Carl Cox April 1st 2005 Clift Hotel San Francisco, CA
For some of you that have been touched by the electronic music in your lifetime, think back to a time when browsing CDs in music stores was a sport. One name that has graced the racks for years is a legendary DJ, artist and producer, Carl Cox. For over 20 years, Cox has built a great reputation for bringing phenomenal music to the global masses with turntable wizardry. This England based DJ has touched various musical trends and is most widely known for his involvement in the breakthrough era of acid house and techno. Carl Cox, also known as the ambassador of dance music is ready to turn the tables and give you a breath of fresh air, are you ready?
VM: You’re almost at the end of your U.S Tour, and you just played in Miami during the 2005 Winter Music Conference. What were some of the highlights from touring the US and WMC this year?
CC:One thing is for sure, dance music is definitely not dead, it’s very much alive. So far, all the places that I have played in the U.S. have been amazing. I played the Crobar in New York, Avalon in Boston, and Detroit. Miami never seems to amaze me with how many people go there and have a good time. You can go and check out so many DJs and hear all kinds of new music. Ultrafest had over 60,000 people there and I had my own Global Arena with Mark Lewis, Josh Wink, Christian Smith, DJ Yousef and Danny Howells; it was amazing and put a smile on my face. Last night, I played in Denver, Colorado, which was minus two degrees centigrade. So after Miami, it was freezing but people came out and had a good time. Tonight, I’m here in San Francisco playing at Ruby Skye for the first time.
VM: You recently had a new single come out ‘Give Me Your Love’ included on your newest album, Second Sign, what is the idea or inspiration behind it? Where are you taking us with this one?
CC: On the new album, I put a lot of my heart and soul into it. It’s based on music that I have been inspired by, and it’s music that pushes the envelope of electronic music forward. Also, there is an art of performance with the album as well, the whole concept of the album can be and is being performed live.
The album is a second sign of my original sign, which is aliyah and my second sign is shemesh, which means praisal of the sun. So, it’s probably one reason why I like the sunshine so much (he laughs) and gives the album more meaning. My music always seems to glow and flourish and people enjoy that. It’s funk, it’s soul, it’s jazz, techno, breaks and drum and bass. So, I compiled all these elements and fused them together giving the audience a little bit more. It took a lot of hard work and took me three years to finish it and I look forward to the next one.
VM: You’ve been djing since the age of 15, playing all kinds of music from soul, disco, hip hop, acid house, breakbeats to trance to techno, out of all these types of music what was the biggest influence in making the Carl Cox sound?
CC: The biggest influence really was the rave scene , I was able to mix and fuse acid house music and uk breakbeat and the uk jungle sound. I learn alot, utilize the music, I work with the people and do what I enjoy most and entertain people.
VM: Besides playing with two turntables and a mixer, what was the first step in taking you beyond the turntables and into the studio?
CC: The first step really was making a bootleg record in 1989 called “Lets do it”. I had two turntables and a Numark mixer which had a 4 sec auto sampler on it. I looped and mixed a track called “landlord”, I did it in real time with no edits, start to finish. I put it on vinyl and sold about 3500 records, it was Carl Cox turntable mix and people loved it. I learned a lot by working with sound engineers to help find that sound.
VM: Many have said that, “You’re the Peoples DJ”, and you set yourself aside from other global djs, like Paul Van Dyke, Sasha & Digweed, do you feel the direction you’ve been branded is where you want it to be?
CC: Absolutely, I’m so happy where I am because I have nothing to prove, I don’t choose to compete with anyone. In life, Carl Cox is Carl Cox, as an individual and I will always will be. People come out to hear what I do, it’s not the idea or concept of what I am. I’m a person like anbody else, but I play and create music on the dance floor and that’s the most important thing. Once your number one, the only way is down. So, for me I’m in a fantastic place. That’s the story of my life and what I believe in.
VM: One mix in particular, “Carl Cox Live @ Creamfields”, you can hear the crowd throughout the mix. Near the end you of the mix, you began playing some Brazilian vocal tunes that just blew fans mind, where is this coming from? Were these original tracks you mixed in or are they new productions?
CC: I’ve always been in to Brazilian cultural music and what it stands for. A lot of music today that I play has those elements and those sounds. It pushes my buttons hearing brass sections, intertwined with these records. Some are elements I would drop onto tracks and some are records made twenty five years ago, thats 21st Century Music. For some reason I feel like I’m on a mission to just liven things up a bit and get people to move and in such a way you couldn’t do with progressive music. Its a sexy sound I feel good about and when I play, it’s what makes me different. I like to introduce different flavors to the coldest parts of the world, like England. It’s making people smile with brighter days.
VM: You launched Intec Records in 1999, since then we’ve heard many great tracks, what can we expect in the next five years?
CC: I recently signed some amazing artists and still scouting around to keep the essence of Intec alive. We just signed Hiroki Essashika who did this track called Kazane, this record is not your typical Intec record that we put out, it sounds like electro clash but has this element of sound which you can’t deny, this record should be big this year. We played Kazane everywhere we played and the people went absolutely crazy fo it. Also, we have Valentino Kanzyani from Slovenia, he did a compilation album called, Intecnique Vol. 1, which comes out in May 2005. We’re bringing out new International artist from the UK, one particular is Adam Bamford, he’s absolutely amazing. As I go along, there has been amazing music being made which I can’t ignore, and if it’s that good, it goes on Intec.
VM: What things give you satisfaction in your life right now?
CC: I think its now being understood by my music and what I’m doing. It’s important to me because it always feels like your banging your head against a brick wall all the time. If your trying to get people to understand, do what you love, you’ll be satisfied in what your always doing. I’m family safe, I have good health and I’m enjoying life as I know it and for me I think electronic music is great right now, a lot of people saying it’s over, it’s finished and the superstar djs are done, I don’t see it. I’ve just played a cameo role, in LADJ the movie and our global radio goes out to 2 million people every week. Our music is heard in different countries all over the world, even countries I’ve never been. I live for the live shows and putting albums out, also getting over the hump of producing, and getting the job done at the end of the day.
VM: Any last words you would like to tell global dance culture?
CC: This music is to be enjoyed and respected for what it is, it makes a lot of people happy and brings people together from all nations, colors and creed. Above anything else, electronic music has played a big part in our lives, a positive thing. All I can say is, “take care of it, it’s for you and no one for anyone else”. For evermore, I’m still doing it and because of that, it makes people smile and happy. The many DJs who follow these steps and play music play in what you believe in and enjoy what you believe in and enjoy yourself, that the only thing I can say.
Thank you Carl, thanks for giving us your time, what you do has touched MANY, MANY, MANY MUSICS FANS around the world and we hope to see more of YOU in this lifetime. 😀
Carl Cox has achieved more successes and attained more goals than any other DJ, yet proving that he is one of the hardest working people in the industry.