You can’t fault John Digweed for ambition where his Bedrock releases are concerned, but ‘Live In London’ is by some way his most daring project yet, a 4 CD document of the set he gave in Vauxhall’s ‘Fire’ club on 6th October 2012. With that in mind it’s best to review the whole set as one evolving album – and Digweed does the typical thing for him by starting spacey and gradually toughening up. That’s not to say he’s too predictable, though – far from it, as the cut out to acappella in Maher Daniel and Nikko GIbler’s ‘I’ll Wait For You’ is really moving, while the shifts in chords of Stelios Vassiloudis’ ‘Coma’ and the booming vocals on Blamma! Blamma!’s ‘Obsidian / Oblivion have a similar effect. The pace gradually picks up, so by the time CD4 kicks in there is some serious rug being cut on the dancefloor. It pays, too, to have the crowd noise in check – it’s all authentic – as well as Digweed’s notes on the gig, which obviously had a big effect on him. It’s as good a release as Digweed’s ever made on Bedrock, and something of a masterclass in planning and executing a four hour set. If you’re a fan then Christmas has come early!
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
