When Dixon was coming of age as a DJ in Berlin, it wasn’t immediately obvious where he would fit in. His sound was too deep for the main room garage that sound tracked Berlin’s gay scene, and not heavy enough for the pounding techno that dominated other underground clubs. So, in 1995, he started Innercity in the now famous Weekend club, a twelfth floor space in a working office block with a high end sound system and spectacular, panoramic views over the city.
With parallels to the underground house scene in New York, Dixon played extended ten hour sets to the same loyal patrons, allowing him to build a sound, break new music and redefine the relevance of forgotten classics in this unique setup. As anybody who witnessed the euphoria of an Innercity party will attest, there was a certain magic in the air as the sun came up at 5am, bathing the city in light and creating the perfect backdrop to Dixon’s dreamy mid-tempo grooves.
In response to the minimal sound that began to pervade at this time, Dixon set up the Innervisions record label, a subsidiary of Jazzanova’s Sonar Kollectiv. Most notable from this period was his signing of Âme, the then-unknown production duo from southern Germany, who played a scorching terrace set at the first SuncéBeat. ‘Rej’, their modern techno classic, and his own rework of Tokyo Black Star’s ‘Blade Dancer’ cemented the reputation of the label as a source of trusted dance floor material for DJs around the world. Quality is of paramount importance, and with only a handful of releases each year, the Innervisions back catalogue looks set to stand the test of time.
A Dixon DJ set is afforded the same painstaking preparation as a release on his label – exclusive reworks, often made from the original parts, re-edits and unreleased versions mean hearing the man live is often the only way to fully experience the full impact of his selections. In an attempt to document this process, his recent ‘Temporary Secretary’ mix featured remade versions of every song chosen, most from the original musical stems, supplied by the included artists. Aware of the bountiful supply of downloadable online mixes and the disposable consumption habits of listeners today, this concept was a unique way to reinstate the relevance of the officially released DJ mix.
