Sasha & John Digweed Open 30 Year Vault
Thirty years after Northern Exposure transformed two DJs’ record collections into a long-form journey through progressive, psychedelic, and ambient dance music, Sasha and John Digweed are finally opening the vault. In partnership with Amplifyd, the duo is auctioning the actual records, acetates, and memorabilia that were instrumental in building landmark compilations like Northern Exposure, Northern Exposure 2, Northern Exposure: Expeditions, and Communicate.
The auction preview is set to begin on September 30th, exactly thirty years after the original compilation arrived. Collectors can expect to bid on 100 to 125 lots drawn equally from the artists’ personal archives.
For those who grew up with these compilations, the appeal goes far beyond owning pristine vinyl. These items represent physical artifacts from the creative process, bearing the inevitable scars of three decades spent in the demanding world of DJing. Sasha notes that they are selling their copies—records that have been carried around the world, pulled in and out of record boxes night after night.
“I love the fact that we’re not selling pristine museum pieces,” he says. “We’re selling our copies. They’ve got writing on them, and the sleeves have marks or tears.” This wear, he explains, comes from records being constantly moved, underscoring the tactile history embedded in these collections.
The concept behind Northern Exposure was a deliberate reaction against the increasingly crowded dance music scene of the mid-’90s. Rather than documenting club sounds, Sasha and Digweed sought to fold disparate musical threads into an immersive experience. Their mission was to create a soundtrack—something that invited listeners to lose themselves in a journey.
This journey was eclectic and geographically informed, pulling in sounds from the breakbeat scene of Florida, the West Coast, and San Francisco. The resulting music was a tapestry of diverse sounds, pulling in influences that became inseparable from the compilation’s spirit.
Among the records now returning to the spotlight are some of the tracks that defined that quest: God Within’s “Raincry (Submerged),” Scott Hardkiss’ atmospheric contribution to the North disc, Rabbit in the Moon’s psychedelic “Out of Body Experience,” and Underworld’s “Dark & Long (Dark Train),” which brought the South disc to a memorable close.
Beyond the main compilations, the vault holds artifacts from later eras, including Breeder’s “Tyrantanic,” which opens Expeditions, and Space Manoeuvres’ “Stage One.” One particularly compelling piece is a 45-rpm 777 Productions acetate of Delerium’s “Silence (Sanctuary Dub),” complete with a handwritten label referencing Chris Fortier’s Sanctuary alias and a breakbeat version on the reverse.
For the duo, these records are more than just objects of rarity; they are potent memory triggers. When revisiting these materials, Sasha describes an experience akin to opening an old box of photographs. The smell of an acetate, the handwriting, the battered covers—it transports him back three decades.
This deeper connection highlights what collectors seek: not just the music, but the physical history of how the music was made. It speaks to the shared experience of the people who lived that era, understanding that owning the original physical artifacts connects a buyer directly to the story behind the sound. It’s about connecting with the lives of the people on the other side of the DJ booth.
As the auction proceeds, Sasha and Digweed continue their own journey, balancing the retrospective with new endeavors. The physical history of the journey is now being offered up, allowing these individual pieces to begin another thrilling chapter.
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