Considering his decorated career masterminding gigs featuring such dance maestros as Carl Cox, Grooverider, Orbital and a fledgling Prodigy, it's more than a little baffling that John Digweed never really learned how to shake his money maker.|

"Um, I've got two left feet," confesses the cutting-edge DJ, calling from a Bay Area dance club. "I'm the worst dancer in the history of the world. I kind of missed out on the dancing stage. I was always the DJ or helping with the lights or the sound or this, that and the other. I'm always behind the scenes. Not in front of the decks, behind the decks."

While his dancing may not be up to speed, Digweed more than makes up for it by mixing blistering beats a pulse ahead of the world's club scene. Whether it's at a gig like his two-year residency (with sometime DJ partner Sasha) at New York superclub Twilo, or on records like last fall's Global Underground 001 Sydney or his latest joint venture with Sasha, Northern Exposure, Vol. 3, Digweed weaves together an impassioned mix of stomping trance, progressive house and breakbeat tunes into journeys across landscapes littered with pixie dust and sweat. His reputation for guiding people into unexplored territory is what keeps him a leading figure on the scene.

"The way I've always DJ'd is I don't worry about what other people are doing," says Digweed. "If you take your eye off the ball, you can loose the sense of what you're doing it for.

"People expect to hear a lot of new, up-front music when I DJ," he continues. "So I think with the CDs that are being released now, the DJ compilations, it's kind of made the whole dance music scene very global because other people can hear this music all over the world now. Even though I might not be playing the stuff that's on my album that they've heard, they'll know the kind of style, the way I mix records."

Sasha, a pioneering DJ in his own right, offers a more than healthy dose of praise for Digweed's abilities. The two formed a DJ partnership five years ago that has seen them go on to Wayne and Garth style "we're not worthy" adulation via their legendary twelve-hour Twilo sets -- sets that continue on to this day because of an almost unspoken musical chemistry and compatibility.

"John to me is like the best DJ I've ever heard really," says Sasha. "He's constantly inspiring me and I can't see that relationship ending for a long time."

Digweed's prominent reputation for being able to piece together sounds in a seamless, enduring mix of adrenaline-fueled bliss may keep him in prime demand. But global club-world domination doesn't come without its costs. His busy schedule has managed to keep him from his new digs in the Big Beat capital of Brighton, England, for most of the year. "I think I've been in England about two and a half weeks this year and I've been out of the country the rest of the time," he says.

After finishing up his current small U.S. tour this week, Digweed probably still won't see much of home. With regular promotion and performance duties at his London club night, Bedrock (www.bedrock.org), a production stint with Nick Muir (also called Bedrock; check out their single, "For What You Dream Of," on the Trainspotting soundtrack) and a possible return to the States mid-summer, he's got plenty to keep himself busy. But if he does manage to find a few days off, the very nature of his profession keeps him somewhat anonymous.

"The thing about DJing is I don't get people going through my litter bin and I don't get hassled in supermarkets and I can walk down the street," he says. "I mean, when I play gigs I sign a lot of autographs and there's a lot of fans that come to see me, so you are a bit of a star, but my feet are on the ground. I don't walk into a club thinking I own it. I'm just part of something that's really exciting. When you're controlling the music and the reaction and the buzz, that's what makes it all worthwhile for me. You know that's what it's all about -- giving the people a good time."

JOLIE LASH(April 30, 1999)