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Meet Honey Dijon

Meet Honey Dijon

By Whitney Weiss

Whether spinning euphoric disco sets at Le Bain or stripped-down techno in Berlin, Honey Dijon is always on top of her game. A DJ's DJ with an encyclopedic knowledge of dance music, she currently divides her time between New York, Berlin, and a packed touring schedule. Ahead of Honey's set at Fhloston Paradise, we chatted about the current state of New York nightlife, testing tracks on actual dance floors, and why it's impossible to choose a single historical club to visit with a time machine...

So to be clear for those who might not know, you're from Chicago but currently based in New York and Berlin, or just New York?

I spent the last three summers in Berlin, and I love the city. I'm just trying to figure out how to move there full-time, since everybody and their mother lives there. And I still work quite a bit in North America. I'm going for three weeks, actually, because I'm going to Tel Aviv to play The Block, then I come to London to play Dalston Superstore, then I play Homopatik, then I go to Ibiza. It's just easier [to tour in Europe] if I'm there.

Since you've been involved in New York nightlife for such a long time, what would you say is the biggest difference between what it was when you first arrived and where it's at now?

The biggest difference now is that I don't see very many people of color at the clubs anymore. It's not as culturally diverse as it used to be. Musically, New York doesn't have a sound anymore. It was once one of the most influential dance capitals of the world, it had so many influential artists back in the day. There are party promoters who are very successful, like ReSolute, Blk|Market, and Verboten, but I wouldn't say that there's a definite New York sound. The only DJs who are really making an impression in Europe right now are Levon Vincent, Joey Anderson, and a/just/ed but I'd have to say they're much more embraced in Europe than in the States. I mean, EDM is still quite popular here. 

And is that one of the reasons you're interested in Europe at the moment, aside from the fact that it sounds like you're booked so often?

Yeah, I think musically. Also, New York is such an expensive place. The best line that I ever heard about New York, as it is today, is 'New York is a great place to sell art, but it's not a place to make art.' I think that's one of the main reasons why I'm looking more to Europe. And it's so funny, there's such a resurgence in house music at the moment, and that's something I'm very well versed in. They're talking about how deep house is this next big trend, which is so funny because it never went away. It never went away, it's just a difference face has been put upon it, if you know what I mean.

I definitely know what you mean.

Yeah. So I really feel more artistically free in Europe as an artist, so that's one of the reasons that I would consider living there. But fees are not as high; it's a trade-off. It's a great place to live, but there's a DJ every two minutes. And great ones. 

And how do you feel about London?

I absolutely love London, I think it's such a musically rich city. I mean, the music I find in London I tend to not find anywhere else. The record stores Phonica and Kristina are curated so well, I find such amazing things there. And they just really love music. Not just dance music; you hear all kinds of music in London. From jazz to pop to dub, you can hear anything. It's very inspiring for me. But it's mad expensive. And so vast. It's not like the city of New York, where it's expensive but you can sort of walk anywhere. it's really spread out, the east is far from the west. But I absolutely love London.

And what sorts of records have you been playing out a lot lately? What can the crowd at Dalston Superstore expect on the 12th?

I've been playing more raw these days, more stripped-back, more techno-influenced, mixed in with classic things. But techno has been really inspiring, I don't know if that's coming from spending a lot of time in Berlin. I just listen for things that reflect my personality and reflect how I want to express music. I've been accused of being eclectic, and I've embraced that. Because when I was on Traktor for so many years, I found that I was more concerned with what I could do with the music instead of letting the music breathe. I realized I was a much better artist just going back to vinyl and using USB sticks and playing records. So I guess what they can expect is a more stripped-down version of house music. I don't know what to call it anymore! The best word I can come up with is "soultek." 

So the fashion weeks are about to be upon us. You have a long-time collaboration with Kim Jones from Louis Vuitton and have DJed a ton of fashion week parties in the past. Are you playing this year or doing any shows?

Um, I've transitioned more into a personality.

Even better!

So I'm going to more fashion events than actually doing after-parties now. The thing about fashion is it always has to be the next, the next, the next, you know, I've had my turn. The fashion crowd went to Ibiza this year for some reason, so I think you'll be hearing a lot more house music and stuff like that. Now I just work with friends and do soundtracks for events or do soundtracks for shows more than I do parties. Which is much more exciting and fun, because you're actually collaborating with artists and designers instead of being the after-party soundtrack.

Can you tell us anything about what you're collaborating on this year or is it a secret?

I think the longest-standing relationship I have is doing the music for Louis Vuitton. There's always research that goes into that show, that goes into that music, and every season I've worked with Kim, I've always done special edits of particular music. Last season, I did a special edit of Hounds Of Love. Kim likes really obscure things, so it's really a matter of doing a lot of research and doing special edits tailor-made for the show. That's always exciting and challenging and fun.

And do you have any new remixes coming out?

I just did a remix for My Offence for Hercules & Love Affair, I actually have two projects about to come out on Classic. I'm about to do a remix for DJ W!ld, I just did a bunch of original material that I'm shopping at the moment. So I have lots of little musical things on the go. 

Do you think you'll be playing your original stuff out while you're DJing?

It's so funny, I don't even want to hear half the stuff after living with it. But yes, I slip things in. I have to, just to hear what they sound like. Sometimes you make a track, then you take it out, then you realize that the kick could be a lot louder, or the highs could have a lot more movement. You know, it's one thing to make a track in the studio, but it's another thing to play it out and get a reaction from the crowd. And sometimes, you don't even think the stuff you're gonna have a good reaction for gets a great reaction. So the trick about making music is just to make it. 

And then test it.

And then test it. But that's the thing, back in the day you used to have residencies where you were able to test your stuff. But now, you just test it on the road. And you don't get a chance to really hear, you know, have a place where you can go. I don't know how to express it, like if you had a residency, you could test things and live with them and see the crowd's reaction change before you release it to the world. But now, now you don't have that. Unless maybe you're a Berghain or Panorama Bar resident. Or a Robert Johnson resident. A club where you can have a residency to play that kind of music. I think that's the biggest challenge. 

Now for the classic Dalston Superstore question, which is: if we had a time machine ready to take you to any dance floor, past present or future, where would you like to go and why?

God, that's such a loaded question because there are so many dance floors. Oh my god! I mean, you're talking to a person who loves music. Okay, I'm just going to give you a list. I would have loved to have gone to The Loft to hear Nicky Siano, I would have loved to have gone to The Music Institute in Detroit, I would have loved to have gone to The Warehouse in Chicago. I would have loved to have gone to Berghain in 2004. The Mudd Club, 1978. Danceteria, 1979. The World with David Morales and Frankie Knuckles. Disco 2000. Um, of course Paradise Garage. Of course Ministry of Sound in the early '90s. The Saint. 

But also, there are so many clubs that people don't talk about that were heavily influential in my development as a person and as an artist. There's one called Club LaRay in Chicago, Rialto's, Cheeks. These are all clubs that were in Chicago that weren't talked about. They've sort of been erased from the dance music vocabulary because they were predominantly black gay clubs that were very underground. And back in the day, the most two famous ones were The Warehouse and the Power Plant, but back then they were really... you know, it was black and gay. Straight people went, it wasn't like straight people didn't go, but they weren't the popular clubs. Like I said, there are so many dance floors around the world… God. It's like, there was Fabric when it first opened, or Home when that first opened in London. Jesus Christ, I mean it's hard for me to say which and when and what because yeah, there are just so many. DTPM, Trade. For me, it wasn't about black white gay straight, it was about a movement of music. And I didn't think there was one school, the list could go on and on and on. So if I had a time machine, I would probably go back to each and every one of them.

I appreciate the history. I had never heard of Cheeks before you just said it.

Yeah, Cheeks was actually a trans bar where Ralphi Rosario used to play. I've been going to clubs since I was 12, I don't even remember what year that was, but it was definitely late '80s early '90s. But I was able to get a fake ID and go to these places, and I was friends with a lot of other DJs and I got snuck into clubs, too. It was a different time, you know. It's so funny now how…you know, it's funny to me, I don't want to use this word to offend anybody because at the end of the day anybody who loves this kind of music and promotes this culture I'm all for, but I don't see a lot of um, it's still a very heavily male dominated industry. I don't see a lot of people of color that are tastemakers. There are hardly any women of color. I don't see any queer women of color. I just have a different reference point about it, I suppose. But I don't want to insult anybody or sound like a victim or sound like I'm jaded or bitter or upset. I think you have to be very careful in how you word these things, because it should be about the music at the end of the day. 

And do you feel, because like, as a female DJ  I don't usually like asking other people the identity question, but do you feel responsible as a public figure or as someone in the scene, for being…

Trans?

For being representative, for doing a good job representing your viewpoint?

Well, I think you can probably answer this. You don't want to be considered a female DJ, you're a DJ.

Exactly.

You don't want your talent to be pigeonholed by your gender. But having said that, I don't think I would have had the experiences I've had if I wasn't who I was. So I think it's important for me to tell those stories and those experiences, because those stories won't be told otherwise. So it's not so much that I feel a responsibility to anyone, it's more that I feel like I'm giving a voice to experiences that otherwise would not have seen the light of day. Being a trans person now has become en vogue, as we so care to say. It's one of those things I don't want to be put in a box because of, but at the same time, it's a thing that also gives me the advantage of having had such a rich musical cultural experience. And being able to move between different worlds and being able to have different dialogues with different audiences with music. You couldn't put a Chicago house DJ on the main floor at The Black Party, but yet they did, because I'm from Chicago, and I'm trans. 

I think my quote unquote 'gender experience' has allowed me to navigate different worlds, which has given me the opportunity to have a rich musical cultural experience that I get to share with other people. I can't control what other people say about me, but I can control what I say about myself. I don't define myself by my gender, I don't define myself by the music that I play, I don't define myself. I just define myself as Honey. I'm Honey. And all of these experiences have made me who I am as a person. So if I have to communicate that to other people, that's the best answer that I can give, that I'm fortunate in a way that I've been able to navigate different worlds, because I've been many different things. I've been able to go from straight to gay, gay to straight, whatever you want to call it, black white straight gay bi purple trans, and each has its own language and vocabulary, and I've been able to incorporate all of that into my expression of music. Not a lot of people get to do that. Most people you know have only been to one, they're comfortable. Not comfortable, but if you've never had to question your identity and you've been able to be successful in one lane, well, there's a whole freeway out there. 

Join Honey Dijon for Fhloston Paradise in the laser basement and Whitney Weiss in the top bar for Nancy's this Friday 12th September at Dalston Superstore from 9pm - 3am.

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Meet Honey Dijon

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