Dixon (DJ)

Last updated
Dixon
DIXON IMAGe DAVIT 021.jpg
Background information
Birth nameSteffen Berkhahn
Also known asDixon
Born (1975-12-21) 21 December 1975 (age 48)
Anklam, East Germany
Genres House, techno
Occupation(s) DJ, Producer, Record Label Founder, Fashion Label Founder
Years active1991–present
LabelsInnervisions, Sonar Kollektiv, Get Physical Music, WMF Records

Dixon (born Steffen Berkhahn; 21 December 1975) [1] is a German musician, best known as a house and techno DJ and producer, as well founder of record label Innervisions, based in Berlin. In recent years, he has also made endeavours into fashion and technology, and is the joint owner of club-wear clothing brand Together We Dance Alone. In 2019 he launched an Ibiza residency and digital platform of the same name, Transmoderna. Dixon was voted as the number one DJ on Resident Advisor's Top 100 DJ Poll every year from 2013 to the last annual poll in 2016.

Contents

Life and work

Berkhahn was born in Anklam. He grew up in East Berlin and was aiming for a career as a professional footballer or a long-distance runner, an ambition that was thwarted due to injury. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

In the early 1990s he began DJing under the name Dixon in Berlin clubs such as Turbine, Tresor, E-Werk and WMF. [4] For several years he held a weekly residency at WMF with Mitja Prinz, which he describes a key experience in his formative years as a DJ. [1] His residencies at Tresor, WMF and later Weekend Club all involved playing long sets. [1] In a city known in particular for techno music, Dixon established a reputation as a deep house DJ. [6] [1] [7]

Dixon's global prominence as a DJ has grown over the years through appearances at clubs and festivals worldwide. [8] [9] [3] He was voted No. 1 in Resident Advisor's Top 100 DJ Poll in the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] In terms of style, German newspaper Die Welt credits Dixon with "bringing back vocals, drama and grand emotions to the dancefloor" after the electronic dance music scene was dominated by minimal techno for several years. [17] Die Tageszeitung agrees that Dixon and Innervisions "changed the sound of Berlin." [4]

Dixon first began record label and A&R work at the Sonar-Kollektiv sublabel Recreation Recordings. [18] In 2005 he founded the label Innervisions with Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann from Âme. [19] [20] Initially a sub-label of Sonar Kollektiv, it became independent in 2006. [6] [21] British magazine Mixmag says the label has had "an astounding influence on the global house scene." [22]

As a producer, Dixon has released several EPs in collaboration with artists such as Georg Levin, Derrick Carter, Henrik Schwarz and Âme. [23] [24] [21] [25] Dixon often creates his own edits of other artists' tracks for use in his DJ sets. [6] Some of the most notable of these include his 2017 edit of Depeche Mode's "Cover Me" and 2018 edit of "i used to" by LCD Soundsystem, both released on [Columbia Records].

Berkhahn lives with his wife and son in Berlin. [17] [3]

In 2018, Dixon was added into Grand Theft Auto Online as a nightclub DJ as part of the After Hours DLC. [26]

Together We Dance Alone

In 2017, Dixon branched out from music and started his own fashion label "Together We Dance Alone", along with it current creative director, Ana Ofak. The label released its first limited-edition long sleeve in conjunction with designer Kristina Nagel, before aligning with Japanese fashion brand Sacai to release another long-sleeved style, which was available in Sacai's Tokyo showroom and Together We Dance Alone's webshop. [27]

Since then the brand has teamed up with a number of other designers, and continued to collaborate with Sacai, releasing an additional limited edition printed short sleeve design in December 2019. [28]

Alongside Together We Dance Alone's online store, there are select stores in Los Angeles, Berlin and Paris. [27]

Transmoderna

In the Summer of 2019, Dixon launched the first season of his Ibiza residency, Transmoderna. The initial season was hosted at Pacha and ran every Friday night for 20 weeks, from May to October. Transmoderna evolved into more than just a club night, in parallel acting as a digital platform to explore boundaries between different spheres of music, art, fashion, technology and club culture. With particular focus on crossovers between the real and virtual, Transmoderna reached into elements of AR, launching two of their own Instagram face filters, created by Johanna Jaskowska. [29]

Towards the end of the first season, an official Transmoderna music video was released, representing a culmination of the overlapping elements that came together initially to form the overall Transmoderna concept. Soundtracked by Âme and Mathew Jonson, it brought together visual artists, fashion designers, choreographers, dance performers and programmers, which was then given to an AI to tweak and alter the final product. [29]

Transmoderna has since been confirmed for a second season, with its venue announced to be moving to DC10 in 2020. [30]

Discography

Singles and EPs

Mixes and compilations

Remixes (selected)

Related Research Articles

Timo Maas is a German DJ/producer and remixer. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single "Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Cox</span> British DJ

Carl Cox is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sven Väth</span> German DJ and producer (born 1964)

Sven Väth is a German DJ and electronic music producer. He is a three-time DJ Awards winner, and his career in electronic music spans over 30 years. The single "Electrica Salsa" with OFF launched his career in 1986. Referred to as "Papa Sven" by his fans, Sven Väth has made his mark in the music community by being one of Germany's pop stars in the nineties, running two night clubs in Germany, and starting his own company Cocoon, which encompasses a booking agency, record label, and a branch for events. He is recognized for cultivating the underground electronic music scene not just in Germany but in Ibiza as well, with his own night at Amnesia for eighteen years and after-parties at creative locations around the island. Sven Väth is a major proponent of vinyl, using only two decks and a mixer for his extensive DJ sets, his longest set having been 30 hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fergie (DJ)</span> Musical artist

Robert Ferguson, known professionally as Fergie, is a Northern Irish DJ and electronic music artist from Larne. He has been an internationally touring DJ and a music producer for over 20 years. He presented a radio show on BBC Radio 1 for over four years while recording 13 Essential Mixes for the station. He was featured in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll seven years in a row and currently holds the record for the highest new entry since the poll began, achieved when he was voted 8th in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booka Shade</span> German house music duo

Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 7 studio albums, including Memento (2004), Movements (2006), The Sun & the Neon Light (2008), More! (2010), Eve (2013), Galvany Street (2017), Cut the Strings (2018), various EPs and a mix album for DJ-Kicks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loco Dice</span> Tunisian DJ and electronic music producer

Loco Dice is a German DJ and electronic music producer born and based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He is best known for his work in the house and tech house genres and his residencies at Ibiza nightclubs Space and Hi Ibiza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recondite</span> Electronic music artist

Recondite is a German musician, techno producer, label owner and sound artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Troxler</span> Musical artist

Seth Troxler is an American DJ and record producer from Lake Orion, Michigan. His DJ work focuses on house and techno, while he has produced on the Wolf + Lamb, Crosstown Rebels and Circus Company labels, collaborating with artists Art Department, Deetron, Tiefschwarz, Matthew Dear and Subb-an.

Mladen Solomun, better known under his stage name Solomun, is a Bosnian-German DJ. He is a four-time DJ Awards winner for Best Producer, Best DJ and Best Melodic House DJ.

Sonny Wharton is a British house and techno DJ and record producer. In addition to his artist career, Wharton now manages a range of electronic DJs and producers alongside running his newly founded record label, Strength In Numbers.

Jamie Jones is a Welsh DJ and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Foss</span> Musical artist

Lee Foss is an American-born producer and DJ from DeKalb, Illinois, United States. In addition to a number of releases on labels such as Culprit, Wolf+Lamb and No. 19, he co-founded the dance music label Hot Creations and is a member of the house music band Hot Natured alongside Jamie Jones, Ali Love and Luca C. He is also the founder of tech house record label, Repopulate Mars, and its sublabel, South of Saturn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eats Everything</span> Musical artist

Daniel Pearce, better known as Eats Everything, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 2011 with the release of "Entrance Song" on Pets Recordings. Since then, he has received critical acclaim for a number of solo releases on Dirtybird, Hypercolour and Futureboogie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrés Bucci</span> Musical artist

Andrés Bucci is a Chilean electronic music producer and DJ. He is known for his solo work as well as for his role as a member of Plan V. He is one of three Bucci brothers, all DJs and electronic music producers.

Culolethu Zulu, known commonly by his stage name Culoe De Song, is a South African producer, remixer and DJ. His first name, "Culolethu", is an IsiZulu name meaning "our song", and he is known as "Culo" or "Culoe" meaning "song"; the name is pronounced with a clicking "C", not to be erroneously pronounced like the Spanish word "culo", which rhymes with "cool". He released his first album, A Giant Leap, in 2009. In 2011, he released his album Elevation with the help of Kindnes Khupe, a Zimbabwean-born tribal mix DJ. Later, he released Exodus (2013). Culoe De Song recently won The Best Male Artist for the 2014 Metro FM Awards for his album Exodus, an album that was featured on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of 2013. He also participated in the 2008 Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackmaster</span> Musical artist

Jack Revill, better known as Jackmaster, is a Scottish DJ and Producer from Glasgow. He is a co-founder of the record label and club night Numbers as well as Wireblock, Dress 2 Sweat, Point.One Recordings, Seldom Felt and TDSR. Revill was the subject of controversy in August 2018, after he sexually assaulted multiple women whilst on GHB. He admitted attempted to "kiss and grab people against their will" at Love Saves The Day Festival in Bristol.

Frank Thomas Knebel-Janssen, better known by his stage name Thomas Gold, is a German DJ and producer. His first productions were trance-based, which eventually evolved into progressive house and tech house in recent times. He was ranked at number 82 in the Top 100 DJs survey conducted by DJ Magazine in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland (DJ)</span> Musical artist

Harry Agius, known professionally as Midland, is a British DJ, producer and record label owner who began his career in Leeds and is now based in London. He founded his label Graded in 2013 as an output for his own productions.

Âme is a German house/techno duo consisting of Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann. The duo started making tracks in 2001. Beyer and Wiedemann first met in 2000 in Beyer's record shop in their hometown of Karlsruhe. As they both liked Chicago house and Detroit techno, they started to produce music together. Âme has released music for record labels such as Ostgut Ton and Sonar Kollektiv.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "DJ History - interview with Dixon". Archived from the original on 2016-06-28.
  2. ↑ "Dixon - Hall Of Fame, Dixon and Emanuel Satie, Pete Tong - BBC Radio 1". BBC. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "DIXON | Crack Magazine". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  4. 1 2 3 Rapp, Tobias. "Die DJs mit der Goldkante". die tageszeitung. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  5. ↑ "Dixon et le football, une occasion ratée". Trax magazine (in French). Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  6. 1 2 3 "Innervisions: Lost in a moment". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  7. ↑ Rapp, Tobias (2012-09-17). Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno und der Easyjetset (in German). Suhrkamp Verlag. ISBN   9783518733950.
  8. ↑ "RA: Dixon tour dates". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  9. ↑ Janson, Gerd (2014-05-09). "INNERVISIONS Über das Auflegen". Groove. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  10. ↑ "RA Poll: Top DJs of 2013". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  11. ↑ "RA Poll: Top DJs of 2014". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  12. ↑ "RA Poll: Top DJs of 2015". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  13. ↑ "Resident Advisor Reveals Its Top 100 DJs of 2015". Billboard. 9 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "RA Poll: Top DJs of 2016". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  15. ↑ "Dixon Tops Resident Advisor's 2016 Top 100 List". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  16. ↑ "Dixon Tops RA's 2016 Readers Poll for the Fourth Year | Thump". Thump. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  17. 1 2 Tittel, Cornelius (10 February 2014). "Vergessen wir, was Montag bis Freitag war". Die Welt.
  18. ↑ "artist | Dixon | cocoon.net". Cocoon.net. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  19. ↑ "Innervisions Co-founders Âme and Dixon To Record b2b Essential Mix in April | Thump". Thump. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  20. ↑ "Watch a documentary profiling Dixon and Âme's Innervisions label". Mixmag. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  21. 1 2 Voice, Ibiza. "Dixon - Sound and InnerVisions". Ibiza-voice.com. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  22. ↑ "10 Essential Innervisions Tracks". Mixmag.net.
  23. ↑ "Dixon". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  24. ↑ Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg (15 March 2009). "POP: Minimal ist besser - DER SPIEGEL 12/2009". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2016-12-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Patel, Amar. "BBC - Music - Review of Wahoo - Take It Personal" . Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  26. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (7 August 2018). "GTA Online invites real-world DJ Dixon to Los Santos, adds new plane and music". Pcgamer.com. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  27. 1 2 Kocay, Lisa. "Dixon On His Clothing Label Together We Dance Alone And Appearance In Grand Theft Auto V". Forbes. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  28. ↑ "TOGETHER WE DANCE ALONE ™ – Together We Dance Alone". Togetherwedancealone.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  29. 1 2 ""The future has expired": Dixon's TRANSMODERNA seeks the spirit of the present - 032c". 032c.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  30. ↑ "Dixon's Ibiza residency, Transmoderna, moves to DC-10 for 2020 season · News ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor . Retrieved 22 December 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.