I recently read in these pages that progressive house had fallen from favour, a genre to be remembered with affection perhaps, but no-longer at the cutting edge. I can see the truth in that, although it hurts to admit it. The recent convergence of electronic music genres into something entirely new has split the institution of house music right down the middle to the old-guard and the new, one moving at the speed of light and the other too wise to over react to such a change. However, the influence of the new on the old is undeniable, if not subtle, and has brought about something that is beginning to mutate itself into an interesting sound in its own right. The diversity that was inherent in the early compilations such as Renaissance: The Mix Collection and Northern Exposure is starting to creep back into the genre and its sounding all the better for it.
What Structures does is reach past a specific genre like progressive house and encompass more; deep house, house, break-beat, techno, tech-house, ambient and blend them all in a slick, creative manner. Don’t expect something radically different, the change is subtler; the groove, a steady pace, a flow is still evident but open your mind to the change that Structures is starting to make.
CD1 opens with Luis Junior’s ambient Sometimes Mix of Colache seamlessly moulded into the deep house sounds of Alex Dolby & Santos and Wiretappeur. At this point your settling into a deep house groove. Caught unawares, the driving nature of the talented Vincenzo (remix of Mutant Clan's On & Amp) takes me by surprise and picks up the pace. The Maher Daniel remix of No Walls nods in the direction of house music from back in the day with its PM Dawn style vocal snippets and from there on in were locked back to the groove before Quivver’s awesome Boom Boom unexpectedly takes it to another level with its huge bassline and amazing organic synth sounds. This is where CD1 peaks and although there are still some very good tracks to come from King Unique and Christian Varela, Digweed has locked back into that groove, deep and electronic. Surprisingly, the last track Quivver’s In Your Boat finishes on a real high, a floaty summer vibe that is both welcomed and needed. There’s no doubt CD1 is a great mix technically, it's seamless and we would expect no less at this level. It’s been on heavy rotation for me but I’m still unsure about the overall flow and track selection. Although I can’t criticise the tracks themselves it feels like John is neither in nor out of the groove here, showing glimpses of what could be but not quite reaching that level.
CD2 is a different story. Nick Warren’s In Search of Silver has shades of Leftfield with its reggae influenced bassline, melody and vocal and is a superb track in its own right, certainly making an inspired opener here. Umbral Aguir takes on Guy J’s Esperanza for a Balearic vibed slice of cosmic atmosphere, Pete Heller takes it chunky house, Digweed and Muir’s remix of Jungle Laps features the fattest drum roll since the changing of the guard, the energy of Nic Fanciulli’s mix of Pushin Too Hard takes the roof off and so it goes on, track after track of goodness. Be warned that things get quite hard at the point of Marco Bailey and Tom Hades’ Rayavadee but spliced with the inspirational grooves of tracks like Luis Junior’s BG Beats it stays just about on the right side of being too much. Bringing it down to earth in the form of Sistema’s awesome breaks remix of Guy J’s Esperanza and the ambient Satellite by Digweed and Muir we have a very competent mix that is both interesting and confident. CD2 successfully shows a charisma often lacking in deep electronic music and the fact it works as a mix, takes us on a journey, and still showcases the different sounds of the artists is testament to the skill of a DJ that has clearly thought these things through.
Another interesting aspect to the package is the inclusion of a short film by Pablo Casacuberta, a visually brilliant piece that does much to keep you interested throughout a short documentary that doesn’t adequately get deep enough under the skin of the man John Digweed to compliment the breadth and depth of a DJ and producer that has accomplished such a huge amount. I would thoroughly recommend you check it out even if it’s just for the visual and sound editing, the interesting Mise-en-scène and hints to how great this could have been with more thought to the actual content.
Structures is a glimpse into the mind of John Digweed, a personal account, a statement of where he is today. It has depth, it has been laboured over and because of that it works. There are moments of genius, but too many of caution. Like a man in transition John seems to be choosing between a deep house and techno groove and breaking out into some interesting moments of flamboyancy, yet cautious of crossing a threshold that would take him into a different territory altogether. If you can forget that, (and I'm pretty sure I can) you'll enjoy Structures, John’s best compilation in the genre since Northern Exposure 3. Vive la difference and let’s hope that John Digweed keeps heading in this more diverse direction.
CD 1 *New unreleased
1. Luis Junior - Colache - Sometimes Mix*
2. Alex Dolby & Santos - Babylon - John Daly Remix*
3. Wiretappeur - My Real Name Is*
4. Mutant Clan – On and Amp – Vincenzo Remix*
5. Alex Dolby & Santos - No Walls - Maher Daniel Remix*
6. Dirty Mongrel - Cream - Wiretappeur Remix*
7. King Roc & Dimitri Nakov – Alameda Jau Dub*
8. Cristian Verela – Colmedream
9. 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 *New unreleased
1. Nick Warren - In Search Of Silver - Structures Edit*
2. Guy J – Esperanza – Umbral Aguir Remix*
3. Marc Marzenit – Unexpiritualized – Pete Heller Remix*
4. John Digweed & Nick Muir - Meteor – Beats*
5. Ian O`Donovan - Aurora Borealis
6. Marco Bailey - Jungle Laps - John Digweed & Nick Muir Remix*
7. Marc Marzenit – Neo Galaxy*
8. Saints and Sinners – Pushin’ Too Hard - Nic Fanciulli Remix
9. 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*
+ BONUS DVD featuring John Digweed live at Masquerade at WMC 2010