants are great because their value never changes and once you have memorized them you can recall them forever. Thus, almost everyone knows that the constant Pi can be approximated to 3.14. This was value of Pi one thousand years ago and this was the value of Pi yesterday. That's the beauty of constants. So, in all my experiences of going to Twilo, there has only been one constant. His name is John Digweed.

Each and every time I've gone to hear Mr. Digweed spin, his performances have been purely brilliant. On any given night it's possible that he might play deeper, trancier, longer, and even harder. There's also a chance that his mood could be jovial or a chance that it's just the opposite and quite gloomy. But, regardless of the music style or his general mood, the performance is always brilliant. That's the constant value of John Digweed and last Friday there was no deviation.

We arrived to 530 W 27th a little past 0100 and there was absolutely no line. I really could not believe my eyes. Even though the Sasha and Digweed 4 Year Anniversary had been postponed due to Sasha's medical condition, I thought for sure that the queue would be somewhat long. But, to my surprise, there was no line. Thus, we were all able to get in quite quickly, check our coats and head to the bathrooms. There was word that decks, mixers and speakers had been placed in the bathrooms along with a DJ and this was exactly the case. Indeed, there was a caged DJ spinning some ambient tracks in the men's bathroom while I did my duty. This is another reason why Twilo never ceases to amaze me. Soon after that, I headed to check out the little party that Twiloboss was throwing in order to meet some fellow Twiloites and grab a few drinks. Like the Twiloboss party in February for Carl Cox and Danny Tenaglia, this one was a success. I met a load of folks from the message boards as well as the boss himself. Thank you Twilo and thank you Twiloboss. Now, let's get to the music.

I am not sure how long Sean Cusick spun or if he was even on the decks but when we arrived, Jimmy Van M was already on the decks and he had the place really rocking. I had not heard Jimmy Van M spin since last year. At that time he was the opener for Sasha and Digweed and he was very good back then. But, on Friday, I realized that he had gotten much better. The crowd was already going crazy and the lights were going ballistic. Twilo wasn't warm, it was hot.

Finally, Digweed hit the decks sometime around 0230. From then until about 0400 he grooved some housier tracks and kept the momentum building. And then, the oddest thing happened. Twilo was no longer hot, it was on fire; and yes I mean the literal definition. It was a pretty insignificant fire but as soon as smoke started to permeate, Twilo management informed each and every attendee that the building had to be evacuated. So, in the early hours of a cold March 31 morning, Twilo street was suddenly filled with hoards of sweaty clubgoers as the fire department came and inspected the building. It was not at all convenient but this is not to say we didn't have fun. Soon after the evacuation, an uproarious cheer could be heard from the parking garage across from Twilo. Some folks had decided to leave in their car and were playing disk 1 of Digweed's GU019 Los Angeles. As soon as the first beats of Pole Folder & CP's "Apollo Vibes" were heard, the masses encroached upon the car and surrounded it. Digweed wasn't spinning inside Twilo but everyone was still listening to him through the speakers of a Volkswagen Jetta. It was definitely a beautiful sight.

After almost an hour, we were allowed to reenter the establishment. I would love to say that Digweed lit the place on fire with this repeated pounding sets but I am not sure what caused the fire. Regardless, we were back in the warmth of Twilo and Mr. Digweed himself was on the microphone. He thanked everyone for attending the last four years and gave his sentiments about Sasha not being able to attend. Then, the lights dimmed and we were back in business.

The first track following the evacuation was unbelievable and from there until when he ended at 1100, Digweed laid down a set that I will always remember. I am not sure if he was purely reminiscent or simply prepared his record boxes for the fourth anniversary but there were a lot of familiar, yet punishing tracks. If I am not mistaken, some of ones I heard were Way Out West's "The Fall" (Bedrock Mix), Fat Boy Slim's "Star 69" (X-Press 2 Mix), New Order's "Blue Monday" (Hardfloor Mix), Underworld's "Cowgirl" (Bedrock Mix), Jimmy Van M's "Sanctuary", Teimoso featuring Shelly Preston's "Riding", a mix of KC Flight versus Funky Junction's "Voices", Pete Heller presents Stylus Trouble's "Sputnik", Leftfield's "Not Forgotten", Luzon's "The Baguio Track" (Bedrock Mix), an interesting, yet moving Hybrid mix of Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place" and finally a mix of Kosheen's "Hide U".

But, there was one track I didn't recognize that really hit me hard. It was a track that had a man reciting the words to Psalm 23. It was the first time I've heard anyone spin the track and the reason that it connected with me is that back in January I wrote a review of his performance at Twilo and made the analogy of Digweed's set being like the story of Psalm 23 where one walks through the valley of darkness to reach the ethereal light. Whether or not it was a coincidence I will never know but that was definitely an interesting moment..

And so, another night at Twilo has passed and John Digweed has come and gone. But, this is not at all saddening because I can look forward to seeing him again in two weeks with Danny Tenaglia on April 14. I believe I can be fairly confident that his performance then will be like his performance last Friday and thus nothing less than pure brilliance.

John Digweed at Ruby Sky in San Francisco, Friday March 18, 2011:

If you're an iTunes Ping user check out my first Ping playlist:

iTunes Ping Playlist: ephobe (Dec 2010)

Tracklisting is below. The last track, "Ockeghem" (Original Mix) by Yamil Colucci, is an absolutely amazing piece of electroninic music.

1. Eelke Kleijn - "Arpeggiator Stories Continued"
2. JVC - "Maladjusted (The Pushers The Return of The Push Mix)

3. Christian Cambas - "Fireball" (Original Mix)

4. Marco Bailey & Tom Hades - "Bulldozer"

5. John Digweed & Nick Muir - "Bilder" (Club Mix)

6. Petar Dundov - "Distant Shores"

7. Yamil Colucci - "Ockeghem" (Original Mix)

If you are like me you like to listen to electronic music most of the time with the occasional diversion into other types of music. So, sometimes you need a good warm up set to the day for the drive to work or some downtempo house to entertain folks at home. Especially with some vocals. Ali Geramian has delivered his Winter 2010 mix over at Soundcloud and this set definitely prances beautifully from mellow, deep house to proper disco house without over amplifying your speakers or your head for that matter. Check it out...

Sasha has posted his set from the 2010 DJ Magazine awards here. Right click on the little arrow pointing downwards to download.

Nick Muir's special Bedrock 12 remix of "Heaven Scent" is now a free download on John Digweed's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/djjohndigweed?v=app_10442206389

You can also see the reaction of it being played out for the first time here (great to hear "Age of Love" as the 2nd to last track of the Bedrock 12 night):

John Digweed has a forthcoming album out in July on Bedrock called "Structures". He has put up a preview mix on Soundcloud today. Check out it out here. Nine of the fourteen tracks are unreleased including Quivver back with a track titled "In Your Boat". Have a listen...

Elizabeth Fraser - "Underwater" (Charlie May Remix)

The Charlie May remix of Elizabeths Fraser's "Underwater" still remains, after almost ten years, an extremely sought after track. According to known sources, Elizabeth herself didn't like the remix so it was never released for public consumption. Thus, only the elite, in-crowd were touting the track in their bags, including Nick Warren, Parks & Wilson and John Digweed. Digweed actually ended his Twilo sets in early 2001 with the track on several occasions. It's an absolutely beautiful dance record that has yet to see the light of day. The only remnants are of a YouTube video I recently discovered. I imagine a few are curious who the YouTube user avgofeta80 really is. I know I do.

Luis Junior - Colache (Film Translation Mix)

What sounds like it could be a definitive on James Holden's Border Community label, the Film Translation mix of Luis Junior's "Colache" is a superbly orchestrated demonstration of thought provoking progressive house on none other than Bedrock Records. Without a touch of monotony, the music is mesmerizing melancholy at its best and yet at the same time incredibly uplifting at moments. The remix is aptly named as you could certainly imagine it being the backdrop to a pensive drama scene in a Hollywood film. Well done Luis Junior.

Grafiti - "Spooky Trains" (Nick Warren's Back of the Bog Dub)

This track starts out quite innocuous with a mellow house rhythm but then gains momentum and turns quickly into a never-ending landscape of sounds juxtaposing each other. This recent remix offering from Nick Warren is for sure one of his better contributions of late.

As usual, John Digweed again did his New Year's Eve gig in Los Angeles. I didn't go and I'm glad I didn't because I'm too old for the masses of people that showed up to hear the entire line up at Together as One, including David Guetta, Sander Kleinenberg, Dubfire and Digweed. It just doesn't seem worth it when you want to see only one of the performers and they only end up playing a couple of hours. In addition, I've already seen Digweed on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles: for 9 hours, on his own and in a club way back in 2003. Thus, there's very little chance I'll see Digweed again on New Year's Eve unless a commensurate event surfaces in the next few years.

However, a few weeks before the last day of the decade, I noticed that Digweed was going to be headlining a few shows after the Los Angeles event, including Seattle on New Year's Day and Ruby Skye in San Francisco on the 2nd. It was then time to dust of the Digweed shoes and plan for a night out.

Since moving to the Bay Area from Manhattan in 2005, I've now had a chance to catch Digweed on three occasions and this third visit was by far the icing on the cake. My friends and I arrived at Ruby Skye around 11pm, found our reserved table on the second floor and enjoyed the sounds of the veteran Kazell. Like Jimmy Van M of the Twilo days, Kazell is an experienced opener who always establishes an excellent foundation from which Digweed can not only build upon but move in any direction he may see fit. Kazell's set was a good one and wrapped up around midnight. On came Digweed to a multitude of roars, cheers and rants. The night had officially began.

It was surprising how many vocals Digweed played in the first hour or so but soon after, the music got aggressive and then stayed aggressive almost the entire night. From about 2am until 4am, the music wasn't melodic and it wasn't housey nor was it minimal. The music was just god damn mesmerizing and absolutely insane. From recent remixes of classics like Saints and Sinners "Pushing Too Hard", Tone Depth's "Rumblefish", Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place" to the newly minted "Come Home" by Yousef, Digweed played at an astonishing high level and the San Franciscan crowd was all the more happier to urge him upward. On two separate occasions my friends and I thought the night might've been winding down and Digweed might transition into more disjointed sounds but we were wrong both times as Digweed incessantly hammered us with big room drama in the form of absolutely annihilating progressive house. To say the least it was a phenomenal night of music and one I was glad I got up for as my days of clubbing are indeed waning. I'm now convinced though that my limited nights out have to be worth it and the only way I can somewhat guarantee myself an excellent night out is to catch Digweed when he's in San Francisco. Uncompromising music leads to uncompromising nights out so I'll definitely be looking forward to Digweed's return to the west coast.