Episode 112: Digging For Bedrock

In today’s episode, we spend some time digging into the progressive house and trance sounds of the 1990s and early 2000s. A close friend joins David as a guest co-host, and together, they explore the dark, tribal, melodic, and hypnotic rave sounds of “the Bedrock era”. Predictably, we spend much of the episode talking about Sasha and Digweed, though a few other names come up along the way (Nick Muir, Nick Warren, Sandra Collins, Quivver…)

First, we skim through the Bedrock album… that is, the 1999 DJ mix album titled Bedrock, mixed by John Digweed. From track one, you’re getting a serious lesson in progressive house. Raff ’N’ Freddy’s “Listen” has the uplifting diva vocals and shuffling beat of a house tune, but the dark and hypnotic features of early trance music. The whole mix is put together in such a beautifully cohesive way, that we present it here as one of the greatest examples of its kind.

Next, we have a look at Global Underground 013 (Ibiza) by Sasha. We play through the transition of Space Manoevres - Stage One (Pariah Remix) to Sander Kleinenberg - Sacred, and discuss just how beautiful it is. Things get fairly trancey in the mix… back when “trance” really meant something.

Finally, we explore Global Underground 019 (Los Angeles) by Digweed, which starts out with the classic Apollo Vibes by Pole Folder. This mix gets really down into the nitty gritty, where the influence of the rave is undeniable. This percussive, driving mix demands that your feet move without stopping. We also note how modern techno has really begun to work its way towards the sounds of dark tribal progressive house from yesteryear.

Overall, the conversation between David and his friend Tommy centers around the progressive dance music sounds from the start of the millenium. Other topics covered are: what makes a good transition, trance as an idea (rather than a genre), the joys of mixing vinyl vs. digital DJing, and the tag sets they used to play together in Dayton, 10 years ago.

Sit back, and come along for the journey.