WHERE: Prince of Wales
WHEN: Friday, February 22, 2013
Smalltown with Dixon, Guy Gerber & Huxley.
Tickets on sale -
Through the summer months, smalltown retreats into the coolest intimate spaces in Melbourne to deliver our favourite artists up-close & personal. Sometimes bigger is not better and from December to march smalltown will be presenting you like-minded souls with some tasteful house artists in limited capacity events. We can’t be more pleased to announce that for the next smalltown we will be hosting three of House music’s most talked about artists: Germany’s legendary Dixon, Israel's music ambassador Guy Gerber and promising UK House cat, Huxley
Dixon -
In his native Berlin Dixon is a dead set legend. For almost 20 years Dixon has been one of the main protagonists of House music in Berlin and has tirelessly worked away since the early 90’s to carve out a niche for House music in a predominantly techno dominated city. Back when Dixon started his House flavoured Innervisions imprint, he had to play second fiddle to a more minimal tech sound that was influencing the electronic music world. Thanks to his infamous edits, unique DJ sets and banging mix CDs such as "The Grandfather Paradox" on BBE (compiled together with Henrik Schwarz and Ame) and "Temporary Secretary” on Innervisions, Dixon slowly started to put House music back on the map. It wasn’t long after the Dixon discovered duo of Ame hit the scene with the now infamous ‘Rej’ on the Innervisions label, that the reputations of Dixon and the Innervisions label got cemented as one of the most celebrated tastemaker labels and acts in the world.
But really, it’s the club where Dixon shines the brightest as his inclusion in the annual Resident Advisor Top 10 DJ’s poll will attest to (he has been a regular visitor to this poll since 2009). His residencies from those early years onwards have schooled him to achieve a stylistic and technical versatility that can only be attained through years of playing; his skills, attitude, stamina and experience have been honed on countless nights finding different ways to direct a loyal crowd on the dance floor. Believe the hype; Dixon spends hours trying to find and select the right music to achieve the levels of intensity that is needed; hours spent planning the imminent night’s structure and proceedings, and then hours spent putting it into action. Dixon is always more than happy to spend this much time on his performance as he takes his profession seriously; in fact, it is exactly what matters most to him as he has always been, and he always will be, a DJ first.
Guy Gerber -
Guy Gerber has always been comfortable as an outlier. From being the rock kid at the rave, to the Israeli DJ on the European club circuit, to the electronic producer with a fetish for live instruments, he tends to skirt the edge of whatever scene he's in. It's a position that suits him well––so far it's led to dozens of lush, melodic records, an ever-evolving live act and his own label, Supplement Facts. This nonconformist attitude, combined with the emotional content of his art (so rare in today's electronic music), explains how Gerber keeps his audience locked in, be it on record or on stage.
Before he was fiddling with drum machines and synths, Gerber was all about groups like Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. These influences still echo clearly in his music today, especially in his use of harmony, contemplative moods and trippy, shoegaze-inspired sounds. It's a style that's anything but conventional, yet one that quickly drew in some of Europe's most popular labels; three years after his recording debut, Gerber released the first of several records on John Digweed's Bedrock imprint. A couple of years later, Sven Väth signed him to Cocoon, eventually releasing his album Late Bloomers. All the while, he was building Supplement Facts from the ground up, showcasing his own productions alongside those by likeminded artists, and illustrating each record sleeve by hand, so each release embodied his distinct creative panache.
These days Gerber has the kind of artistic freedom he's always wanted, and it shows. Supplement Facts is more adventurous than ever, melding organic with electronic sounds. Meanwhile, he's embarked on his most unexpected project yet: an album with P Diddy, who hired him for some remixes and took him on more permanently after hearing the results. Now the hip-hop icon flies Gerber out to his studio in LA to work, where he gives him “2000% artistic freedom.” The experience has been transformative.“Something opened my mind out there,” says Gerber, noting how his approach to music has changed. For one, his rock roots are seeping back in; despite being named one of RA's top 10 acts of the year, he's scrapping his laptop for something more “live,” playing bass guitar over drum machines, and remembering the importance of lyrics. It's impossible to say where all of this is headed, but with a talent as bold and unorthodox as Gerber's, it couldn't happen any other way.
Huxley -
Ask any house purist about who they think might be the most exciting producer currently working in the House scene and the answer will most probably be Huxley.
Hailing from Tring (Tring is in Herfordshire UK and is often referred to as one third of the holy trinity of house music cities alongside Detroit and Chicago), Huxley has been blowing our collective minds for a couple of years now with gorgeous deep house releases on labels like Cecille and Tsuba – often in tandem with regular collaborator Ethyl – and indulging his love of heavier, 2-step garage on singles like ‘Shower Scene’, a phenomenal release from last year on Act Natural Records. For a compass on Huxley’s talents look no further than one of 2012′s most distinctive house tracks (released on Hypercolour) in ‘Let It Go’; a track that showed a maturity and sound that belies Huxley’s young age.
As a remixer, the Tring man is hugely in demand, turning his hand to major label talents with as much flair and skill as he does underground cornerstones like Lee Burridge or Maya Jane Coles. Completing the picture is his Djing – another perfect string to his bow that sees him tour his open minded and deftly programmed music selections in clubs and festivals across the world on a weekly basis.
Going forward, there's more of the impeccable same and more than a smattering of surprises on the way from Huxley. Singles for his tight knit group of labels (he just describes them as 'mates'), more collaborative projects with the likes of Sam Russo and Ethyl, production projects for vocalists (he's not naming names) and carefully chosen remixes are all on the way and, if anyone who has heard recent sets for Rinse FM and Fact Magazine will know, more on-point DJ sets that span house, garage, techno and beyond.
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