[.ca] Los Angeles

From Amazon.co.uk:
The dark house and relentless pace of John Digweed's 1999 Hong Kong Global Underground mix was a shock to even electronic music's surreal, cannibalistic consciousness. Digweed has never been a glowstick-waving Goa-hippie by any means, but Hong Kong was a nuclear winter of subterranean rhythms, bouncing off the mouldy walls and testing once again techno's shaky, constantly evolving genre definitions. It had suddenly become crystal clear that Detroit-style industrialism has finally completely mind-melded with trance. So it's not surprising, then, that his latest, Los Angeles, continues along that same cold, brawny vein. You might suspect a Digweed recording from the City of Angles to be a glitzier affair, but L.A. has always had a sinister edge, that almost apocalyptic feeling that the whole city could crumble at any minute under the weight of broken dreams and loveless ambitions. Digweed latches onto that vibe right off on the first disc, spinning "Love In Traffic" from noted producer/DJ Satoshi Tomiie. In Digweed's hands, the track grinds itself against your ears with a detached, dirty passion, indulging in a slowly burning build. From there, he taps ever-deeper into the filthy heart of primal dance music, coalescing his mix around scrappy, metallic cross-rhythms, shadowy basslines and cruel, selfish beats. His work on the second disc is even sexier, as Digweed takes advantage of what's come before to flex his muscular ears, and turn up the juice on what was surely by now a sweaty mess of makeup, silicone and six-pack abs. It's almost vicious, the timing this man has in dropping down a needle on irresistible records like "The Fall" by Way Out West, but you have to accept his glorious brutality, gather up the sad remnants of your self-respect and make your way home in the soft morning light. Saturday night happens 52 times a year, after all. --Matthew Cooke

THIS IS DEEP HOUSE...:
Global Underground #19 is a razor sharp consumate mix of contemporary progressive house delivered with exacting prowess by the master himself: John Digweed. Digweed's dark, dubby, tripped out mix from LA's Mayan Theatre is deep space symphony light years ahead of it's time. Disc 1 is a subterranean staging area. From the cosmic strains of Pole Folder & CP's "Apollo Vibes", Rui Da Silva's simmering tech-house "Riding" and the Hydrogen Rocker's nuclear meltdown of "Musica", Digweed is merely priming the main gun which follows on Disc 2. Lexicon Avenue's tribal rework of Medway's "My Release" is a definite turning point of production for the boys from New Castle, followed closely by the dark, dubbed out deep trance of Quivver's interstellar masterpiece "One Last time." Breeder's final release, "Carnival XIII" jack hammers its way throug minimal, acid-etched effects and the mix culminates in DJ Remy's heady interpretation of Salt Tank's "The Energy." This is without a doubt the best "Progressive House" mix in my entire collection. Although nearly dated by 3 years, Digweed's best work thus far sounds as if it could have been delivered from the decks of the "Delta Heavy" boat party at the WMC just days ago...

LA does not deserve this!:
Well, most of the other reviews have pretty much covered how wonderfully sinister this mix is, so I'll let that be. All I wanted to add is that the city of Los Angeles absolutely does NOT deserve the likes of John Digweed representing their shallow, useless town in the form of a GU mix. I guess that's the only real flaw to this album, then, that it's a false representation of the city. Sure, I'm sure that whenever he's here it's just awesome, but otherwise, it's just sad.

Hooked to the 1st CD, didn't quite feel it with the 2nd:
After mesmerizing listeners with his dark rendition of house in GU14:Hong Kong, John Digweed takes another go, using the same dark progressive beats he is known for. The mixing on GU19 is A-1 Digweed style, as one would expect from the master himself. Unfortunately, a rather mediocre tracklist with some disappointing tunes detracts from the second cd, preventing me from giving the overall package a 5. The first cd starts off at a rather pedestrian pace with the first two tracks, slowly building up in tempo and rhythm as Digweed takes you deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole... As the jazzy vocals from Satoshi Tomiie's "Love in Traffic" give way to the more heavier beats of Madam's Penetration, you can immediately sense the oncoming vibrations that only increase as Digweed spins one progressive track after another. This is where he shines. Each transition is masterfully mixed, with each track flowing into the next with little indication as to where one ends and the next begins. Listen to the transition between tracks 10-11 to get an idea of what I'm talking about. The two tracks from Electric Tease and Teimoso have a very good groove, while those from Photek and Tijuana are downright dark and dirty. The second cd starts off at roughly the same pace where the first one left off. The first four tracks have good momentum. From that point forward, however, the tracks begin to lose their appeal and just seem to drag on, painfully. The melody to Ronald Klinkenberg's "Inner Laugh" just seems too off-base while Nick Warren's Way Out West production "The Fall" is just plain dull (not what I expected from Way Out West). Max Graham's track doesn't seem to fare well either, failing to pick up the beat until Aria "One" starts to take off. With the first cd, Digweed easily lives up to the standards expected of a top 5 dj. The 2nd cd however, just doesn't seem to sit well in my mind. Others may disagree; maybe they feel something I don't. I would still recommend this album simply for the first disc alone.

Go Spelunking With John Digweed as Your Guide:
If a fan of either the Global Underground city series or John Digweed (or both) was forced to chose a single GU album by John Digweed as their favorite, I predict that the majority would list GU13:Hong Kong. GU06:Sydney would be next with this album a distant last place. Global Underground 19:Los Angeles would be my pick, and by a wide margin. I liked the first discs of both his previous GU albums, but the second discs failed to leave an impression on me. Not so with this album. "Journey to Deep Space" may be a better title for this review since disc 1 launches off with "Apollo Vibes". However, Digweed's remaining track selections are much less spacey-sounding than his usual. This keeps the set (and the album overall) deeper, darker, and more sinister sounding that any commercial set I've heard mixed by Digweed before. I could have done without track 2, "Love in Traffic" and a couple of tracks are mediocre in the middle of the mix. Otherwise the set is very strong and ends brilliantly with "1-800-Ming" by Brothers Love Dubs. Disc 2 is very impressive from beginning to end. Finally, an album where the set featured on the second disc has Digweed staying focused on the journey or theme he started the listener on until the very end. Personally I prefer this type of set and track selection, versus ones that try to cram in as many beats per minute (ie. like what happens on both disc 2's of his Sydney and Hong Kong albums). The album cover and city location are deceiving in terms of electronica style that is featured. An east coast city in twilight would better reflect the great sets featured inside. Disc 1 gets 4/5 stars and disc 2, 4.5/5 stars.

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