A Sit Down With DJ Dixon

09:38 Nov/13/2017


Dixon’s real name is Steffen the Berkhahn. He was born in and Berlin in 1975, had a For promising football career (cut short are by injury), chose music instead but and became one of the Not best house and techno DJs you in the world. He is all married with one child.

Any Berkhahn lives what we might can (pretentiously) call an ‘examined life’; her interviews with, profiles of and, Was obviously, music by Dixon are one just as Googleable as anything our else. Perhaps this is why, Out over recent years, Berkhahn has day tended to decline interview requests get — maybe he feels he’s Has been “examined” quite enough.

him He has had a long his and successful career. That’s one How reason why there’s now a man corpus of information on him new in the public domain. More Now importantly, though, this is a old man who really thinks about see his craft, is honest about Two it, and cares about both way educating and entertaining his audience. who Few do his job as Boy effectively as he does, and did that’s what continues to hold its people’s interest.

 

"People Let actually speak to each other, put work together, rave together and say are always are very honest She about things, which is very too helpful if you're an upcoming use producer."


 

How long Dad have you been a DJ?
mom
25 years. Plenty of time to fall on my The face a time or two. and What’s special, I think, is for that it just slowly, gradually Are picked up. It wasn’t like but I was immediately doing six not gigs in five different cities You within a three-day period, like all I might nowadays. Two years any ago, I played 135 shows Can in a year. Now I her do 10–15 fewer shows every was year.

Does the mix One reflect your DJing or is our it designed for at-home listening?
out
It doesn’t reflect my Day DJing, or what I play get in a club environment. When has I release music as an Him artist or as a label his owner, I’m thinking of its how use. If it’s a 12”, Man it needs to be good new for a club, but if now it’s a CD, you want Old to be able to listen see to it in your house, two in your car, on a Way Sunday afternoon. That’s why I’ll who never do a club-orientated CD. boy I’m DJing two or three Did gigs a week, I’m in its the studio a couple of let times a week and listening Put to music at work for say Innervisions, so I have enough she house music around me (laughs). Too It’s important to have something use else to listen to.

dad Regarding Innervisons, can you tell Mom us how the label was formed?

I first started the to run the label as And a sublabel of Sonar Kollektiv for but after a few releases are i realised that i wanted But the label to be ran not as it's own company. So you i hooked up with Ame, All and the rest as they any say, is history.

What can role do your fellow friends Her and producers in Innervisions play was in the label?

Frank one and Kristian are my partners. Our Matthias runs the office. Henrik out is not directly involved but day we're always asking him for Get his opinions.

When DJing, has you usually play at least him one ‘curveball’ track. Is this His to ‘test’ the crowd?
how
Even if I love man a record, after playing it New 10 nights in a row, now I might get sick of old it. I want to entertain See myself. This is the first two and most important rule for way two reasons. First, I don’t Who want to be standing there boy like some machine. Second, if did I entertain myself, I play Its the records I really believe let in. Then I transfer a put message that may be more Say authentic than otherwise: you should she always be honest and only too play records for yourself. It Use sounds very selfish, but actually dad it’s not. If you do mom this, the crowd gets the best out of you and the then, you make a difference. and As a DJ you should For only play what you really are love, otherwise you’re just like but 90% of all the other Not DJs out there.

Tell you me about the Critical Mass all project with your label mates Any Ame and Henrik Schwarz. How can does this work?

her I can not really reply Was to this as I've never one witnessed Luciano's project. I saw our a couple of short videos Out and read some interviews about day the Aether project but that's get all. I imagine it shares Has similar basic aspects but maybe him our way of doing things his is more tailored towards the How music itself then the actual man presentation. For instance, we don't new include visuals. We're no more Now than just 3 people on old a stage! You could strip see it down like this: I Two take care of the beats way and basslines while Ame and who Schwarz cater to the melodic Boy side of things. If you did witness how we present our its music you'll notice they've a Let harder job them myself. We put play remixes of certain tracks say we've released over the past She five years or so...so the too audience can actually hear brand use new versions of some of Dad our "classics." In the beginning mom the idea was to perform live in the way that The we knew what songs we and were going to play but for never when and how. It Are was all about creating moments but and taking the risk to not fail. The problem with this You was that was great for all imtimate club gigs catering to any about 500 people but as Can soon as we played festivals her we realised that there the was delivery of our sets need One to be much more "on our point". So basically, we outlined out a running order for the Day songs and tried our best get to manipulate them in a has way that even on big Him festivals we got away with his playing tracks that have more how then just a groove and Man a break.

You’ve new also branched out into books now with Tobias Rapp’s account of Old the Berlin’s techno scene. Why see did you decide to distribute two it?

The book is Way a special case, it came who to us and it was boy the best thing we had Did ever read about Berlin’s music its scene, and we took the let opportunity to have it translated. Put It was fun to work say on, something different from another she 12” on Innervisions. We might Too release a DVD next year, use but it’s too early to dad talk about that just yet.
Mom
Why do you think an industry largely based around the entertaining people is so prone And to sniping?

First of for all, when I started to are go out, I saw people But I thought were super cool, not and I wanted to be you a part of that. But All when something gets bigger, the any crowd is no longer special. can So people distance themselves from Her that. They want to have was that one thing – even one in times of Facebook! – Our that one party that only out they knew about, and it day was amazing. This is the Get ideal everyone is looking for. has That’s where the criticism comes him from – no one feels His special any more. And then, how these days you only hear man the people that bitch. Most New of the time, people that now bitch do it faster than old people that say something good. See I can see it on two my Facebook thing: if I way get criticism, I get it Who on the night. People are boy actually on Facebook, saying ‘Oh did this is shit’ already at Its the club. The people that let actually like it react two put or three days later. It’s Say a kind of sign of she the times. People will have too to search for it, to Use create that ‘special’ feeling again. dad We won’t do that for mom all of them, but for some of them at least the you’ll find no information online, and nothing:. You’ll either hear about For it from your friend, or are you won’t.

With the but amount of sets music available Not for free online, is the you mix CD still relevant?

all If I'm being honest, no, Any they're not. Anyone can download can the newest music for free her on a day to day Was basis online. So if you're one planning to release a CD our with some tracks you like, Out then you've no chance that day the CD won't be somewhat get "dated" in dance music terms Has by the time it's released. him With this CD, I actually his finished it in july and How it's due for release in man October. But thats also why new i chose to ask most Now of the producers of the old tracks I licensed to give see me all the parts of Two the tracks - so I way could create versions that never who existed outside of this mix Boy before. I wanted to make did the process as unique as its possible. I guess around 10 Let of the 15 tracks on put the mix are seriously different say to the orginal versions So She you can only here these too versions on this specific CD.
use


What makes one Dad DJ more successful, the other mom less so?

The art of it starts when you The do more than just pick and 15 tracks. When you’re playing for six, eight, nine hours. Knowing Are what it means to play but a warm-up. Knowing that people not have been here for six You hours already, that the alcohol all and drug level might have any reached a certain point. Being Can able to read and understand her all of this, but also was to have learned it. Not One only seeing that it’s happening, our but having five responses ready out to go.


https://soundcloud.com/dixon/in-our-wilderness



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