Global Underground 014: John Digweed in Hong Kong

by

John Digweed

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Because it came right after Seaman's Buenos Aires and Sasha's Ibiza, I expected this to be a very trancy GU set...Boy was I wrong. John Digweed obliterates the GU formula with a progressive house mix that has become MY FAVORITE CD in my collection. I have always liked trance over house, although I like them both, but this is an incorporation of both.

Hong Kong has the seamless beat of Tenaglia and the breakdowns and buildups characteristic of his partner-in-crime, Sasha. However, I think that the reason some people are bored by this set is because the beats and breakdowns are very subtle when compared to DJ contemporaries. Underworld's mellow "Cups" is the perfect track selection for the opening of this GU. "The Baguio Track" and "Music Saved My Life" are now played out, but the manner in which Digweed mixes them is absolutely brilliant. CD1, in fact, is the best electronica mix I own to date.

CD2 does not have the track selection highlights that #1 does, but it is a more continuous mix in terms of beat and tone. This is one of those CD's that needs to be listened to all at once to fully appreciate it. Diggers weaves a dark, wicked beat into the funk grooves on this CD2, and you will wish that you were grooving at Twilo with him when this mix sucks you in. When I read the sleave notes on the back of a GU, they sometimes seem a little too overstated. But the "DEVIL'S TRANCE and ROBOT FUNK" are two perfect ways to describe Digweed's Hong Kong mix. However, if you are new to trance or even Global Underground, do not get this mix as your first. Trance and house, like opera, call for an acquired taste, and I can see how some electronica newcomers might be bored by this release. Check out GU: San Francisco, Athens, or Carl Cox before you appreciate the proficiency and ear candy of this gem.

But I would argue that the highlight of this mix is the mix itself. Electronica aficionados know that Diggers is neither pure trance nor house (Check out Bedrock). Rather, he has embraced progressive house, of which he is the master. This is the first of its kind in the GU series, but it will not be the last. Emerson's Uruguay and Seaman's Cape Town seem to parallel Hong Kong more so than earlier GU releases. Whereas Sasha's Ibiza set is the future of trance, Digweed's Hong Kong set is the future of progressive house. If you liked Tenaglia's Athens set or Carl Cox's mixes and you have a knack for trance, do yourself a favor and put this masterpiece in your shopping cart.

This may be hard to believe for some people, but Digweed's newest Los Angeles mix is better than this. Its slow throbbing mix is not made for the dance floor but rather for your headphones and it works perfectly.

This mix, although it has much more energy than Los Angeles suffers from a few things that really detracted from my experience. Digweed has this formula where he climaxes near the end of his mixes with a couple of songs on purpose. It worked on the second disc of Bedrock and also the second disc of Los Angeles as well. Trust me. The climaxes are very noticible. In Hong Kong, the climax stands out from the rest of the mix on the first disc and you end up listening to those songs only. Those songs are the Luzon, Cevin Fisher and the Jean Phillipe tracks which are too good when contrasted to the mix before it.

The second disc begins off really dark and wastes no time in getting to the point. But the second disc becomes boring with the boring muddy tracks, and the Evolution remix of Bedrock takes away the trancey middle part away. I know its sorta cheesy, but that part really makes it what it is!

I like how the first disc starts up with the Underworld track..really beautiful. The songs after are nice too, and retain the feeling of the first track..but as I said earlier, the climax is just too much and doesn't belong.

I don't know why Hong Kong really overshadows Digweed's mixes. Bedrock is alot better with its dark vocal house tracks and Los Angeles a really creative piece of work which is underrated for the sinister atmosphere it creates. I don't really recommend this disc though it is possible how some people might enjoy it.