This legend hasn't let age slow him down one bit. If anything, his track selection has become harder and faster over the years. Known for being one of the pioneers of electronic music, Paul Oakenfold is here to keep the legacy of the music alive, more specifically trance. From opening clubs, working with mega stars, scoring films and playing the biggest events across the globe, he has done it all.The label boss of Perfecto Records has been making a splash across the trance scene over the past few years by supporting underground artists who embrace the darker side of dance music. Paul Oakenfold is on a Trance Mission with his new album comprised of covers, not remixes.THUMP Canada spoke with Paul before his set at EDC Las Vegas about the importance of keeping the past alive and paving the way for underground talent.THUMP: Paul, you've been posting about the World Cup a lot lately.
Paul Oakenfold: I just came from Brazil, went there on Monday for Spain—Chile which was fantastic, then I went to see England—Uruguay which was terrible and I just got back yesterday.Let's talk about your new project, Trance Mission. It comes out this week, how are you feeling about it?
Good actually, it's an interesting project because as you know in the electronic music world we do remixes, but this is a cover album, meaning we haven't used anything from the original tracks; they have all been covered.So you are basically re-creating the sounds from the ground up.
Everything! It was a big challenge for me so I am really happy with it. The reactions from it have been fantastic.The selection in the track list is quite impressive.
I can't take all credit for it as the team from Perfecto has worked on it.In the album you have revisited some old school classics, what's your objective in doing this?
My objective is to share some of these songs with the current generation of electronic music lovers. There is a Simple Minds track in there, so maybe they will go back and listen to the original production which is rock music.Not too long ago you toured with Madonna doing opening sets for her shows. It's known you are friends with her, but can you tell us more about how that came into motion?
I was signed to a label called Maverick Records where I was remixing and producing for Madonna and it sort of fell into place. I'm very lucky she asked me to go on tour with her. It was a wonderful experience.Recently on Perfecto you've been supporting the darker and harder side of dance music with psy trance.
It's the real sound of electronic music. We enjoy that, we really love psy trance. For me it's important for the label to showcase underground music.What artist are you really pushing right now?
At the moment nobody in particular, but everyone under Perfecto is really important to us. For every artist we work with we try to do our best by supporting them. I am always looking for someone new and underground rather than big name DJs. That's where the real music is; the music that I like is there.Recently you had Simon Patterson release the Full on Fluoro Vol. 1 compilation and that was very well received.
Everyone at Perfecto is a big fan of Simon Patterson. I personally think he's going to be the next big thing among trance DJs. We want to support him and it just made sense to work together.You have experience in producing outside of the dance music world with some work in film, how does your mentality change in the studio?
When I'm in the studio working with my team I like to keep everyone focused with what they're supposed to be doing, but some people do call me a know it all [laughs], but that's my job as a producer.Ani spends an unhealthy amount of time listening to trance ranging from 138 BPM to 140 BPM, follow him on Twitter @AniHajderaj.
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Paul Oakenfold: I just came from Brazil, went there on Monday for Spain—Chile which was fantastic, then I went to see England—Uruguay which was terrible and I just got back yesterday.Let's talk about your new project, Trance Mission. It comes out this week, how are you feeling about it?
Good actually, it's an interesting project because as you know in the electronic music world we do remixes, but this is a cover album, meaning we haven't used anything from the original tracks; they have all been covered.So you are basically re-creating the sounds from the ground up.
Everything! It was a big challenge for me so I am really happy with it. The reactions from it have been fantastic.The selection in the track list is quite impressive.
I can't take all credit for it as the team from Perfecto has worked on it.In the album you have revisited some old school classics, what's your objective in doing this?
My objective is to share some of these songs with the current generation of electronic music lovers. There is a Simple Minds track in there, so maybe they will go back and listen to the original production which is rock music.Not too long ago you toured with Madonna doing opening sets for her shows. It's known you are friends with her, but can you tell us more about how that came into motion?
I was signed to a label called Maverick Records where I was remixing and producing for Madonna and it sort of fell into place. I'm very lucky she asked me to go on tour with her. It was a wonderful experience.
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It's the real sound of electronic music. We enjoy that, we really love psy trance. For me it's important for the label to showcase underground music.What artist are you really pushing right now?
At the moment nobody in particular, but everyone under Perfecto is really important to us. For every artist we work with we try to do our best by supporting them. I am always looking for someone new and underground rather than big name DJs. That's where the real music is; the music that I like is there.Recently you had Simon Patterson release the Full on Fluoro Vol. 1 compilation and that was very well received.
Everyone at Perfecto is a big fan of Simon Patterson. I personally think he's going to be the next big thing among trance DJs. We want to support him and it just made sense to work together.You have experience in producing outside of the dance music world with some work in film, how does your mentality change in the studio?
When I'm in the studio working with my team I like to keep everyone focused with what they're supposed to be doing, but some people do call me a know it all [laughs], but that's my job as a producer.Ani spends an unhealthy amount of time listening to trance ranging from 138 BPM to 140 BPM, follow him on Twitter @AniHajderaj.