If you’re a Los Angeles dance music aficionado, you know that John Digweed at the Mayan is about as close as you can get to an institutional event. Since the good folks at Liquified brought the iconic DJ into the equally iconic downtown venue over a decade ago, Digweed’s midweek all-nighter has consistently brought out LA’s best dance crowds, and the music is always top notch.

So let’s get you in, shall we?

Diggers was nice enough to kick us down with an interview (read it after the jump) and two tickets to his show at the Mayan on Wednesday, August 3rd. All you have to do is find ChinaShop on Facebook, Like us, then comment underneath the Digweed post about why you and your friend should be the ones going into work late on Thursday with a fuzzy head. Have your comment up by Monday, August 1 at midnight PST because we’ll be choosing the winner on Tuesday. It’s that easy.

You’ve always had a great relationship with Los Angeles, the Mayan especially. Why is that always a special gig?

John Digweed: Anyone that comes out on a Wednesday or a Thursday night, not on a normal weekend night, they’re there specifically for that gig. They haven’t just stumbled across a club on aweekend when they’ve been out with friends. It’s like, “Right, I wanna go and see this person play because I enjoy what he does and this is the only time I’m gonna get to hear him for X amount of time.” Yes it’s gonna be hard going into work on Thursday morning, but it’s gonna be worth it. I think what’s been special about those Mayan nights is that they’ve always attracted people that want to come out and party old school, which is they don’t care what day of the week it is. They don’t care if they’re late for work or got a bit of a fuzzy head the next day. They want to go out and have a good time.

It’s funny, I always see the same faces at the front of the line each year.

John Digweed: Oh yes. (Laughs) There’s something nice about that as well. It’s nice that there’s maybe some people that don’t go out as much, but they’ll still make the effort on a Wednesday night.

Speaking of old school, I was listening to Structures Two, and it’s so nice to hear something with an arc that progresses and moves from one vibe to another. So many DJs now just bang it out. Do you think that more patient aesthetic is unique to DJs like yourself, Sasha or Carl Cox?

John Digweed: Nowadays, a lot of the young DJs coming through aren’t having to play longer sets. You’re not playing five- or six-hour sets. It’s all about crash, bang, wallop…you’re on for two hours, you bang out the big hits, then you’re offstage. I think a lot of the older DJs come from where you play a lot longer, you build the night up, and you set the pace. I’m not sure those kind of skills are what someone new coming into the scene looks to gain. I think for them it’s like, “Right, I’m gonna play the biggest record, get the best reaction right from the start, and bang it out for 90 minutes, hit after hit. It’s hands in the air from the very first minute to the last record. For me, I’d rather work it a little bit, get that reaction throughout the set, have peaks and troughs and play good music. I don’t want to play hits. I don’t want to play records that are on the radio that just have a club mix. It’s about playing good music; music that people are gonna listen to that has a bit of depth to it. If you start with the biggest record in your box, where do you go after that? I think people, to a certain extent, don’t dance anymore. They just jump up and down punching the air because that’s all the record has allowed them to do. There isn’t any time to take a breather.

There isn’t any musical foreplay.

John Digweed: No, but it’s horses for courses. If every DJ played the same it would be really boring out there. I’m not playing anything down. For me, this is how I prefer to DJ, but I can see other DJs tend to want to go for the jugular straight from the start.

You did a 10-hour set at Matter for Bedrock’s 10-year anniversary. Are you planning a 15-hour set in 2013?

John Digweed: (Laughs) I don’t know if the club is open that long.

What’s the secret to those marathon sets? Do you pack a little picnic basket?

John Digweed: Well, you don’t want to peak too soon on the alcohol, that’s for sure. If you get into the Grey Goose too early, it’s gonna be all over. It’s very important to pace yourself. I’m not a massive drinker anyway. Once I get locked into what I’m doing, the time just seems to fly by. But it goes back to what I was saying earlier. You don’t peak too soon. But no muffins or bananas or anything. (Laughs)

What you and Sasha were doing at Twilo in the late ’90s—then with Delta Heavy tour in 2002—was really trying to push dance music into the mainstream consciousness. Well, it’s kinda there now. Do you feel good about what’s going on with that pop crossover? Has dance music finally made its way into the mainstream?

John Digweed:Yes and no. I think the stuff that people like Carl, Sasha and Richie Hawtin (are doing) is not in the mainstream conscious. The Swedes, David Guetta, Afrojack, they’ve made a more commercial sound; they want a record that’s going to be played on radio. We don’t make records that want to be played on radio, and we don’t play records that have been played on the radio. I think there’s a connection, but it’s two sides. They’re on one side with their commercial electronic music, and we’re on the other with the underground.

But are you happy with it?

John Digweed: I don’t know. America is definitely having a second breath of club culture this year. You can definitely tell with the amount of festivals that are doing well, the club shows, everything like that. I think it’s injected it with new life, so that’s not a bad thing. Hopefully those people who start listening to David Guetta and the Swedes will want something a bit deeper down the line. I think it opens doors for both people.

How often do you gig? Out of the 365 days of the year, how many are you working?

John Digweed: I always do a Friday and Saturday, but in the summer you’ll do a Wednesday, Thursday or the odd Monday, so I’d probably say between 120 and 140 gigs a year, which is enough I think. I never really add ’em up, though. I consider myself very privileged to do what I do, because there are a lot of people that want to be in my shoes, and I’m lucky enough to be living the dream for quite some time! I don’t charge for DJing now, I charge for the traveling. (Laughs)

Did you have the same hands-on approach to A&Ring this record as you did with the previous Structures mix? I know there was a lot of back and forth with some of the producers to get their tracks just right.

John Digweed: Yeah. I was asking the guys, especially on the downtempo one, “Could you do a more chilled out version of this, do a version without the beats and see how it sounds?” I was really happy with the way the first CD turned out because I think it shows the label in another light; that we’re not just a label that puts out club tracks. We’ve got more depth. It’s important for the label as we move on to show our range, and I think it’s good for the artist as well because it encouraged them to make a different sound to what they normally do.

You’re still packing crowds, still loving what you do, always making it into that famed DJ Mag Top 100. (Laughs) What’s been the hardest thing for you to sustain?

John Digweed: It’s funny. I did an interview with someone in Macedonia the other day and they’re going, “How does it feel to be #29 in the Top 100?” Well, it feels the same as when I was #1 or #3 or #10. It’s not a race. DJing isn’t about coming first, and I think my fan base don’t really care what number I am as long as I’m playing well and they can see that I’m passionate about what I do. I think the Top 100 is kind of a mixed bag when you’ve got people like Laurent Garnier or Josh Wink not even featured. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher. For me, it’s about going out week after week, playing as well as I can and delivering, and I think if you do that your fan base will stay with you. I think that’s testament to what I do and sort of reinforces what you were saying about the crowd that’s gonna be at the Mayan on Wednesday. There’s gonna be people there that were probably there ten years ago. I think in this day and age, to have a fan base that stays with you is very important.

Words by Rich Thomas. Photos courtesy of John Digweed.

Contest Rules:

Rule #1:
This competition is open to residents of the United States, ages 21 and older.
Rule #2:
You must already be in Los Angeles California or traveling to Los Angeles for the day of the show, August 2nd, 2011.
Rule #3:
Although you can post as many comments as you like, you’re name will only be entered into the contest once.
Rule #4:
Your submission must be uploaded by midnight PST on Monday August 1st.
Rule #5:
You agree to all the following legal terms and conditions:

Acknowledgement: Selection of participants in the John Digweed Ticket Contest (the “Contest”) shall be in the sole discretion of ChinaShop. (“ChinaShop,” “We,” “Us” or “Our(s)”). ChinaShop reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel the Contest and/or disqualify any participants at any time. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. By participating in the Contest selection process (the “Selection Process”), you hereby agree to abide by any and all Contest rules and irrevocably grant permission to ChinaShop and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, promotional partners and agents, and each of their directors, officers, employees and assigns (all of the foregoing, the “ChinaShop Parties”), to use and authorize the use by third parties of your name.  You represent that you are twenty one (21) years of age or older.

As the crowd gathers on the dock, the excitement is palpable.  A diminutive dance music pixie pogos around with her newly adorned wristband held high in the air while a group of British friends smile their approval.  This does not feel like the normal cueing up to enter a party vibe.  When everyone in attendance is a VIP, there is no struggle toward the front of the line.

We were given the opportunity to blow the minds of three of our readers when we included them as guests to one of the most exclusive parties ever.  And from the looks on their faces we were successful in that endeavor!

The deck of the Yacht is outfitted with a massive club-sized sound system and the artists’ rig is tucked into a corner of the massive dance floor.
There is no stage at this party.  Everyone is participating in their own way, some dancing, some playing music, some passing around a disco ball in
the middle of the crowd.  The dining room is serving prime rib and the captain is high-five-ing party goers.

An opening set by the awesome and irreverent Tommy Sunshine includes a personal favorite – Hall and Oates – remix, the dance floor is packed as we set sail.  Sasha and John take the reins next easing us into an ever-building music journey as the yacht powers through the canals of Miami
Beach, under several draw bridges and past some of the most ornate mansions in America.  As Sasha and John trade off on the decks, the sun begins to set, offering the best mood lighting we could hope for.  During several crescendos in the music there are hundreds of hands uplifted in the air as if to absorb as much of the music as possible.

As the yacht heads back to dock you can see from the smiles on the faces of our maestros that they too are having the time of their lives.  Like all
things this party must come to an end.  But we have excellent news – in anticipation of this article, Sasha and John’s entire set was recorded and
Mr. Digweed himself has designed an *exclusive* hour-long long live mix for all of us to enjoy.  When you listen, close your eyes, imagine an 85 degree breeze blowing over the railing of the Lady Windridge  and as the sun begins to set you can almost hear that group of beautiful girls next to you giggle in a state of absolute glee at their fortunate fate.  As our editor in chief said to me while leaning on the railing watching the sun set, “life is good my friend”.  Yes, it sure  is!

Congratulations to our lucky readers who joined us on this epic journey: Tammy Black, Monique Hauscheer and Ana Prieto. Maybe next year it could be your smiling face in these photos!

Feel free to pass this link to anyone you know who might want to hear this exclusive mix from Sasha and John Digweed Live from the Lady Windrige Yacht in Miami, FL USA 3/26/10.

Words by Mark Roemer, photos by Angel Tagudin, extra photos provided by John Digweed.

The Sasha and John Digweed boat party may have upheld an annual tradition but tweaked another. In the past, the party was on a Friday, the night after they played at the Mansion. This year, you had about two hours to get from the boat to the South Beach super club, and the process was jarring.

It wasn’t just the time it took to shower, go from short pants to long pants and go from being among friends to battling several thousand clubbers, all fighting to squeeze onto the sidewalk and get in one of the seemingly endless lines that would get you into the club.

Once in, the space was overwhelming, a spectacle of light and sound, packed as if to defy movement. After some getting used to, however, the music, darker and more seductive than their set on the boat, worked its magic. By then, you also were able to make out familiar faces and find pockets of space to move around.

Perhaps because the day had been so long, I don’t have a clear sense of the quality of the set, other than that it always hit a groove, that the hours flew by at a rapid clip and, at the end, when the crowd was at a fever pitch, Busta Rhymes made his way into the DJ booth, trying to get Sasha to play his unfinished new track. It was one of those incredible faux paus that can only happen in Miami. Needless to say, the track remained unplayed, yet still became the punchline to this year’s gig.

In other news, friends had great times on the Desyn Masiello/Sander Kleinenberg boat party and at Richie Hawtin’s big Minus party. Although the party went on into the day, he played until about seven, and hit the minimal tip like only he can. I didn’t have a complaint in the world about the way the day went down except one: my failure to, no matter how hard I try, be in three places at once.

Words by Neil Feineman

Not that the details can hurt. Imagine a yacht, the kind where polite people welcome you to the party as if they were happy to see you. Then glance around the deck and see people like Dj Dan, Hernan Cattaneo, John Graham, Nick Warren hanging out, catching up on things. Eating a prime rib dinner, making as many trips to the open bar as you wanted. Oh, and sailing across Miami with a bunch of your favorite people, who you haven’t seen since the last party, while Sasha and John play the perfect, sexy “backyard” set of the year. Throw a circle of good energy around the enterprise and it’s suddenly like maybe there really is a reason to believe in Santa Claus. Because this party, if you are lucky enough to be there, is the ultimate gift.

Even more to the point, it is probably the last of the Miami traditions left standing. The Masters at Work Party, Danny at Space, all are barely memories now. But the boat party, which began back in the days before the dot com boom had burst, is alive and well. And, for me, it’s still the real reason to make the trek to Miami.

Words by Neil Feineman, Photos by Jipsy

Photos by Jipsy for Nefariousgirl.com