It’s fair to say that, in 2009, every single jettisoned from the fertile loins of John Digweed’s Bedrock imprint has been an absolute monster, displaying a unique knack of mating subtle electronic innovation with deadly floor-destroying strike manouvres. Capping a great year for a great label, they’ve unleashed a three-CD set of upcoming corkers, unreleased material, big tunes of the moment and reupholstered classics, all woven together by Mr Digweed like a huge, throbbing exotic carpet of ankle-snapping intensity. A reminder of some of the names on show reveals Pete Heller [but an unreleased Acid Dub of his mighty ‘Sabotage’], Smith & Selway, Mutant Clan, Alex Dolby & Santos, Marco Bailey, Alan Fitzpatrick, Guy Gerber [‘Stoppage Time’!] and Digweed himself unplugging the cosmic rooster’s butt-plug on gems he’s constructed with Nick Muir like ‘Aquatonic’ and ‘Tangent’, lessons themselves on how to ignore house-techno divides and simply use electronic developments to fire up the crowd like a pressure cooker. Taken all in one go it’s a monolithic experience which will stand in the future as the ultimate embodiment of the healthy side of British dance music in 2009.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs