The Play Found on the Dance Floor: Jamal Dixon on DJing and Joy

By Jamal Dixon and Cas Holman

Dec 27, 2023

Walker Publishing Filed to Learning · Part of Radical Play

Jamal Dixon. Image courtesy of the artist.

Jamal Dixon has seen the future, and it will be rough and techno.

Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Dixon has been a N.Y. nightlife fixture from the early 1990s. He spent his early days in NYC, working at the legendary nightclub Tunnel, all while frequenting Timmy Regisford’s Shelter parties. He worked at the Turntable Lab for many years and was a resident at APT, 205, and The Top of The Standard (Boom Boom Room). Lover of all music, Dixon has most recently been turning heads with his own house and techno productions. 

Since his first release in 2020, Dixon has released original tunes on labels such as Rhythm Section, Outerworld, Black Techno Matters, Bastard Jazz, and Nylon Trax. He also runs the monthly "Shadows of Tomorrow” radio show on London-based LooseFM, where he plays older and current house/techno, soul, jazz, and R&B. With influences from Theo Parrish to Gilles Peterson, Dixon pays homage to a multitude of genres, connects generations, and puts out the music he wants to see in the world. 

As part of the series Radical Play, Dixon created an original playlist that accompanies this conversation and can be listened to below. The full track list appears at the end of the conversation.

Cas Holman

So tell me about the mix.

Jamal Dixon

I was trying to put songs together that were fun. The first track, Jubilation by Coultrain, always reminds me of modern dance, of jazz, and I was thinking about what I remember modern jazz being in the ’80s. That movement syncs with his style.

CH

You include a lot of jazz, which as a genre seems to embrace a playful looseness, a sort of free play for musicians in that it’s open-ended to some extent. Musicians experiment with the structure of a song or break rules and do something unexpected. What is jazz’s relationship to play?

JD

Yes, when musicians play live, they are playful with each other: they feed off each other’s energy. And as it has evolved and they tried to break the standards of what people expected jazz to be, they were really flowing into what their spirit was telling them to play. They were feeling the spirit and mood of the time.  The venue and audience added to it. This mix has some jazz, but it’s not all jazz. 

CH 

How does play relate to being a DJ?

JD

In the art and craft of DJing, you’re putting together a message, really. You can think of it as Play-Doh; I’m shaping something. Little bit of this, little bit of that. Putting it together, then: Ta da! Look what I created! It’s a present for others. 

You can play with people’s emotions, pushing them along a journey with types of songs, lyrics, beat transitions. There might be drone sounds to get people’s attention, then build to a climax when the dance floor is really packed. I even bring in some nature sounds if I want people to notice or be curious about where the music is going. This mix has examples of different songs that push a boundary or message, but in a playful way.

These are good-vibe songs. There is history here, and I included artists who passed away in the last few years who were monumental to some movement in music and Black culture. They were important people but underrated, not given much recognition for what they brought to the game. 

CH

When you were going out as club kid, what did you get out of the scene? What drew you to be out?

JD

Initially, in the ’90s, what captivated me about clubs, especially bigger clubs, was the escapism. It struck me as a romper-room playground for people who were out. The décor, the theme, the music were all within a unified theme. The art director would change it up to create a new vibe. The themes brought in all kinds of playful energy. The place was decorated, and people dressed up! I loved that we were all experiencing a wonderland. It was dope! And I wanted to be involved in creating it. And this was minus the drugs and alcohol. None of that even motivated me. I didn’t care about that. 

CH 

What made you want to DJ? Why not just go to the clubs and dance?

JD

I liked dancing, but the music was what inspired me. 

CH 

What’s radical about the playlist?

JD

If you listen to the songs, they have messages. For example, Osunlade is talking about that Black folks need to pick their leaders or else those leaders will be chosen for them. The media will choose a more moderate, palatable leader for the Black community, and that person isn’t going to be as radical as what might be called for. Whereas someone who is truly about the Black community and maybe a little rough around the edges could have a bigger impact and be true to the Black community they represent. Back in the day, women who were great leaders didn’t make it into the media. Or a confident Black man—and confidence is intimidating—who the media portrays as aggressive. In this song, Osa is reminding us to be aware of who chooses our leaders.

Toward the middle of the mix you’ll hear Demuir’s Hymn of Truth (by Ron the Aquarius dub mix). This song explains to people that there is more Black history that people do not know about because of how our story has been told—who’s included, how user-friendly the story is. She’s telling us we don’t have a full picture if we’re looking to the establishment to represent us. We’ve lost a lot of stories of great people because it doesn’t make it was through the filter. These songs are saying we need to work hard to know ourselves. 

DJ Deeon’s Freak Like Me (Armand Van Helden remix) is a remix of the original house version. DJ Deeon just passed away in July 2023. He is one of the pioneers of this style. Early on in the ’90s, a style started to emerge that was very raw and raunchy. Some people call it “booty house” or “ghetto house.” In Newark, we called it club. Seed He helped pioneer and lay down the foundation for juke/footwork sound, a style of house music specific to Chicago, and it’s really taken off for dance clubs.

K-Hand is called “The First Lady of Detroit.” She did it all: DJ, produce, ran her own label. She helped inspire hundreds of thousands of people, especially women, in dance music. She recently passed away, too. 

CH

Why is dance and music such an important form of play for Black Americans?

JD

You can look at it as a way to rejoice, communicate, gather. There is ritual involved. The history of Black American music started with spirituals and work songs in the early days. Blues birthed our modern sounds from gospel, R&B, jazz, and so on. All those styles at that time were bold and radical because they were used to communicate amongst Black folks subversively—there was code in it. The music from work songs in the field [was], in a way, dealing with the hardship of institutions of slavery but also staying sane, I guess. Being able to keep what they had to themselves, something of their own. That in itself is very radical.

There’s always been a message in the music. The act of singing, expressing joy or play, was radical in that it rejected total submission to the conditions in their lives. From then to early blues and jazz, the medium was a message of protest in a way. The gatherings that happened with music lifted spirits and bonded communities together. 

I think clubs, going dancing, as a form of play is a need because of oppression, but also just repression. Religion. Our jobs. There’s a lot of anger and pent-up energy that needs to go somewhere. It’s a pressure release that we all need. Not just [for] marginalized people. 

CH

Anything else you’d want listeners to know?

JD

Not really. Just have a listen, move, dance, think. Call it play. It’s all good!▪︎