The night was finally here: Dixon and his very own residency Transmoderna made their debut at Pacha. Besides being here on the physical dimension, the brand new party has also altered our collective consciousness, changing the scene of the island. We were there from night one.
A DJ with a true gift and the ability to shift the course of electronic music, Dixon constantly recreates and remodels his sound. His perfectionism is tangible, as he always delivers, capturing exactly what the dance floor needs.
On the opening party last Friday, he made us fly. Crafting his sets with incredible accuracy, he proved - once again - to be meticulously creative. Without a doubt, Dixon is one of the best DJs to experience on the dance floor.
Here's what we found at the opening of his new residency.
surreal Production
Moderate but immersive, the production was reminiscent of Berlin with its darkened light shows. Two square-shaped lights shone above the console, creating different light effects.
Thick rays of light in different colours projected walls of light around the dance floor, while rainbow lasers bounced off a mirrored sculpture above the DJ booth before spreading around the room.
The result was a space filled with light effects that pierced the air in every direction. Four vertical screens seemed to portray a white and grey stylised waterfall.
An artist that appeared to be a mime seemed to push out from her soul all the emotions that the music was provoking within her. All seemed surreal.
visionary music
When we arrived, Innervisions co-head Âme was on the decks. Already full, the place was bursting with great energy. The brilliant eclectic house struck me for its particularity. It had the classical warm housey feeling but also progressive cold elements.
This first track we heard was South Face from Simon & Shaker. A classy number, it has that dreamy feeling, so typical of Innervisions - the label that Dixon and Âme created. And that was just the beginning.
His set continued marked by low bpm and extremely high quality of sound, a magical excursion within many styles of electronic music. For a techno lover like myself to be enchanted by this low-frequency house was something totally unexpected and completely magical.
After an hour of pure electronic gold, Âme gave way to the other mastermind behind Innervisions. The time had come for the main guy of the night: Dixon was on.
First of all, congratulations on his jacket. All made of paillettes, it reflected the rainbow colours flying through the air.
He started his set with a lot of new retro waves sound. Synth and modular sounds were all around, making the energy soar. Sounds of '80s loops were omnipresent as the bass got faster and heavier, and the bpm rose - oh yeah!
At one point, out of nowhere, in came an Afrobeat tune with trumpets. Magically fitting, it was received by a round of applause for its audacity and the capacity of moving clubbers. We asked ourselves - how on earth does he do it?
Driven away on a synthetic autobahn to Berlin, we are quite certain Kraftwerk would be pleased by this sound.
Here's a track to give you an idea - The Challenge by Beath. Master Dixon dropped a rework of some kind to suit the dance floor.
Full of emotion, the sound left us wondering how a machine can create such a warm feeling within the soul.
Meanwhile, in the Funky Room, Pvblic Xcessv had a very upbeat, funky, weirdly crazy and enjoyable groove going. At to some point, even Dixon himself appeared to congratulate the guys who were indeed killing it.
Here is a taste of what went on in the Funky room, with this remix by mega masters Soulwax, of the fun and catchy tune Work It.
Finally, it was time for what we were all waiting for: the mighty back-to-back between Âme and Dixon.
The music rose another notch, turning into hard house at this point, as the energy levels rose even higher. The creativity was off the charts, the bass was banging and strident yet strangely seductive distortions took over.
Now, we were no longer listening only with our ears but also with our legs.
Drawing from the past to create the future, Âme and Dixon were not only playing music but also creating a new musical landscape.
As the beat kept growing, we were on a techno train. How we got there, we don't know. The set was so well crafted. In retrospect, it seems clear that the entire night seemed to be a build-up to climax at the end.
The sound was banging and, as usual, there were no frontiers, no boundaries. They played it all, and it worked perfectly.
At one point we heard something familiar - the super track from Legowelt that has made the whole world dance. Check this out. You can feel the German roots of the duo.
The set took somewhat of a break with this artistic tune, a deep house number with the vocal part from the famous gipsy anthem Ederlezi.
It then slowed down but only for a moment. The train was unstoppable, with another heavily retro-influenced wave.
All in all, the opening was an artistic event of great quality. What seems clear to us is that this is a party to be experienced from the beginning to the end. Every detail seems carefully selected to create an emotional adventure that develops throughout the night.
I now understand the meaning of the name Innervisions. These fellows can see inside the soul of the music with a vision that seems to come from deep inside their souls. Make sure to check this one out, every Friday at Pacha.
