How a Spam Email Became a John Digweed and Nick Muir Masterpiece

The junk folder. Even if it's not spam, some e-mails still end up in that folder. It's really no one's fault, but rather a minor glitch in the system or your email host telling you to stop signing up for free stuff. Sometimes the most important emails are misunderstood as junk, end up unopened and you miss out on something you wish you wouldn't have. We've all been there.

John Digweed has too. John was lucky to check his spam inbox, albeit 18 months later, to find an email from John Twelve Hawks. He said he was a fan of his radio show Transitions and had wrote one of his best sellers while listening to it.

"We came up with the idea of having Hawks read some passages from the book and produce music to it. At first just for a few tracks then we decided to do a whole album. We cherry picked some of his favourite lines then brought him inside the studio where his reading was voice recorded," explained Digweed.

John Digweed and Nick Muir were both on board with this project when it was released on Bedrock. Both artists have secured their footing in selling out nightclubs and festivals throughout the year, but they were very happy to take on a project that went beyond the dance floor.

"Nick Muir and I come from a dance music background and we could make that kind of music all day long," said Digweed. "But it was nice to push ourselves towards something different."

To Digweed, the fruit of their labour, titled The Traveler seemed like it happened organically. As Hawks was a fan of the radio show and Digweed was a fan of the book, both artists in their own way saw merit in each other's ways of conveying a story.

"What attracted him most about my music was the story telling aspect. A writer can tell a story just as well as a DJ when performing live. If you tell a story well, it creates a bigger impact. Hawks saw what I was doing musically and thought a connection was there," said Digweed.

The album has 13 songs on the tracklist that are mostly ambient and progressive in style. The aim was to have the listener hear it thought completely, without hitting the skip button. While I was listening to the album, I found that it made sense without any abrupt breaks or transitions in between tracks.

"We wanted to put all the pieces of the puzzle together so when you listen to the album it flows well throughout. We didn't want random tracks playing one after the other," he added. "I come from an era where people actually heard albums from start to finish and didn't just go on iTunes and pick random tracks."

The album doesn't necessarily have an appeal for the dance floor, but rather serves its purpose as a storyteller. The only danceable track on the album is "3B3", which took me on a minor detour while listening.

""3B3" was the drug that was used to take one of the characters into different realms. With that in mind we felt the acid house and 303 drums were a suitable vibe for the track and the context of it all," said Digweed.

John Digweed's lustrous career hasn't hit pause, either. He is constantly looking to challenge himself and do something different within music. I was surprised to hear that he's actually having the most fun at this stage of his career; while some of the originals are burning out. It seems Digweed is just happy to do his thing. For him, DJing is not about becoming number one, but more about being consistent with the craft.

"At this point, I've done everything there is to be done, so being a part of The Traveler project was exciting. When you get to this point in your career you don't think about charting on Beatport, but more about what makes you feel happy and rewarded," he said.

"In terms of gigs I'm just pleased to play the clubs and festivals I'm booked at. I'm probably enjoying myself DJing more than ever mostly because I don't feel any pressure to become number one. I'm livin' the dream and have been doing so for many years. This is the point where I can just totally enjoy it!"

The Traveler is currently available for purchase on Beatport and iTunes and for those who prefer a physical copy bundles are available on the official Bedrock webstore.

Ani thinks you should hear full albums without hitting the skip button. Follow him on Twitter @AniHajderaj.