Live At Robert Johnson Vol.8 Dixon

These days, the proclamation of a new mix CDs is bound to a lament that the format is dead (the internet, you know) and an attached explanation why said release is still the one you should get – of course! In our case – and for a change that may be certain– it holds really true. For one, it will be the last mix that appears in the Live at Robert Johnson series – from here on it are only compilations, unchained and free of the rules that tempo, blending and arrangements dictate. Furthermore, it is Dixon’s guaranteed last effort on the subject matter. The Innervisions’ partner and one of the finest DJs Berlin ever had to offer, simply outgrew the underlying system: the time restriction (70 plus minutes are just not enough), the time gaps (due to the licensing and manufacturing nature of the game it is almost impossible to be really current or represent the “flavour of the month” if you wish) and last but not least the interest it can generate nowadays. But as with all things Dixon one thing is for sure: attention. While his last official mix Temporary Secretary emphasised his tremendous skills as an editor with him playing around with the single parts of complete tracks, deconstructing and reconstruction them, melting and fusing what once was separate and touching the core of what a DJ set once was, Live At Robert Johnson Vol.8 is different. Not only it highlights Dixon’s relationship with the club (a resident DJ there from day one), but also his special abilities to build a night. As with all trueborn DJs, he has little difficulties to play from dusk till dawn and through all the highs and lows on his own. Blessed with such stamina, he also knows that haste makes waste and rather than taking a stab at the complete impossibility of condensing all of that to fit it onto one compact disc. So what you will experience here is the very start point of such an excursion. Postponing the appearance of something like a kick drum for almost thirty minutes, one is led through moments, tracks and songs that draw their inspirations from kosmische musik, ambient, kraut pop from various sources (Hauschka, P.Eladan, Domenique, Barnt) that slowly fade into Agoria and the likes of Axel Boman and the fascinating Cologne Tape before picking up speed with Mark E, Roman Fluegel and the climax that is Âme’s Osunlade remix with Todd Terje’s spellbinding Snooze 4 Love on its heels. Peppered with the notorious Dixon edits and his surgery here and there, Live at Robert Johnson Vol.8 might sadly not be the mix CDs lonely saviour, but it is definitely a testament to the fact that sometimes a little bit more effort makes all the difference – and the one you should get.