John Digweed's Bedrock label has long been a staple in many a DJ's record bag, consistently releasing cultivated yet accessible progressive house and trance singles fit for most dance floors. However, with Zero Gold, Bedrock ventures out to release its first full-length LP, perhaps marking a new, expanding direction for the label.
Digweed discovered Pole Folder in Belgium and quickly released two of his tracks, "Apollo Vibes" and "Enter the Rhythm," both of which fit neatly into the rapidly growing Bedrock catalogue.
But Zero Gold attests to Digweed's faith in Pole Folder as more than just a producer of good singles. Zero Gold is for sure a collection of potential hit singles for the label, each possessing Bedrock's hallmark progressive beats laced with evocative atmosphere, and the first single off the album, "Salvation on Slavery Sins," has already spawned several noteworthy remixes. But Zero Gold is not a package of progressive dance singles and clearly strives for an artistic unity. Though the album drifts between moods, passing through sadness, bitterness, and anger into hope and determination, a common theme of anxiety and fear underlies every track. Listen closely and you hear a spooky discordance. Something is always not quite right, just off, as if the mood of each track is pretending to be what it is but hasn't
fully convinced us. In the end Pole Folder is attempting to portray the pretense and emptiness behind living in fear, asking what it would mean to face the idea that we have nothing left to count on but ourselves.
Zero Gold will perhaps be the first in a line of artist albums for Bedrock, and hopefully all of them will be as consistent and organic as this release.
