Paul Oakenfold

Paul Oakenfold is a London-based DJ, producer and remixer associated with electronic, progressive trance and trance music. Born in 1963, he begins his career in London and becomes one of the key figures in bringing trance into the mainstream.

Early career and club culture

He starts out playing soul and rare groove in a Covent Garden wine bar with Trevor Fung, then spends time in New York in the early 1980s, where he takes a courier job in West Harlem and becomes closely interested in the city’s hip-hop and DJ culture. Returning to London, he works as an A&R man for Champion, where he signs Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and Salt-N-Pepa. He also appears on Blue Peter with a breakdancing crew he is looking after.

In 1985 he spends the summer in Ibiza, and a later trip there with Trevor Fung, Nicky Holloway, Ian St Paul, Danny Rampling and Johnny Walker strongly shapes his approach to club music. After this, he persuades the owner of The Project in Streatham to let him run an after-hours “Ibiza reunion” night. That develops into Spectrum at Heaven in Charing Cross, which later becomes Land Of Oz. The night grows into one of London’s early major acid house clubs, with Paul as a central DJ figure and Alex Paterson playing in the chillout area.

Production work and Perfecto

Oakenfold begins producing in 1988 under the name Electra with Steve Osborne. By 1990 he is involved in The Happy Mondays’ “Wrote For Luck” and “Hallelujah”, and he also works on the group’s album Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches. This work, along with later remixes, helps establish his reputation in the indie-dance scene. He and Osborne later work under the name Perfecto.

He continues to remix artists including New Order, Massive Attack, The Shamen and Arrested Development. A 1992 Perfecto remix of U2’s “Even Better Than the Real Thing” becomes a major landmark, and in 1993 he is hired to provide warm-up music on U2’s Zoo TV world tour. He also produces for U2, Massive Attack, Simply Red and New Order.

Albums, mix projects and soundtrack work

In 1999 he releases Tranceport, which helps build his audience in the United States. He follows it with Perfecto Presents Another World, a release that broadens his reach further. In 2002 he releases Bunkka, which includes “Starry-Eyed Surprise”. The same year, he is listed in Q magazine’s “50 Bands to see Before you Die” compilation. He later releases the double album Creamfields in 2004, Perfecto Presents The Club in 2005, and Great Wall, recorded live at the Great Wall of China.

In 2006 he releases A Lively Mind, which includes collaborations with Brittany Murphy on “Faster Kill Pussycat” and with Pharrell Williams. The album is described as more club-focused than Bunkka. He also writes and produces the Big Brother theme as Element 4 with Andy Gray.

His music appears in films including Swordfish, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Die Another Day and Collateral. He also remixes the James Bond theme for Die Another Day and later works on the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent in 2004. He scores Swordfish and also remixes the theme to Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes.

Residencies, recognition and labels

Oakenfold holds a two-year residency at Liverpool’s Cream, and in 1999 he becomes Director of Music at Home in Leicester Square. He is voted the number one DJ in the world by readers of DJ magazine. He also plays an epoch-making set on the main stage at Glastonbury Festival.

His labels and projects include Perfecto Records, Paul Oakenfold Music and Maverick. Associated acts and aliases connected with his work include Grace, Planet Perfecto, Electra, The Source, Virus, Rise, Perfecto, Element Four, DJ’s United, Brock Landars, Four Lions and Bunker.