Described as ‘a disc jockey in the truest sense of the word’, Steffen “Dixon” Berkhahn has been kicking around the traps on the Berlin scene since the mid-90s. And, in a time when he was surrounded by band-wagon jumpers who were going after the minimal sound, he’s stayed true to his house music roots, continuing to reap the rewards.
He’s responsible for establishing the Innervision record label, along with Ame, and his ‘Body Language Vol 4’ mix for fellow German imprint Get Physical – Booka Shade, DJ T, M.A.N.D.Y, et al – has been one of the most acclaimed releases of 2007. Heading to Australia in November for the first time, ITM caught up for a chat.
Hey Dixon, what have you been up to lately?
Right now I am traveling very, very much, and therefore I don’t have time for a lot of other things that I would like to do. But this will change in 2008. I will accept less DJ-gigs and stay much more in Berlin to work in the studio and on other things we are planning. The last thing I will do this year in the studio is work with Ame and Henrik Schwarz. We are just finishing a remix for Unkle, and also our new single for our label Innervisions.
What’s the latest news from the Innervision camp?
The next thing will be the ‘Secret Weapons Part Two’. It will be a double vinyl with tracks that we’ve played over the year that were released on very small labels and never got the attention they should have. We’ll do ‘Secret Weapons’ once a year, [the next] coming out in January, 2008. Shortly after this there will be the new Henrik Schwarz, Ame and Dixon single, and then the new Chateau Flight [single]. We will also release our first CD on the label. It will be an electronic ambient CD with exclusive tracks from I-Cube, Ame, Stefan Goldmann, Klaus Schulze, Koss and many more. There is also a CD from Henrik Schwarz, Ame and myself in the pipeline for summer, 2008.
How has the response been to your latest album as Wahoo with Georg Levin?
The overall feedback was very good. It was released last month in Germany, and I think it’s coming out in the rest of the world about now. For some pop magazines it wasn’t pop enough, and for some of the electronic and dance mags it wasn’t underground enough, but in general we’ve never had as much press for a product then for this album. That’s a good sign, I think.
It is quite a stark contrast to the rest of the music coming out of Germany, namely Berlin.
Yes, but music is very international. At least our taste of music is. Do you really check from which part of the world your favourite album comes? If you like the music, you like the music. That’s about it.
*Is there to be a live show for the album? A lot of the songs feel like they could work well in a live format… *
That’s what we are looking forward to. I’d never played something live, [but] we’ve had the first two shows here in Berlin already, and I did enjoy it very much. I am ready for the live thing now.
Your Innercity parties have a reputation of delving into the old school boogie of yesteryear. Why do you think it goes down so well?
Innercity is about house. House like it was back in the day, meaning all tempos and all styles. I play all night long alone, and in Berlin that means something like 8 hours. You can not play the same thing for that long, it would be boring. I think that’s not very normal these days. All the music is divided into so many little subgenres now, and you have nights that play only music from a certain subgenre. Maybe this is the reason why people enjoy my night.
What can we expect from your sets down under?
I don’t know myself. It’s my first trip to Australia, so I don’t know what to expect. I will play mostly short sets of 2 hours, so I will decide in the club what style of house I will play. I will see what might work, and more important, what might be something new for the crowd.
I recently saw you chart Devendra Banhart’s latest single, which was a nice surprise… do you listen to a lot of folk music?
Back in the days when I was young and discovered dance music I listened to that music all the time. In the clubs, in the car, at home… today, after all these years, I can’t listen to dance music when I am not in a club or the studio. There’s so much interesting stuff out there that I’d miss. Yes, I listen to a lot of folk, but I am more into electronic and Krautrock right now; [Stuff] from the late 70s or 80s. It all depends on my mood.
What music did you grow up with?
I was not really into music until I had problems with my knees when I was 16 and had to stop my sports career. From that point on I was immediately deep into the techno scene in Berlin. I was one of the youngest kids in the scene back then.
In a time where DJ sets are common place on the internet, what place does a mix CD have these days? How do you make it special in order to get people to hand over money for it?
I simply don’t allow people to record my sets anymore. I do one or two sets for the internet a year, and that’s about it. So a CD [from me] is still very special.
Your compilation for Get Physical was a critical success, and the latest ‘Body Language’ compilation features Innervision label-mates Chateau Flight. What is your connection with Get Physical, and what are your thoughts on the impact they have had on the clubbing scene worldwide?
I was not very connected to Get Physical before the CD, but that’s why I did it. I knew that the label is very professionally run, and I thought that it would be good for me to release something on a completely different label. Get Physical is reaching a different crowed because they release music that is different to what I do. The people that know my stuff would buy the CD anyway if they like it. If you like music, do you really care what label it is on? I mean, do you know on what label Devendra Banhart is on, or Stevie Wonder, or Kanye West?
What are your thoughts on the younger generation of DJs and musicians coming through?
I haven’t heard any good new DJs in the last few years. How come, though? Where do they learn to play these days? They have no chance to play clubs for longer than just the warm up. How can they learn how to guide a crowd through a night? There’s nearly no clubs left where the residents play all night long. I think that is the basis of a good DJ. As for producers, it’s different. It basically lives because of the fact that the young generation are trying things different then the generation before. It freshens things up. Every year [there’s] a new talent.
How is Innervisions dealing with the destructive nature of file sharing and other radical technologies?
We sell good manufactured records with good design. We offer digital downloads on all possible platforms, and most importantly we try to release outstanding music. This is what makes people willing to pay for it. It may be less than 10 years ago, but it’s still enough to make a business. We also produce a lot of items for our internet shop, [such as] scarves, sweatshirts, t-shirts, shirts, record bags, CD-wallets, laptop cases. They’re all due to be available in early 2008.
What do you think of Radiohead’s recent decision to release their new album as a “charity download”, having fans choose what price they pay; do you think we will see similar things happening with independent labels such as Innervisions or Get Physical?
I think it’s brilliant. The fans will pay, and they will pay directly to the artist. They cut out all the industry and that makes them earn more with every single download. There are a lot of people that are not hardcore Radiohead fans, but will download it now for a small [amount of] money. Radiohead would have not earned anything with them back in the day, because those people would not have bought the album for 14 Euros. 1.2 million downloads proves their success. Radiohead can only do it because they have a big, big name already, and the work of a label is to make a band big. I don’t see this happening very often in the future, with small or new bands. They don’t have the power to guide people to their website.
Do you like the new Radiohead album?
It’s great.
Are there any tracks off the album that you play in your DJ sets?
You’ll have to check me out to get the answer!
Dixon visits Australia this November, for the very first time:
Fri Nov 2nd – Minimal Fuss 1st Birthday at Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney (w/ Ewan Pearson)
Sat Nov 3rd – The Club Club at Chinese Laundry, Sydney (w/ Tittsworth)
Mon Nov 5th – Renaissance at Queensbridge, Melbourne (w/ Sander Kleinenberg & Junkie XL)
If you haven’t yet tracked down a copy of his ‘Body Language Vol 4’ mix for Get Physical/Inertia, then take our advice – find one!
spyy says...
I've heard so many good things about his DJ sets. That he's 'the ladies DJ' stands out to me. Cant wait!