Stereosonic Exclusive Interview With Carl Cox
Australians habitually adopt people they love – and so Carl Cox, one of the UK’s original superstar DJs, is now as ‘Aussie’ as Stephen Fry, ABBA and many a New Zealand pop star. Coxy has actually guested on the ABC’s rock quiz program Spicks & Specks. (He once sang!) And the love is mutual. The Brit bases himself in Oz every summer. Carl has a pad on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, where he indulges his passion for motorbikes. Nevertheless, at other times of the year, you’ll find him touring the global DJ circuit. Carl just wound up a triumphant season at Space Ibiza.
The then three-deck wizard first played Australia in the late ’80s. He’s since DJed at countless club and festival dates here, including the Big Day Out.
The funky techno don headed a New Millennium Eve bash in Sydney before courageously flying to Hawaii for an encore – and making history. This year the DJ legend is back at Stereosonic. Carl is looking to catch Deetron (“I haven’t seen him perform for many years”), his “man” Andy C, and Radio 1′s Annie Mac (“I’ve been interviewed by her for many years and I’ve never really seen her play”).
The last music festival Carl loved was June’s Glastonbury, where he caught Pendulum and Beyoncé. ”This year I played at Glastonbury and headlined the dance area with Fatboy Slim. For me there was a great opportunity to spend the whole weekend there – to really take in the essence of Glastonbury. I just had some glasses on, I put a cowboy hat on, I had an old jacket on and some wellington boots – or gumboots… I just trudged around in the mud checking out all the other bands and stuff and it was just awesome. I absolutely loved being incognito like that.”
Signed to Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto, Coxy had an early ’90s crossover hit in I Want You (Forever), which saw him appear on Top Of The Pops. Apart from his many mix-comps, Carl has issued three ‘artist’ albums, the most recent 2005′s Second Sign, for which he collaborated with Fatboy Slim, Roni Size and Josh Wink. Lately, he’s been talking up an exciting new ‘post-album’ enterprise, All Roads Lead To The Dancefloor, with input from FSOM (Future Sound Of Melbourne’s) members Josh Abrahams and Davide Carbone, plus Aussie vocalists and musicians. Unusually, Carl is releasing the album in phases by way of a USB format, fans able to access all manner of extras, like a DJ tutorial. Family Guy was the project’s lead single, but currently Nicole Moudaber’s remix of Chemistry is blowing up on beatport. ”I’m really pleased about that,” Carl says of his protégée. The third and final phase of All Roads… will come in the New Year. And Carl is offering a CD version with “the most popular tracks” for technophobes. “As fast as we’re going forward, I still have to take a step backwards,” he says knowingly. Carl’s desire is that listeners experience the album – and not just download one track, always “disheartening” for an artist.
In the past the Global radio show host has playfully touted himself as “a techno evangelist” but, breaking through in the eclectic acid house era, and with his roots in disco, rare groove and electro, he’s championed anything from minimal to progressive to drum ‘n’ bass. On All Roads… Carl experiments with dubstep, which he deems “an urban punk sound.” (His favourite new artist is the more-soulful-than-punk Katy B.)
Carl has done any number of interviews, but never sounds jaded. Will he ever publish his autobiography? After all, he must have some great stories. Carl could even spill on his brief acting career, having cameo-ed in the cult clubbing flick Human Traffic. “I think I need an encyclopaedia,” he quips. As it happens, Carl has been asked to write a book, he’s just unsure about the timing. “I’m still living the story, basically!”
The DJ has much planned for 2012 – introducing “cool” new producers on Intec Digital. He’s likewise the subject of a four-part TV documentary, My First Love, to screen on Sky Arts (Foxtel here). Viewers will see “a different side of Carl Cox,” he teases. “I end up playing keyboards live with The Brand New Heavies at a place called Mambo’s [Café Mambo] in Ibiza!”