Interview with Paul Oakenfold
Interview with Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold began his new compilation series entitled "We Are Planet Perfecto". Volume one of the series was released on November 18th, accompanied by an extensive tour in the United States and abroad through out the remainder of the year. Electronic Night Life proudly brings you an in-depth interview with Paul as he embarks on his journey to South America, followed by upcoming performances in Argentina.
1. What are some of the changes that have occurred since Perfecto Records joined with Armada back in 2010?
The Perfecto team has evolved and while I’d still say our goal has always been to release great records – we’ve just fine tuned how we go about that and brought in a new line up of artists targeted by our A&R team.
2. Perfecto has many sub-labels including Perfecto Black, Perfecto, Digital, Perfecto FC, Perfecto Fluoro, and more. What is the sound that each of your sub-labels conveys and how does it differ from the other sub-labels?
There are only 2 labels in operation from that list. Perfecto being the more main stream side of what we do where we release electronic records without genre restriction and then Perfecto Fluoro is more geared for underground trance, psy and this new kind of punk breaks that the likes of our breaks super stars Beatman & Lumillla are making.
3. Who are some of the newest artists to have been signed to the label and can you tell us a bit about them?
Beatman and Ludmilla are now signed on Perfecto. They are really hot – like I said before I’d classify their music as a mix of breaks, punk and psy. They did killer remixes of my single “Tokyo” and the new release of “ResuRection”. Senadee is absolutely amazing. His debut single is out early next year and really shows off his talents both as a singer and songwriter. I’m excited so see what comes from him in the future. Michael S. is another great singer and songwriter form the US. He gave an amazing live performance at my recent show in Chicago with Paul van Dyk. Then we have Federation who are a band made up of some great musicians including Ben Lost and Rich Solarstone. They’re making some really cool music on Perfecto Fluoro. Kenneth Thomas is still going strong with some incredible productions – his remix of Mia Dahli “Need You Now” has been one of the biggest records for me at all shows in the last 6 months. It’s incredible. Richard Beynon who we have signed to Perfecto is going to be huge. His single “Close to You” just came out this week with a hot Starkillers remix. We’re lucky to have this great line up of psy artists linked to Perfecto Fluoro – like Astrix, Magnus and Liquid Soul. We’ve also signed Sonic Element from Australia who is a serious talent. We’ve released a variety of records on Perfecto this year with a wide range of artists – from Marco V to Ce Ce Peniston.
4. Can you tell us more about the process of selecting producers to remix your releases?
I usually bring some ideas to the table and discuss them with the A&R team and then we go after the remixers from there. This year we’ve had some really hot remixes from Marcus Schossow, Max Graham, Tiger Stripes, Nick Sentience, Robert Vadney, Astrix, Mike Shiver, 16 Bit Lolitas, Gareth Wyn, Protoculture, Digitalchord, Orjan Nilsen, ReOrder, Starkillers, EC Twins, Remy, MeHilove, Marc Simz, Apogee, Talla 2XLC, Scott Project……….
5. What is your stance about the evolution of DJ/Production technology?
I love it. Like with music – the evolution of technology should be embraced.
6. Which brands of equipment do you feel are the leaders in quality?
For djing? I’m a Pioneer man.
7. Do you still collect vinyl? How many records do you currently have?
I haven’t bought a record for a few years but I still have my full collection of vinyl. It’s a precious collection and what’s interesting is that as I look through the collection – just seeing a certain sleeve artwork can invoke an instant memory of where it was played. I love vinyl but I don’t have any interest in using it for live shows any longer.
8. Which vinyl do you feel would be amongst the most cherished to you?
I value every piece as highly as the other. Even if one record is better than another – like I said before – every one was something to me at some stage and so they are all an important part to the overall picture.
9. Can you tell us more about your film scoring work and how your thoughts differ when scoring a film versus a signature Paul Oakenfold production?
I’ve been involved in scoring film for many years now and I would say that it was getting so involved in that side of music production that first led me to move to LA. I’ve worked on many films.
10. How would the average DJ go about developing their brand?
Be original. Separate yourself from the crowd.
11. You still play a very nice selection of classics in your sets from time to time. Why is that important to the structure of a live performance?
Interesting that you think that. I don’t often play classics at all. There are certainly some back catalogue releases on Perfecto that we have re-released with new mixes that I have been playing over the year and of course if someone sends me a hot new remix of another classic that I used to play then sure it’s nice to give music you were so fond of a second innings, but generally speaking I like to focus on new music rather than old.
12. You have been involved in so many projects through the years, what are some of your goals for the future?
My main goal has always been to try and give people a good time through music – either by djing or releasing records. That continues to be my goal for the future.
13. You are considered a legendary artist in the electronic music scene; it makes me wonder which artists might a legend admire?
I’m a fan of every artists signed to Perfecto and Perfecto Fluoro. They are the EDM artists that I admire most right now.
14. Where do you think Electronic music is headed at the moment?
It’s certainly become more commercial recently. Pop and hip hop producers have seen dance music dominate the charts worldwide for the last few years and so have all joined in and collaborated with dance production outfits. So by day the amount of dance music you hear on the radio has gone up loads. But at the same time there’s a flip side to the scene which is heading more and more underground. I’ve always produced pop records as well as dance – having worked with U2, Madonna, Happy Mondays and of course on all the latest collaborations on Pop Killer. But at the same time I have a love of a certain kind of trance whose roots are firmly in the underground. I like being involved in both sides.
15. Every year that passes by there seems to be one prominent genre of electronic music in particular that stands out. Fill in the following blank… 2011 is the year of Electro and Progressive House.
Why do you think that is so?
It’s just a fact. Look at record sales of those records compared to any other genre.
16. What are some of your favorite tracks at the moment?
The best way to follow which tracks I think are the hottest is to keep an eye on my monthly iTunes DJ box or my underground Full on Fluoro chart on Beatport.
17. What does Paul Oakenfold do to unwind?
Hang out with friends. Work on music. Being in the studio can seem like a job when you are struggling to find the right melody but when it’s flowing – there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
18. Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
Right at this minute I’m in South America on the final leg of this part of the album tour. I have some final bits of work to do associated with the artist album Pop Killer and also we are working hard on preparing everything for the Four Seasons tour I am taking on the road for all of 2012. It’s a really fresh concept in terms of the audio and visual show and there will be a compilation series that runs along side the tour as it evolved through the four Seasons. We kick off the Winter Edition on the last weekend in January with shows at Ministry of Sound and Gatecrasher in the UK.
19. Do you have any other comments for your fans?
See you on tour in 2012. It’s going to be massive.
It was a great pleasure to interview you! Thank you so much for your time!
No problem. Nice to meet you.
- Interview by Zaneta Ortiz [ElectronicNightLife.com]
Posted by Zaneta Ortiz at 12/6/2011 2:02 AM 
Categories: Interview, Music, House, Trance, DJ, Compilation, News
Tags: Paul Oakenfold Planet Perfecto interview House Trance
Categories: Interview, Music, House, Trance, DJ, Compilation, News
Tags: Paul Oakenfold Planet Perfecto interview House Trance
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