The track selection on Temporary Secretary definitely reflects a similar approach that features on The Grandfather Paradox. He’s used tracks which revolve around a house come 4/4 base yet they all have their own diversely individual sounds. Dixon craftily blends each track with such flow and smoothness that the whole mix simply glides.

There’s no rushing this CD with things starting in carefully measured amounts. Fever Ray’s If I Had A Heart sets a deep warm tone with its multi layers of vocals and melodies. From there he melds into the spooky whistles of Roland Bocquet’s Exotique before slowly layering in the vibrating motif from Ame’s Tube Beats. It creates a fine build of tension before brilliantly releasing into a medley of Jazzanova’s Let Me Show Ya and Daniel Paul’s Something About You. Quite a mouthful to describe and that was just for three of the four opening tracks.

Things continue to shuffle along at a steady pace with Dixon keeping your attention through his intricate mixes and fascinating sounds. You’ve got the twinkling chimes combined with the lovely soulful vocals on Ewan Pearson’s remix of Hazel. They go up against the higgledy percussion of Kalabrese’s remix of Inferno Jack, creating a hypnotic and airy atmosphere that wonderfully sets up the beautiful melancholic melodies of Peter Kruder’s Law of Return for maximum impact.

Dixon then rounds off the second half of the mix in more familiar house territory. The infectious vocal loop and acid style riff on Good Voodoo sparks some serious toe tapping action, whilst the epic synths on Henrik Schwarz’s remix of Equinox and the haunting strings from Ame’s Setsa provide some great “eyes closed, lost in the music” moments.

This review took a long time to write because I just didn’t know what to think about this mix. Normally you can figure out what you think after a couple of listens but with this I just wasn’t sure what I thought. In fact I was probably leaning towards not really liking it. It didn’t seem to go anywhere and it was very hard work to listen to. But after persevering with a fair few more listens you start to see the detail and intricacy in which this mix has been so skilfully crafted. You start to learn the way it moves and breathes from one track to the next and ultimately you fall in love with its hidden depths and dynamics. It doesn’t hit the same mark as The Grandfather Paradox, but it doesn’t fall too far short. If you buy this CD, give it the time it deserves and it will be a great listen that you can keep coming back to. Like that old overused analogy goes – “it’s like a fine wine that gets better with age”.

Buy Temporary Secretary from Amazon (CD | MP3), Play.com (CD | MP3) or HMV (CD)

Tracklist:
01. Icasol – Ongou
02. Fever Ray – If I Had a Heart
03. Roland Bocquet – Exotique / Âme – Tube Beat
04. Jazzanova – Let Me Show Ya (Henrik Schwarz Remix) / Daniel Paul – Something About You (Instrumental)
05. Precious System – The Voice From Planet Love / Ben Klock – In a While
06. Junior Boys – Hazel (Ewan Pearson’s House Mix)
07. Butane – Inferno Jack (Kalabrese Remix)
08. Peter Kruder – Law Of Return
09. Kiki – Good Voodoo (Visionquest Remix)
10. Code 718 – Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Mix)
11. The Machine – Fuse
12. Cortney Tidwell – Watusii (Daphni remix)
13. Ame – Setsa
14. Tokyo Black Star – Sepiaphone