Customer Reviews

Transitions 4

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Masterpiece. Pure and simple.

As a typical Digweed set, this starts off already deeper than most would have it, and obviously finishes off where nobody could ever think about going to. What I believe has Digweed standing from his brotherhood is his "introverted" quality, more a thinker, a "meta-DJ" if you want. Some may find this set to be boring since it is after all not based on a "housy", "clubby", Miami sing along vibration. Each piece flows to elaborate an intricate homogeneous ensemble in tone and rhythm. Some small element of tribal introduces the set ("From/lands"), beats which get a bit tougher and are sustaining a more electro type of vibe ("In spite", some elements of which I would compare to early Sasha's, mysterious...).
"Pretty face" then plunges you deep into typical Digweed-land: strong dubbed like beat, singles step, and lighter, tingling percussions with a hint of background wave, dark style...this is before you are hit again with strong tribal and electro elements, the latter taking over as we go, two step ("Wear/medals", "Pitch it")."Elevation" goes back to softer tracks identifiable by their rounded bass, when "Rezolution" again brings back a more tech house feel sturdy and danceable.
The last two pieces are absolutely outstanding in their ability to have you take off from the rest and bring you into a new territory: strong electro influence, but deep electro, menacing, dark ("Piknik bugz"'s offset repetitive keys and spaceship tones).

This is remarkable for the fact that it never, ever, ever lets you down, has any soft spots, lame wanderings, or "accidents" which veer from the main path: it is very coherent and mastered. Well thought out and perfectly executed. Digweed's strength is his ability to surf with the changes in genres (,tech,tech-house, wave, trance, electro etc) but remain faithful to his "cerebral" and "intellectual" style which gains appeal as you listen to the pieces over time.

For fans of Digweed, this is a no brainer. For those who can't spell Digweed...I would in fact recommend this one because it is a beautiful proof that DJs can show us the way to "smart music".

If you're a fan of Digweed at all, I can't see how you can go wrong with this one. The mixing is gorgeous as new tracks continuously pass in and out of the mix highlighting the best elements of each. Also, this CD seems to have more focus on sparkling melodies (from artists like Guy J and Henry Saiz who are heavily featured) than Transitions 2 & 3, so fans of Heaven Scent will likely see this as a return to form. Personally, I love all of these CD's so much that I can't compare them. However, I really thought that the mixing on Transitions 3 could not be improved upon, but Digweed shows the way forward once again, and that's why he's known as a dj's dj. Oh, and in case you're worried its not going to be techy enough for you, it gets down and dirty too with brilliant highlights from Two Lone Swordsmen, Plasmik, Jerome Sydenham, and so many more!

After a scorching hot Renaissance: Transitions, Vol. 3, Digweed is back with another high adrenalin ride through tech house. This time, he layers several tracks into one, and blends 22 tracks into 10. You wouldn't really know it, as it's not your typical deep meshing of tracks as with DE9: Transitions, where the tracks are entirely chopped up, nor is it in the style where you distinctly hear each track, as with Boogybytes, Vol. 1. John seems to blend the elements of each into one cohesive track, leaving a distinct melody surrounded by minimal beats with a lot of tribal flavor, echoing Digweed mixes of old.

It's fast and exciting like 3, but with a deeper and slightly darker feel. I'm not ready to call it the best in the series, as 3 is just about as good as it gets, but this one is nearly right there with it, clearly making these last two the best in this now blazing hot series.

I found witht the first couple of listens this sounded much like Digweeds previous releases. But having listened to it a few times now , I find it does grow and build just like pretty much anything he does.If your looking for a double cd and heaps of tracks this is not it. If your looking for a quality mix which gets it in within an hour your in luck, this is quality Digweed and reminiscent of the sound track he did for Stark Raving Mad. A very good quality mix.

The 4th and final installment of Digweed's Transition series is undoubtedly the most memorable and hypnotizing of the bunch. That being said, each of the previous volumes have unique contributions to the collection justifying at least one mandatory go-around per disc.

As to part 4 specifically, the overall feel of the album is darker, harder and more aggressive than in preceding volumes and the track selection is just as impressive. Reminiscent of Digweeds' Los Angeles album. Beautifully-mixed tracks overlap each other like a hot knife through butter, sharp sirens and synth blips fly in from all directions. The most notable presence throughout is certainly a sustained hard-hitting rhythm that rare subsides, with perhaps only one "filler" on the album. As ubiquitously annointed the captain of progressive trance in the United States and United Kingdom, Digweed's selection continues to dictate what's hot in his world.

This is, above all else, an exotic mix. Perfect for cruising along the beaches in SoCal, Miami or perhaps on the way to Vegas.

I have heard Digweed live and I have purchased his commercial releases. I have always been impressed with his live sets and typically underwhelmed by the cds. This Transitions, however, is a change, quickly and easily capturing some of the incredible talent of the live sets, in the studio.

Transitions Vol. 4 is incredible mixing, with a decent selection of music that keeps you interested, and wanting more. It is so hard to describe dance music these days with its varying categories and subgroups (from House, to Techno, to Tech-House, progressive, trance, electro and the like). But this set is a little bit of it all, done masterfully. The tracks evolve and tell you Digweed was paying attention to every bit vs. some DJs that throw on a track, leave the room only to return to throw on another track. That's not being a DJ, that's being a jukebox.

Never boring and without being totally repetitive (a problem that plagues too many commercial releases), this cd dives right in with layers of powerful music, innovative and stylist mixing that keeps Digweed relevant in this genre. Techno without being tedious, at last. Tracks #4 and #9 are INCREDIBLE. It is humanly impossible to be not be moved and appreciate the detailed layering and intricate mixing that both tracks require. Those tracks, above any others, are a masterpiece.

There are a few weak spots, however. I will continually pan DJs that forget that alarm clock sounds are designed to be annoying to the ear and, therefore, should not be allowed in their mixes, but those instances are rare and mildly forgivable.

I consider this one of the best Transitions and look forward to hearing more like it.

This is a very good set. I didn't like Transitions 3, or about half of Digweeds commercial sets (preferring live sets) but this was a suprise. Great heavy drums in the middle and at the end.

Quick background: DJ for years, used to produce a few records played by Digweed, Sasha, and the like.

IMO, this is the best Transitions disk yet. It starts out with a solid beat and spooky echoes and seamlessly weaves through numerous tracks, keeping the beat pulsing while the melodies waft in and out. The Transitions series has been an interesting turn from Digweed, showing his commitment to play and expose deep forward thinking progressive house music. More so then the other series, this mix has hooked me and is one to listen to intently with good headphones!

It is also great to see a DJ whose mix album is not just another mix you could hear in a club. Taking advantage of the tools available to craft a fine journey of rhythmic sound and imagination. If you are a lover of fine sophisticated true progressive sound, give this one a listen!

Not only did does TRANSITIONS IV mark the end of the series of single-disc mixes that John Digweed had released every six months since 2006, but it also represents the farthest that the DJ has ever gone into computer mixing. Each track on this CD is in fact made up of three or four tunes going on at once. Yet those expecting gloriously multidimensional dance music in the vein of Sasha's FUNDACION NYC mix will be disappointed. While on one hand Digweed wants to push the technology forward, he's also stuck in a minimalist rut, where the overall soundworld isn't much more than what a teenager could get by playing around with audio software. I was optimistic at the start, as the first three tracks are lush and energetic, but less than halfway through the disc I lost interest.

Out of all the Transitions mixes, I think I like the third best for its rich variety within its groovy dance floor consistency. Unless you're a fan of the DJ and collecting every release, I can't recommend you pick this up.

This is a mixed bag -- the gems here are on the 2nd disc, because most of the remixes on the 1st disc are droney, boring, and don't add substantially to the originals' worth. For example, "Park It In The Shade (Audion Deep Steeple Mix)" is 12:20 min. long, but fails to really evolve aside from formulaic adding/removing elements in 8-bar sections. As background filler, it sort of works, but isn't compelling active listening. Overall, the remixes package is regressive, sad, and aimless -- the only one I'd speak up for is "Mongoose (The Fields Disco Mix)", because The Field has a rare gift to float hypnotic loops without being mind-numbingly boring. That's really rare in electronic music, and to give you a better idea where I'm coming from, I love it when producers can weave loops together with solo melodies, or introduce little bits and edits to spice things up (key example: James Holden's "A Break in the Clouds").

If you're new to Sasha's (and his collaborators) music, the 2nd disc is a fine dish, because the tighter edits are shorter (removing the long intros/outros meant for DJs to mix), punchier by virtue, and the melodies are in fine form. Progression abound! "Who Killed Sparky?" is a fine piece of melodic tech-prog-house-whatever-they-call-it-nowadays, peppered with glitchy edits that a fan of James Holden would love -- infact, it's reminiscent of Holden's ostinato-laden remix of Nathan Fake's "The Sky Was Pink".

The emFire melodies find their way into the "New Emissions Of Light & Sound Film Score", which is overall ambient/chill-out in mood and features variations of some of the aforementioned at slower tempos. For example, the distinctive lines of "Coma" find their way shortly past 13 minutes in. Very nice to go to sleep or relax to. As a mix that goes over 40 min., there are some parallels to past mixes Sasha's done, like Involver (Involver 2 coming up!): long pads, cloppy mid-tempo beats, and swirling arpeggiations bind the groove. It's a seamless, rewarding listening, which makes me wonder why some of the individual themes weren't developed more and included as unmixed tracks instead of the uninspiring remixes.