DJ Digweed mixes it up on purpose

Most DJs, even the elite wax spinners, tend to find their genre and stick with it. But not Hastings’ John Digweed. The veteran DJ showed during an extended set at the Mayan Theatre on Wednesday that although some label him a progressive DJ, his considerable skills extend to a variety of styles.

In town to support his most recent mix CD, “Fabric 20,” Digweed took the Mayan stage a few minutes before midnight before a near capacity crowd. He wasted little time opening his full arsenal, offering up a wicked blend of up-tempo house grooves that segued into percussive beats, then progressive synthesizers, all in a seamless five minutes.

Coming indoors after his marathon set at Giant Village on New Year’s Eve, Digweed celebrated the comparatively intimate setting with a much livelier and more varied set that used an unusual number of vocal tracks, predominantly from the worlds of house and progressive. The energy of those vocals carried into his instrumental selections as well.

Delivering the beats with more dynamic, heavier and quick-hitting bursts, he kept the energy of the room, particularly the densely packed area right in front of the stage, at a high level throughout.

Digweed, though, is not the type to set a crowd off through the uses of expansive grooves or flashy rises, a la Paul Oakenfold or Deep Dish. He is, in that respect, more a blue-collar DJ, a consummate and prolific mixer who lets the music speak for him.