I spoke with John briefly amidst the frenzy of his North American Club Tour with Sasha; it was like watching a volcano aroused from dormancy. His enthusiasm, coupled with genuine giddiness, for this album flowed from his words like fresh magma. I had heard the album a few times by this point, and so could thus share his enthusiasm – but putting the fourth Transitions journey into words is an exercise in frustration. John spoke of the album earlier in the year, saying “Really happy with this one. I have spent lots of time on it with loads of edits and layering of tracks.” `Lots of time’ may perhaps be one of 2008’s more notable understatements, but judge for yourself!
John Digweed first displays layering techniques in the fusion between “From Empty Lands” and “Geko.” When combined, these tracks churn and mix to create impressively deep and rich strides with unfamiliar tribal momentum. As melody slowly trickles in, the delicacy of the groove recalls Hernan Cattaneo’s Sequential Vol. 2. Like Cattaneo’s brilliant edits and mixing on his last disc, Digweed shows similar attention to craft and detail. Clearly this is a thinking man’s mix, a distant echo from the sandblasting techno John has been rocking the clubs with – from the Winter Music Conference to his North American Club Tour – and apparently, this is the target mark. To quote the man himself, “I’ve used modern production techniques to create an album that’s unlike anything you’ll ever hear me do in a club.”
Despite being the delicately balanced electronic house of cards it is, Transitions 4 – as do John’s other installments – graciously dodges the bullet that is ‘glitchy’ minimal-tech. The trick, as time has shown, is to embrace the medium of a particular type of bass and percussion acting like a musical undertow. The melody, rhythm and all else is ensnared and reshaped by such exotic forces. “Wear Your Scars Like Medals”/”Suspicious Blue”/”Shack 54 (Jet Project Remix)” and “Pitch It (Claude VonStroke Remix)”/”Keep Her Space (Smith & Selway’s Control Mix” embody the raw force of a driven undertow and lend Transitions 4 a powerful presence amongst its contemporaries. Celebrated tracks like the Ink & Needle Remix of Jerome Sydenham & Tiger Stripes’ “Elevate” in concert with Guy J’s “Under Pressure” cement some familiarities into the foundation of John’s latest laboratory creation, which tops off with an absolutely fantastic selection: Mixing both the Original and Gone Wild versions of “Piknic Bugz” into a twelve and a half minute epic bomb, Digweed closes Transitions 4 with unrequited supremacy. “Piknic Bugz” has been no stranger to John’s club roster in 2008, but this layered version is one of the best tracks to be included on any Transitions release.
A well-played game of chess, the latest `Transitions’ release extends John’s winning streak to four. Although he never ceases to amaze me in a club, this disc strikes the chord of opposition in regards to his live performances. Ideally, any great DJ should be able to play both sides of the field with ease; in John Digweed, we find exactly this type of charisma. Infusing the Midas touch on yet another ample collection of brilliant tracks, John extends the limits of a studio DJ’s production capabilities to the fourth dimension.
1. Julien Parise – A5B (Mirko Remix)
2. Henry Saiz – From Empty Lands
- Guy J – Geko
3. Jeff Bennett – In Spite
- Kabale und Liebe & Daniel Sanchez – Mumbling Yeah (Loco Dice Tribute Remix)
4. Nightguy – Pretty Face
- Henry Saiz – From Tangled Seas
- Myers Briggs – Forever
5. Sian – Wear Your Scars Like Medals
- Kim Runic – Suspicious Blue
- Two Lone Swordsmen – Shack 54 (Jet Project Remix)
6. Plasmik – Pitch It (Claude VonStroke Remix)
- Jamie Stevens – Keep Her Space (Smith & Selway’s Control Mix)
7. Jerome Sydenham & Tiger Stripes – Elevation (Ink & Needle Remix)
- Guy J – Under Pressure
8. Pascal Feos & Marc Mirror – Rezolution
- Spector – Mineral Drive (Jamie Stevens Remix)
- Jorg Burger – Superpicture
9. Pig & Dan – Dreams Of Bells
- Emmanuel – Parade (Original Mix)
10. Soliquid – Piknic Bugz (Original Mix)
- Soliquid – Piknic Bugz (Gone Wild Mix)