Wednesday April 1, 2009
Take it to the limit
By JASON CHEAH
Paul Oakenfold plans to feature unreleased new material in his deejay set at KL Tower this Saturday where he headlines SpeedZone Tour 2009.
IT’S still early enough in the year for Grammy award nominee Paul Oakenfold to take one last look at last year’s achievements before getting back to what he does best in the clubbing arena.
Last year was a good year for the 45-year-old Londoner, coming off the Greatest Hits & Remixes Vol1 compilation, which in turn followed his second studio album release (A Lively Mind) in 2006. His first was Bunkka in 2002.
Paul Oakenfold has opened for U2 and Madonna. He is set to open for Madonna again when she tours Europe later this year. “I scored four movies and also did The Bourne Conspiracy game,” the veteran celebrity deejay said in a recent e-mail interview.
Of course, Oakenfold’s musical journey in club land dates as far back as the back end of the 1970s, when he decided to give his earlier career plans of being a chef a miss and started deejaying instead. He started out playing soul, jazz and hip hop music while doubling up as an A&R man responsible for signing up then-unknown acts such as Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and Salt-n-Pepa for mainstream release.
That was 30 years ago. Since then, Oakenfold has moved on to spearhead, innovate and introduce the essence of progressive clubbing culture to the masses. In fact, he has a very good piece of advice for budding producers, artistes and deejays around the world.
“You need to work really hard, be really focused, and look to the future,” he noted.
Look to the future he still does, as he took just a little time off his heavy schedule, which mostly involves jet-setting from London to Las Vegas for a weekly residency with his record label Perfecto.
He managed to promptly reply this e-mail interview before he arrives this Saturday for the SpeedZone 2009 tour at KL Tower which he headlines alongside a host of fellow veterans and a few newcomers to the clubbing world.
Oakenfold last played in Malaysia in 2003, appearing at the The Mines International Exhibition Centre in Selangor.
Anticipation is high for the man’s return to these shores. Speedzone Tour 2009 will be one of the first few venues to catch his latest productions as he is currently busy with the final touches to his brand new album Pop Killer, set to feature collaborations with the likes of Cee-Lo from Gnarls Barkley, Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“At my show in Malaysia, I will be playing a lot of the new music from my upcoming album, and those from producers signed to Perfecto, including Nat Monday, Kenneth Thomas, Robert Vadney, Adam White and Joey Modus,” he revealed. And as he continues to share some insights from both present and past, we look forward to seeing the man in action here soon.
Over 22 years have passed since you first started out. Did you ever think it would have come to this stage of where club music stands in worldwide acceptance?
I am astonished to see how what started off being a youth movement – albeit a huge one – has become a global worldwide scene, and also where it has taken me – who would have thought that through a box of records I would get to travel to so many places, meet so many amazing people and experience so many amazing cultures.
It’s closing in to the end of the decade now. Where can you see the club/dance phenomenon heading especially since a milestone quarter of a century is arguably coming up for both house music and techno?
Where I think it will go is more into film (I work more on movie scores than ever); I think the way forward is residencies, and supporting new talent, whether they are deejays, producers, or acts.
Perfecto Records has and still been pretty much a leading force in an incresingly embattled recording scene in dance music. How do you feel it’s been able to keep fresh and ahead when so many other labels of reputation have finally gone to dust?
Perfecto has always been on the look-out for new up and coming artistes, and nothing has changed in that respect. We have some great new talent in the form of Kenneth Thomas, Robert Vadney, Adam White, Nat Monday and Joey Modus.
You have a standing residency and tour, Paul Oakenfold presents Perfecto. Tell us about this. At this moment you’ve just begun a residency in Las Vegas. Why Las Vegas and so far how has that been like?
The Planet Perfecto residency is going extremely well. We have captured the spirit and energy of Ibiza, it is very theatrical ... very much a show that you could only ever pull off in Las Vegas, although in the future we are looking at possibly taking it on the road.
You’ve opened for U2 back in the day, and now you’ve just finished opening (for the third time) for Madonna’s tour in Latin America two months ago. Tell us about that experience. (Oakenfold is set to open for Madonna again for the European leg of her tour this summer)
The South American leg of Madonna’s tour was amazing, we were playing to 75,000 people every night, and the crowd are so up for it, they have so much passion!
In all those decades past, it would be difficult to pinpoint any highlights or memorable moments in your career. Do you have any (both high and low) that you wouldn’t mind sharing with your fans?
Highs were doing my own show on London’s Clapham Common to 75,000 people, and supporting U2 and Madonna.
Lows – that has to be falling off the stage in front of 5,000 people in New Zealand!
Paul Oakenfold headlines the SpeedZone Tour 2009 at KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday. Doors open at 6pm.
The deejay line-up includes Judge Jules, Tall Paul, Daniele Davoli, Nic Fanciulli, Ricky Stone and Alexander Technique, a.k.a. DJs Are Not Rockstars. Local names Joey G and DJ Eugene will also feature. Tickets are priced at RM48 (very limited pre-sale) and RM68 (door sale), inclusive of one non-alcoholic beverage. Log on to www.axcess.com.my or visit your nearest Axcess Ticket outlet now for more information.
The party is open to party goers 18 years old and above only, and all ticket purchases and collections are subject to display of a valid photo ID.
For further event updates, log on to www.speedzonetour.com. Speedzone Tour, presented by Speed Zone Entertainment in conjunction with KLGP City and Tourism Malaysia, is the official Malaysian Grand Prix dance festival held for the sixth consecutive year.
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