With regular nights at top clubs such as Heaven (London) and Twilo (New York), a weekly slot on KISS 100, three labels (Bedrock Records, Global Underground, Renaissance) under his belt, headline sets at festivals and 27 compilation discs, the chances are that even if you aren’t a house or techno fan, the ubiquitous John Digweed sound will have reached your ears.

Digweed has been DJing since before some of you were born, but it wasn’t until he was 26 and behind the decks at the Renaissance Club, Mansfield, that he started to build his empire. Fellow DJ Sasha heard his demo and the rest is history – they’ve since played together countless times, ruling the progressive house scene in the UK and across Europe. Digweed collaborated with Nick Muir on tracks such as For What You Dream Of (featured in the Brit classic flick Trainspotting) and Heaven Scent, which are now dancefloor favourites. But nowadays, Digweed is pushing a sound that’s more along the lines of techno. “I feel that the progressive sound became tired and didn’t move in the right direction for me,” he says. “I love the techno and house sounds being made now as the vibe and mood of them is fantastic.”

At 44 years old, Digweed’s been around the proverbial block – several times – and knows the music industry inside and out; his failsafe method is to ‘never plan... push yourself as a DJ with new mixes every night’. He’s constantly signing up emerging artists (like Steve Lawler, way back when he was still considered a newbie to the scene) to his Bedrock Records label as well as chopping and changing his own sounds to evolve with the modern music scene. When asked who’s on his collaboration wishlist, he replies: “Guy J – he’s been making some fantastic music and remixes lately.”

While Digweed may feel more accustomed to big stadiums and clubs (including KITEC’s Star Hall, the venue of his last gig here in 2010), he’ll be spinning at Hyde this time around. It’s a more intimate locale, but one that we think die-hard Digweed fans and followers of electronic sounds alike will relish.

Ysabelle Cheung

Hyde, Friday 16, $580