Dax J
Origin: United Kingdom
There are few artists carving out a legacy for themselves like Dax J is right now. The London born, Berlin based artist is the quintessential DJ in every sense of the word. His name sits atop the bill in every major techno institution the world over, having gone from pirate radios to magazine covers, whilst establishing and carving out his own unique sound, which has firmly placed him at the forefront of a global DJ scene where he pushes an individual style of raw and uncompromising Techno.
He continues to be consistently nominated and voted into DJ polls and Awards from around the world, all whilst remaining purposefully rooted in the underground. Also known as a prolific producer and successful record label boss, his trademark sound remains in constant rotation from the most respected DJ’s in the world of electronic music today.
In recent years Dax has received countless accolades for his devotion to the craft. Being placed into Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, and Groove Magazine’s top 100 DJ’s of the year, as well as receiving nominations over the years from Mixmag, DJ Mag and the DJ Awards for Best Techno DJ, Best Breakthrough DJ, and Best British DJ. He’s known for playing notable closing sets at monumental parties including Awakenings for ADE in the infamous Gashouder and a 10-hour marathon set in the worlds most notorious techno club, Berghain.
2018 saw Dax release his multi-faceted 2nd solo album “Offending Public Morality” on Monnom Black, winning support from all major institutions, being picked by BBC Radio 1 as their “Biggest Record of the Week,” as well as entering the “Top 50 Albums of the Year” from DJ Mag, Tsugi and Apocalypse Mag, furthermore he was enrolled into the BBC hall of fame that year by releasing his debut Radio 1 Essential Mix, whilst having his 4-hour closing set at NeoPop Festival picked as “Best DJ set of the year” by Be.At.TV.
Preceding this, Dax released his highly acclaimed debut album “Shades of Black” in 2015 once again on Monnom Black. Mixmag awarded it “Album of the Month” and it reached the No.1 spot on Juno Records with Hardwax describing it as “Brilliantly Banging”.
Early Years
Dax grew up listening to the UK sounds of Jungle, Drum n Bass and Garage. Being heavily influenced by heroes like Goldie, Andy C and Bad Company, his love for the underground meant he soon started to DJ on pirate radios at an early age of 15 whilst he was still at school. He became an avid vinyl collector buying from London’s infamous “Black Market Records” on a weekly basis, whilst at the same time starting to produce music on his Playstation and craft his sound.
His new found obsession with DJ culture had led him to completely lose all interest with school, and due to behavior issues and constant skipping class, he was kicked out in his final term. The following year, the same story repeated itself, and Dax was kicked out of College within just a few months because he was undertaking a course he had no desire in.
Coming from humble beginnings with no money after his exit from education, Dax worked through many of the worst dead end jobs that he could find throughout those early years as a result of trading his interest in school for the clubs and nightlife scene around him. But of course, from every job he either got sacked or ended up walking out within a very short space of time, his only interest was listening to tapes and searching out new records. It wasn’t until he discovered he could study Music Production at college, that he was able to enroll again with focus, and stay motivated enough to complete the course, which in turn led him on to study Music Technology at the University of London where he finally graduated and received a Bachelor Degree in the subject. Those tiresome early work experiences had left a mark on Dax, and fueled by the fear of going back to those dead end jobs and holding on to the dream of making a success from his true passion, he was inspired to grind relentlessly on his music.
During his time at University his first vinyl releases would come in 2005 on Aphrodite & Mickey Finn’s classic Jungle label “Urban Takeover” under alias “Dangerous” and his own imprint back then “Xplicit Sound.” Within a short space of time by the age of 19 he had forced his foot into the English capital’s storied Drum n Bass scene, starting to play in the small rooms at major raves in London for legendary promoters such as United Dance, One Nation, and Movement, to name a few, as well as holding down residencies on London pirate radio stations Origin Fm 95.2, and Time FM 104.6
In 2007 Dax graduated from University and decided to take a year out to go traveling and the decision would completely change the path of his musical career. It was in this summer that Dax discovered the sounds of Techno during a whole season spent in Ibiza. From that point on his passion for cutting edge 4 by 4 beats took over and a brand new direction had presented itself. Dax began to develop a sound that appealed like no other, meshing together the sound of the UK’s uncompromising brash energy with European rigidity, and his unstoppable rise through the underground scenes had started.
Fast forward on and Dax’s love of classic UK club culture still remains deeply rooted inside him, influencing his productions and DJ sets to this day. He runs his own record label and studio in Berlin where he continues to work tirelessly on his craft.
Recent, collaboration between Dax’s record label Monnom Black and cult Dutch underground promoters Reaktor, on NYE saw in the start of 2019 with a warehouse party and line up rarely seen in today’s climate, placing the spotlight on new hand picked talent, showing the strength and vision of what is to come for Dax and his record label.
It’s hard to see what else the young Englishman can achieve given that he sits comfortably within the pantheon of modern techno, yet it’s clear that his raw passion for the music ensures he’ll continue to further solidify his legacy for many more years to come…
