Dixon interview

Steffen 'Dixon' Berkhahn is one of a growing number of DJ/Producers to emerge from the German house scene and gain worldwide recognition.

Hailing from Berlin, he cut his teeth playing jungle at Atari Teenage Riot sound-system parties. "They were very, very dark and I was always the one with more of a soul edge in that crew," he explains. "At some point I started to play more and more house and at my last party, I played a full house set, which was my way of saying goodbye."

He went on to to play legendary techno clubs, Tresor and E-Werk. However, this didn't prove to be the breakthrough it might have been. "I didn't feel at home at either, so started my Audio Video Disco night at the WMF club, which had a more soul and hip-hop background… it seemed a better environment for me." Its success soon marked Dixon out as one of the main players in country's house scene.

In 1998 he hooked up with Jazzanova, resulting in his first remix credit on their Sonar Kollektiv label. "They inspired me with music from a totally different side of the spectrum... on the other hand I introduced them to house music. It wasn't like they didn't know - I just showed them the way to play it without being boring." He'd soon notched up numerous other remixes, going on to collaborate with singer George Levin, as Wahoo, which led to the massively successful Make 'Em, Shake It track. "He is a dope songwriter and we realized we could work together on an album, coming out later this year."

Dixon has also found the time to launch Innervisions in 2005, Sonar Kollektiv's clubbier sub-label. "Sonar were releasing too many styles of music... I wanted something that DJs could trust in, a label with a certain sound."

After a short hiatus, he re-launched another club residency at Berlin's Weekend Club last year, impressively situated on the 12th floor of a tower block. "I started Innercity because there were no good house nights left in the city. Weekend's got superb sound, a beautiful view over the city and the perfect mixture of people."

With German DJs and artists so prominent in the current house scene, I ask what seems to make Berlin its particular hotbed? "There's no competition between DJs or producers. People actually speak to each other, work together, rave together and are always are very honest about things, which is very helpful if you're an upcoming producer."