Los Angeles

John Digweed | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 5, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Global Underground
• ASIN: B00005852U
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,303 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Apollo Vibes - Pole Folder And CP

2. Love In Traffic - Satoshi Tomie Ft Kelli Ali

3. Penetration - Madam

4. Your Lovin - Electric Tease

5. Riding - Teimoso Ft Shelly Preston

6. Music - Jamez Pres Tatoine

7. Paranoize - Bipath

8. Mine To Give - Photek

9. Groove Is In The Air - Tijuana

10. Musica - Dirty Harry

11. 1 800 Ming - Brothers Love Dubs

12. Sanctuary - Jimmy Van M At Sanctuary

13. Strapped - White Room

14. My Release - Medway

15. Adyssa - DJ Gogo

16. Inner Laugh - Roland Klinkenberg

17. The Fall - Way Out West

18. One Last Time - Quivver

19. Genesis - Cass

20. Carnival XIII - Breeder

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Last year, the dark house and relentless pace of John Digweed's Hong Kong Global Underground mix was a shock to even electronic music's surreal, cannibalistic consciousness. Digweed has never been a glow-stick-waving Goa hippie by any means, but Hong Kong was a nuclear winter of subterranean rhythms, bouncing off the moldy walls and testing once again techno's shaky, constantly evolving genre definitions. It had suddenly become crystal clear that Detroit-style industrialism has finally and completely mind-melded with trance. So it's not surprising, then, that his latest, Los Angeles, continues along that same cold, brawny vein. Still, you might suspect a Digweed recording from the City of Angels would be a glitzier affair. But L.A. has always had a sinister edge, an almost apocalyptic feeling that the whole city could crumble at any minute under the weight of broken dreams and loveless ambitions. Digweed latches onto that vibe right off on the first disc, spinning "Love in Traffic" from noted producer-DJ Satoshi Tomiie. In Digweed's hands, the track grinds itself against your ears with a detached, dirty passion, indulging in a slowly burning build. From there, he taps ever deeper into the filthy heart of primal dance music, coalescing his mix around scrappy, metallic cross-rhythms, shadowy bass lines, and cruel, selfish beats. His work on the second disc is even sexier, as Digweed takes advantage of what's come before to flex his muscular ears and turn up the juice on what at this point must be a sweaty mess of makeup, silicone, and six-pack abs. It's almost vicious, the timing this man has in dropping down a needle on irresistible records like "The Fall" by Way Out West, but we must accept his glorious brutality, gather up the sad remnants of our self-respect, and make our way home in the soft morning light. Saturday night happens 52 times a year, after all. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

John Digweed's 3rd installment in the popular Global Underground series. Throughout the first set, Digweed focuses more on the house aesthetic, emphasizing Satoshi Tomiie's work; the second set, as expected, heads into more heady territory, as proven producers such as Breeder and Cass get emphasized, along with a number of Bedrock records. 2 CD's in a O-card.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patience and an Open Mind is Essential, March 26, 2001

By 

Nobbie Q (Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Los Angeles (Audio CD)

I'm a big fan of both Sasha and John Digweed, though i prefer Sasha more over Digweed, I still think they manage to use trance and house tunes very subtle enough to keep you hooked on to listening to them. The Ministry of Sound mixes features trance anthems and whatnot and those are good too, but I consider it pure art and skill if you can create an enjoyable mix by using beats to create strong moods an a mix, then just playing straight-forward trance hits.

Such is the case with both Digweed and Sasha..every mix they do has a certain mood over them, and mostly with these guys its usually really dark, but in a good and sinister kind of way. Now the reason why I prefer Sasha more is because of the outstanding mix he created on Global Underground #13: Ibiza, which is just different from anything you'll hear. But John Digweed is great too, it depends on tastes. I think he gets too progressive at times. For some reason i didn't enjoy his last venture into the Global Underground series with Hong Kong. The first disc was great but as a reviewer said, it featured a big payoff at the end, thanks too Cevin Fisher and Luzon's The Bagiuo Track. The second disc was just too..not interested.

Can we trust Digweed this time? Depends on how patient you are, because this Los Angeles set REALLY tests your patience and you have to listen to it with no expectations. Someone told me that it was better than Hong Kong, so when i listened to it the first time, I really hated it..i couldn't stand it. Yes, it was boring, etc. BUT i came back to it, and within a week i really started to enjoy it...there is no big climatic moment on the discs. All the songs are evened out and are as good as the track before it. And the mood here is the darkest and most sinister I've ever heard so far from Digweed..there's parts where there's sound effects that really take you over the edge. The tracks are very quiet, limited use of instruments, and slow yet brooding once you realize that the mix is really nice. "Love in Traffic" is really nice on the first disc as with the rest of the songs. I can't really say which disc is better, because they both sound great and evened out.

In closing i can understand people who say this album is garbage or a waste of money. But these are people who haven't really tried to give the album a chance. I gave Hong Kong maybe 2-3 weeks but i just couldn't like it. It usually takes about a month or so for a mix to work its magic on you. I'm in that stage right now, where i'm actually starting to enjoy it. This is well worth a purchase. Its no Ibiza (i'm starting again) but still.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, dark, delicious, March 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Los Angeles (Audio CD)

You will be disappointed if you expect the Diggers Sydney or Hong Kong GU sound. This is John Digweed at his deepest, darkest and most delicious. There are no hand-raising, glow-stick waiving breaks here. What you get is a long, well-thought out, dark decent into the subterranean world of dark, smoky progressive house -- the kind that gets under your skin, permeates your blood stream, and possessess your being in a steady, subtle, yet gripping way. Get ready for tribal beats. Get ready to go under...deep. Don't listen to it in the daytime. Wait until after midnight. Better yet, put your headphones on, close your eyes, open your mind, and let the master take you on a journey you've never taken before. This is the future of dark progressive house/trance and John Digweed is the prophet proclaiming it's gospel. For all of you who were disappointed because you didn't hear the same old Diggers, remember this: you will eat your words later on. This is a deep, dark, delicious masterpiece from the peerless master of dance. BUY IT!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master at work, April 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Los Angeles (Audio CD)

What to say? What to say? Let's start with the simple fact that this is NOT a redux of Diggers' Hong Kong or Sydney sets. With that in mind you have to marvel at a man who, literally, is one of the top 5 DJ's on the planet yet insists on tinkering with a formula that has worked so well on his past albums. Digweed belives in pioneering new music and pushing the borders of what he does to the utmost limits. I, like many of you out there, waited with bated breath for this album to be released but never felt let down as I didn't and hoped it wouldn't sound like his other stuff. Trance and Prog House, labels shchmabels, has been constantly plagued by sameness...a boring tendency to play "big" tunes for the mere fact that they are more comercially viable. Digweed is an anomoly though, as he is one of the few superstars of DJ music that can simultaneously sell records and accel at "showing" the listener how much more can be expected from the genre. Most B-rate DJ's can string together a bunch of tunes, make it sound like a chop shop and sell records...yet very few can make listening to the music seem like a true journey due to their technical proficiency. The album unfolds and unfurls at its own hypnotic rate, letting the music and beats breath and gain life. I suppose the anticipation for some is that each subsequent release by DJ's like JOhn Digweed will sound the same/similar to their old(er) stuff but I guess I'm just one of those people who delights in listening to a master forge new musical territory. Buy it without expectations and be blown away! Also recommended is the new-ish Bedrock Foundations album and Sander Kleinenberg's NuBreed 4.