Customer Reviews

Los Angeles

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Bubbly trance-cheese fans beware, Digweed does not spin music for the masses! Digweed has made it clear he prefers to target the core electronica fans, which is why he threw his LA October and February parties on weekdays as opposed to the weekend. Like Sydney and Hong Kong in their day, this LA GU sound is revolutionary and one of the best GU releases to date. "I'm never standing still, I'm alway championing what I see as the next big thing," says Digweed.

CD1 is so dark, brooding, and sexy. Give it several listens before judgment; the more you listen, the more you'll appreciate it. Every song is a stand-out (although Madam - Penetration is a bit of a lull IMO), and the programming, mixing, and build is truly inspired. As good as it is, it's no substitute for seeing the man live. Digweed seems to have trouble transfering the energy of the deep dark sound of his live performances to CD compilation. I was in LA for his shows and I'll never forget that energy and vibe. I couldn't have stopped dancing even once for the entire 5+ hours if I had wanted! Digweed is the master of mind control. But CD1 may come off as a bit mellow to those that haven't had this experience.

CD2, his peak-time/progressive disk, will take even more listens to fully appreciate. At first, I didn't entirely get it. The track selection was superb, but the programmming and direction lost me towards the end (quivver, cass, and breeder tracks), then found me again with the last two tracks. With more listens, however, everything came together. It hasn't left my discman since. Again, there are too many great tracks to mention all. But his lucious Bedrock mix of Way Out West's "The Fall", exclusive to this album, is the standout of the disc.

I just wanted to put my input into the mix here and say that Digweed is one of the best DJ's out there in the business day (Yes, for the elitists techno freaks out there, DJing is now a business, contrary to popular belief)! I finally purchased Los Angeles and I have to say that CD 1 is very dark, moody, and at times really scary! I have heard tons of dark house, but this takes brings it to another level. I would agree, Hong Kong started this dark trek, but I don't think it will end with Los Angeles..........

CD 2 on the other hand is ok, but I prefer the minimal, dark, house beats on the first CD. Don't get me wrong, I love trance (I have been in the trance scene since its creation in the early 90's), but this new direction of trance, clashing with NU-Energy/NU-NRG is digusting. I will take progressive house/trance any day! CD two delves into the somewhat boring category.

So, in conclusion, my advice, I think it is work buying this CD. Just don't expect to hear Sydney, Nothern Exposure, Hong Kong, or Bedrock. This is the new direction of John Digweed: Dark waves, hot dancing, and mind "trippes"!

I do not remember the exact words on Nick Warren's "Amsterdam" booklet but it went something like this: "Everybody was trying to make the biggest record of all". On this, Nick was referring to the fact that trance was getting bigger and bigger, faster and faster and no vibe like before...

It seems that Mr. Digweed read this words and applied them to his newest release: Los Angeles.

There is no glowstick-rave-put-your-hands-in-the-air music here; the sound comes from subsonic waves that, without your knowledge, make your body move in synch with the (!) melodies.

This disc doesn't have the kinetic energy Sydney's disc two had or the mayhem found at the end of both discs of Honk Kong... no! This new JD mix is slow-tempoed, accurate and deliciously rythmical... it is better enjoyed with your lights out, in your bed, whenever you can concentrate and REALLY listen to the sound coming out of the speakers.

Regulars Cass, Quiver and Breeder make their appearances with fine tracks but, in my opinion, this two discs only have TWO songs... one for each CD.

So be warned: sit down, be ready to spend two 1/2 hours of your life in a great sonic experience... you will not be disappointed.

When i first popped this CD in my speaker system and heard that first sound from "Apollo Vibes" i knew i was in for a journey.

These CDs glide through some of the best song selection for a set i have ever seen. The mixing of this album teases me so much i get the chills with what he has done on this CD. With most progressive albums they build up and keep the last couple mixes for huge club tracks. Digweed's mixing and track choice just builds and builds almost in a straight line. I just love how he raises energy levels almost like im floating to heaven without coming back down.

For those of you who know Digweeds style this CD perfectly displays his distictive mixing with the previous GU deposits of Hong Kong and Sydney. This CD however is MUCH DARKER than any Global Underground ive heard so far.

I suggest waiting for a couple hours of free time and listen to the CD's back to back on a rocking system. The basslines will kill you along with the 2-3minute mixing for most tracks.

Some parts of CD1 that stick out are the mix into "Groove Is in the Air", and when Digweed brings back "1-800-MING" after it has spun down.

CD2 highlights include the mix into the mid-CD breakdown of "The Fall", and tracks 9-11.

---> FOR FANS OF "DARK PROGRESSIVE"

No matter how much I've tried to see the similarity with Hong Kong and Sydney, or any other album, I find none. This is an ingenious masterpiece that is ahead of its time. Beat after beat, the tracks patiently and confidently build up a momentum that carries you through unexplored worlds. There are no climaxes here, but that's because it doesn't need any to keep you gripped. Unlike other CD's, you don't reach the end with a sigh of relief, but with a sense that you've just woken from a dream.

The serene introduction with Apollo Vibes gets off to a promising start, with its confident beats building beautifully into Love in Traffic, pounding the rhythm irresistibly all the way to the end, and hammering your soul into a hypnotic delight. Digweed builds an electric void into the world that the energy of Disc 2 comes to fill. It won't make you want to scream, but it will pin you to the wall.

Then comes Sanctuary. The opening of Disc 2 straps you up and prepares you for the journey with fiery sweeps that lead you to the hammering beats of Strapped. Echoes flow through space in a serious beat and a deep bass, sculpting a surreal landscape in the dark ambience of space. The cosmic sound effects, chilling sweeps and haunting voices come from all directions, adding laser colour and sparks to the relentless beat that grips your soul. Just listen to the surreal mix of Inner Laugh and the beaming energy of My Release, the album's greatest highlight. The Fall is mixed unlike anything I've ever heard, feeling as though someone is calling you from your subconscious mind through a dark game of the imagination. The charged build-up of One Last Time is succeeded by the echoes of Genesis, the hypnotic Carnival and ends with the seriously haunting ride through Energy.

The razor sharp mixing, the captivating track succession and the ethereal effects put you in a world that only John Digweed can build. This release is unlike anything I have ever heard and reveals the genius in the mind of its creator. If Northern Exposure is a trip through forests, cities, oceans and mountains, then Los Angeles is a dark adventure of the soul through the unexplored caverns of space, time and eternity.

I will preface by saying I own 3/4 of the GU series and have always found it top quality. I also own everything Digger puts out including the Northern Exposures, Communicate, the GU stuff. The first time I ever listened to the Hong Kong it was deep moody like a dark place in the club where you just didn't know what was going on there but you knew it was cool. After about four or five listens to it I really began to dig the set especially the first CD. However, I have been through the LA set four times and I am disappointed with the music selection. Mixing as always is flawless by the "Digger", but where as Sydney was a dance phenom and Hong Kong was a deep moody "WOW", the LA set has no soul. The set reminds me of the people tripping out at the side of the club that just kinda of sway back and forth to the music. That's all this set a bunch of swaying and background. Nothing calls out to you like "Music Saved my Life" on Hong Kong or "Air" on the first album. I applaud Digger for going out and trying new things God knows this is needed with the piggybacking that takes place, but this album just has no beat, no soul, and goes nowhere. This album is unfortunately the direct polar of cheese. Where cheese tries to just get you going on all the time with tunes, this album just like LA traffic sits there listless, doing nothing.

Hangtime

This Gu set is by far the most different of any of the Gu sets out, and I'm including all of them up to #26. I had this for a couple of years, and I really could not stand it. Every time i heard it there was nothing that stood out and it really doesn't have much of any tune involved through both discs. Now, when I moved to the UK, I had not much else to do for a couple of months but listen to my old cds. I have quite a few good techno mixes including most of the Gu series. I popped this one in the cd player in september, and as I had before, absolutely hated it. After listening to mixes for months I was getting bored. I realistened to this one and found myself amazed. I really have an ear now for techno and the progression that is involved. This album is very dark, never leading up to some climatic enterprise. Which fits it perfectly. All the way through disc one it is nasty dark house with the monotone rythm, but that doesn't mean it's not progressive or boring, it's far from that. All the songs are great and moody actually more like muddy then they lead up to "mine to give" which has a nasty dark bass. Then ends with great songs. Some of it is a bit repetive, and you may have to be in a bit of a dark mood to listen. Disc 2 is all the better.. Dark clunky beats all with dark twists as well as the first disc. Did i mention it was dark ? Not only do the tracks on this album flow all perfectly well together, but they are brilliantly put together. the mixing of the tracks together gives off a bit of a perfect live mixing affect. No mistakes there. In my oppinion, the is the best Gu out. I don't think it can be topped off. It's house that just moves through, and it's a great break from the other side of techno.. I wish that Digweed would put more stuff out like this here. If you do purchase this album, please give it time and listen to it through and through, it's one that grows on you and you may not like it at first listen.