UNLOCKINGSITE

Carl Cox isn’t shy to share his opinions on the state of contemporary dance music and why would he be? The over-30-year veteran of global club culture has been a pioneer of the genre since its earliest days, when he was a leader in Britain’s ‘80s rave scene.

“I thought that my career in electronic dance music was going to go from 1988 to 1992. I gave myself maybe five years,” he shares via Zoom from the Isle of Man, a small island in between England and Ireland where he’s visiting for an annual motorcycle race, Isle of Man TT. The DJ, producer, label head and motorsports impresario still talks about his wild ride through music as if it was a surprising dream. “There was the rise of the star DJ and all these super clubs were happening. These raves went from 5,000 people to 25,000 people to 35,000 people,” he recalls of his early years in music. “I’ve been doing this for so many years, but I never had a plan of where my life was going to go and that excites me,” shares Cox

Cox has an unyielding drive to keep innovating: he founded legendary record label Intec Records and in 2018 launched yet another label for live electronic acts, Awesome Soundwave (ASW), with partner Christopher Coe. Maybe most notably, he’s taken a leap into hybrid live performance. Sure, he can create magic as a selector at the helm of a three deck CDJ set-up all day, but the uncertainty of performance (creating live techno with modular synths, CDJs, his computer and other gadgets) is what thrills him most.

“There’s no hit records or ‘sing alongs’ here [in my live set]. The goal is to keep pushing the boundaries, keep pushing things forward, get people to go, ‘I wasn’t expecting that,’” he tells PAPER, before explaining his motivation. “At the moment, we are complacent. The events all look the same. DJs are playing the same thing. The crowds are becoming complacent. ‘There’s my drop, my sing along, there’s my mash up. I’ll put my hands in the air. This is where I put my mobile phone,’” he says mimicking the at times thoughtless, nearly robotic nature of many global partygoers.

One can understand how an artist who saw the UK rave scene go from word-of-mouth phenomenon to multi-billion dollar business can be aghast at the global homogenization of dance music culture. The intersecting variables of social media, algorithmic culture and big business interest has made it so festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and dance floors in his longtime haunt of Ibiza often have the same, neon-tinted, iPhone-oriented energy.

Cox, though, isn’t running away from the business; he’s stepping up, performing his boundary pushing sets around the world and now returning to Ibiza this summer, after a 9 year hiatus from the Island following the end of his legendary residency at Ibiza super club, Space. Now with a Sunday night residency at the new multi-million dollar club, [UNVRS], he’s bringing his signature style to a scene that could well use his wisdom. “I haven’t changed at all from what I do as an individual, but it is a new world. It’s a new crowd, new everything, new expectations,” says Cox. “[But] on my own [residency] nights on Sunday [at [UNVRS]], curating the DJs that I do … it’s going to be an original club style night on the island.”

Another place he’ll be bringing his singular artistry? Kappa Futur Fest (July 4-6) in Turin Italy, where he’ll be playing for the 9th time. The electronic music festival takes place in the dramatic Parco Dora in the Vitali area which used to be a strip steel mill. Populated by a metallic forest of austere steel pillars, the venue is in direct conversation with Turin’s industrial history as the center of the Italian auto industry. Often called “Detroit of Italy,” Turin is thus an apt locale to host a techno festival, given the genre’s roots in America’s own Motor City.

Cox beams when speaking of the festival. “This festival was probably one of the first ones in Italy that started at three o’clock in the afternoon. The Italians never normally go out until two o’clock at night, right? After they’ve had their dinner, watched football, been on the beach, rode a motorbike to a friend’s house, had a few drinks,” Cox jokes. “Nobody goes to a festival at three o’clock [in Italy], apart from this crowd. The festival has created something new and fresh and exciting for you to go to and enjoy,” he shares. “It’s one of the most genuine festivals that I’ve played to, because they haven’t pandered to be an EDM-style festival. They have their own style … They bring in a new generation of DJs. They give people like myself an opportunity to do something different.”

We can’t wait to see Cox deliver his signature live set in Turin. PAPER spoke with the electronic music legend in the lead up to the festival to talk about his return to Ibiza, this moment of “complacency” in global dance music culture, and his deep roots in techno.

Having been around the world so many times and seeing all that there is to offer in the dance music business, what’s the last thing that you saw that surprised or sparked something in you?

I’ve been doing this for so many years, but I never had a plan of where my life was going to go. That excites me. What new artists are going to make new music? Which DJs are coming through? Which way are we going with all of this? How did we get here? I’ve just experienced everything and been given opportunities in life to do these things: starting record labels, curating festivals, starting a nightclub, starting a clothing brand, making new music, finding new artists.

As you see behind me, of all these machines [Carl’s Zoom background features his live set up which includes a computer with Ableton Live, modular synths and a CDJ]. These machines are available to anyone who chooses to use them. These are the things I use to make music in the studio. And then one day, I thought, “I’m a live artist. I can perform electronic music live through these machines and do what I do in the studio, live to an audience.” I’m not the first or the last one to do it. We have people like Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk and all these guys that have done it before me. It makes sense for me to perform my electronic music live through these machines. There’s no hit records or sing alongs here [in my live set]. The goal is to keep pushing the boundaries, keep pushing things forward, get people to go, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

At the moment, we are complacent. The events all look the same. DJs are playing the same thing. The crowds are becoming complacent. “There’s my drop, my sing along, there’s my mash up. I’ll put my hands in the air. This is where I put my mobile phone.” All of this [complacency] is going on. So you have to keep jamming, pushing the envelope and the boundaries. That for me as, as an individual, is what I’m excited about.

Complacency was something I was curious to ask you about, having seen the development of this business . I’m in New York covering the techno scene here. The scene has just boomed. With that, you also get a standardized culture. I’m curious about when you personally noticed this new era of complacency come about in global dance music?

It’s difficult. I come from a place where there was no structure. There was a rave scene, and there was a new culture which came out of the music that was being made in America, but not being played in America. It had a cult following. There were clubs in New York. If you were Black and gay, then you would hear certain DJs. If you were white and Hispanic, you’d go to different clubs. It never came together, apart from when the rave scene developed itself in the UK. I could see everything that was going on as a Black person. Once it all came together, it started to explode. Then it started crossing over from the UK to America. And then we grew exponentially; there were the Germans and the Italians, and then we all started coming together with this sound. All of a sudden, you’ve got this great scene happening from no plan at all.

I’ve always just loved the idea of what happens next in music. I remember when I first started playing Acid House or Techno or Electronic Music, and there was this big disco, underground funk scene. I first started playing a record called “Time to Jack” by Chip E. Everyone ran to the hills. [They said,] “What’s this? This is not funky. This is not what we are used to hearing.” But then in time, people started to get used to hearing it, and then a lot of music became understood. We’re talking ‘86, ‘87 and ‘88 and then we were on the tip of the Warehouse sound, Garage sound, Rave sound, Detroit techno, Chicago Beats: all this stuff coming in. It was just amazing to hear all this music and we were just riding the crest of a wave.

So that was my upbringing and foundation. The people who were around at that particular time were of a certain age. It was 25 years ago, so if you were 25 then, now you’re 50. Are there a lot of 60 year olds on the dance floor today? No. So a lot of people on the dance floor are a product of the people who got together in those early days. But the difference is now we have social media. That has changed everything. At the end of the day, there’s nothing I can do about that apart from just keep doing what I’m doing and basically be that gatekeeper, the person that will still play you a Chicago Jackin’ track, a techno record, Breakbeat, House music: I just keep doing it, because one day they’ll get that we’re still here because of the music. You can have confetti cannons and balloon drops, but underneath it all: It’s the DJ, the music, and these speakers that keeps people coming back for more and more.

I thought that my career in electronic dance music was going to go from 1988 to 1992. I gave myself maybe five years. And then there was the rise of the star DJ and all these super clubs that were happening. And these raves went from 5000 people to 25,000 people to 35,000 people. I was going up and down from the UK rave scene, to France and Germany, then Italy, then Croatia and then to America, Mexico, Hawaii, and then my residency came up in Ibiza at Space Club, right? It started off very casually: Tuesday nights, 2000 people maximum. I started there thinking I was going to be there for five years. And then I was there for 16 years. Where is it going to end? And then it did end based on what had happened between the owner of space and the person that owns the land. And then in the midst of all that, we had a pandemic.

The people that were not old enough to go to clubs, who were 16 years old in the pandemic, they’re going out today. But they’re going out with no real culture. They’re hearing this music by these DJs, and that’s all they know. They don’t care about DJs from 20 years ago, they’re not even 20 themselves. They wouldn’t know who Derrick May is. I know who Derrick May is. But if you ask anyone from the generation who are going out right now, who are listening to FISHER or anyone, they wouldn’t know and they don’t really care. They don’t need to, because they’re having a great time right now. “It’s this track, and I’m waiting for the drop. I’m waiting for the point where I can sing along, and that is all I care about.” If they’re out for two hours, and they’ve got what they need on Instagram and Tiktok, that’s it.

But club culture has always been a feeling. It’s been heartfelt. It has always been a way of life and our own society. It’s really difficult to be the person who’s pioneered so much when you don’t want to comply with what’s going on. But you have to try and do something. You have to try and turn a corner and get someone to listen to something else. My idea is to try and give them what they want and then give them something that they weren’t expecting. That’s where my fun is. I’m playing a record that doesn’t exist. You can put your phone up and try to Shazam it, and it’s not there, undefined, but you’re dancing to it. That’s my role. There has to be something else, pushing this scene along, otherwise it just becomes boring. At the moment, it seems to be going that way, and it’s a shame if we just keep churning out the same thing. Now, [with my Hybrid Live Set, I’m] giving you music that is being created in front of you. I’m able to still transcend to people who are interested in listening to what I’m doing.

On the subject of pushing things forward, and your history with Ibiza. I know you’re making your return with a new residency after some time away. I’m curious about why this felt like the right time to come back?

They’ve had the opening party at the new club, [UNVRS]. They’ve had Eric Prydz already on Tuesday with his new Halo show. They’ve had Fisher open his show on Thursday. I think the whole world knew about him coming from the ceiling, landing AND starting the music. It was nowhere near turntables. He just had it all curated. So people were like, “Wow, this is amazing entrance.” Everyone’s still talking about it, whether you like it or not. He’s an entertainer, and that’s what he does.

I haven’t had my opening yet. It will be happening in a couple of weeks. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve had a taste of what it could be like with the opening party where I played back to back with Jamie Jones. I went on at nine o’clock in the morning until 12. Some people wanted their money back. “How could you go on at nine o’clock in the morning? That’s when I’m doing my Pilates.” It’s like, Jesus, we went out at seven o’clock in the morning at Space club, and we went from another club to experience something you would never experience anywhere else.

I haven’t done a club like that in nine years. So people were waiting. What am I going to do? How do I feel about this new club and being a part of this new generational club? The [club owners] spent 85 million euros on it. It’s not going to be bad.

Space Club has left a legacy. for myself, based on what I have done on that island, and all I’m doing is transcending what I had done at Space into [UNVRS]. I haven’t changed at all from what I do as a person, as an individual, but it is a new world. It’s a new crowd, new everything, new expectations. And for me — being who I am, having my own night on a Sunday and curating the DJs that I have — it’s going to be an original club style night on the island.

This story is coming out in the lead up to Kappa Futur Fest. I know you have a long history with that festival, and have done some legendary sets. Can you tell me a little bit about your history with this particular festival and why you come back every year?

This festival was probably one of the first ones in Italy that started at three o’clock in the afternoon. The Italians never normally go out until two o’clock at night, right? After they’ve had their dinner, watched football, been on the beach, ridden a motorbike to a friend’s house, had a few drinks, and then all of a sudden they get ready and they go to a club at two. Nobody goes to a festival at three o’clock in the afternoon [in Italy], apart from this crowd. The festival has created something new and fresh and exciting for you to go to and enjoy. The event space is incredible. There’s nothing else like it. The sound has always been good and the DJs they book have always been great. The DJs that have played just want to come back and play more and more and more, because there’s nothing still like that on planet Earth.

It’s one of the most genuine festivals that I’ve played to, because they haven’t pandered to be an EDM-style festival. They have their own style. They rolled it out with the way it looks. They bring in live acts, different styles of music. They bring in a new generation of DJs. They give people like myself an opportunity to do something different.

It’s also a unique Italian festival experience. Italians have so much spirit for the culture of dance music. If you spoon feed them something commercial, they stand there and go, “My local DJ can play what you’re playing, give me something which is coming from your soul.” You know from the depths of where you believe or you feel, you’re giving us something very special, and then they are behind you 110% and I’ve always played in Italy with that ideal of my my energy and how I give, give out, you know, my kind of, my share with the music to the dance floor and and for me to go from the clubs to this type of festival, I’ve always been able to excel on that. So when I did the live show first time, and in Italy, it was at kappa Festival, and they absolutely loved it. You know, I started, you know, in the afternoon. I sometimes always play at the beginning, so three o’clock till five, or three till six, three hours, just so everyone’s watching. They see me playing straight away. That’s unique, you know, as a headline. Normally, the headliners do not start at the beginning, but I love it. I enjoyed the fact that I can really experiment with my music as they’re walking in. There are no expectations of where I’m going to take them and that excites me. So this festival is very unique, very special. Hopefully I’ll keep doing it after so many years of coming back.

Photography: Dan Reid, Elephant Studios