“ I played for 1.8 million people at the Berlin float parade in about 2002. I never thought I’d see myself in a position like that in the driver’s seat, to have this many people listening to my track, my every mix, but here I am, and for me that was definitely one of the highest pinnacles of my career.”
– Carl Cox 2014
[Rewind 2014-2016]
Carl Cox Interviews
The legendary Carl Cox will be touching down in Australia for the epic Stereosonic this coming November [2014] and December. We chat to the UK DJ who has established himself as one of the global kings of the dance and techno scene over the last two decades.
Finishing up his residency for the summer in Ibiza, Cox recalls how the season has been this year, “It’s been really good actually this year. We had the World Cup on, and a lot of the clubbers had gone to the World Cup, so it put a bit of a knock on effect in the club and here on the island. But we were good in our club with numbers coming through the door.”
And as any superstar DJ such as himself he’s been very busy and slips in that he’s just returned from playing in Russia of all places, noting how the scene is changing out there, “People in Russia have really started to get into the style of dance music that we know about in the rest of the world, and it’s becoming part of their lifestyle. And me going over there is cementing the fact that they don’t have to listen to just one style of music. There’s quite a lot of different styles of house and techno music that they enjoy, so it’s kind of nice to be a part of that.”
Continuing on the seemingly different location to play in, Cox explains, “I was playing for a friend’s club, that’s just opened there. As you know there’s conflict in the area at the moment. But I was able to go over there, do my gig and get out!”
Watch Carl Cox at The Revolution, Space Ibiza
In his relaxed and friendly manner Cox also mentions that he played at the world-renowned Burning Man festival over the summer, elaborating on the experience, he explains, “There was no advertisement to say I would be playing there. I had my own camp for the first time and it was absolutely amazing how people found us. There’s no rules at Burning Man, apart from, of course there’s the clean up campaign, leave no trace, which is really important.”
Having travelled the world for the past 20 years playing to crowds in all manner of venues, Cox explains how he fell in love with Australia and set up a semi permanent home in Melbourne, “I bought a house ten years ago now, and every year I go back in October, November and spend Christmas, and most of January and February in Melbourne. That’s where I live. In March – end of March – I jump on a plane, and then I start to play back to back starting via America.” Cox states that he looks forward to playing at Stereosonic each year, “For me playing at Stereosonic is like coming home.” Elaborating on his love of Melbourne he explains, “I’ve been touring, and coming over for the summer for the last 20 years, and everywhere I ever went going around Australia, obviously Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, every time I got to Melbourne I just felt like I was home.”
You can catch Carl Cox alongside Nina Kravitz, Duke Dumont and Calvin Harris.
Visit www.stereosonic.com.au to get your tickets now.
By Hannah Shakir
@hanshak
One of the most recognisable UK DJs, Carl Cox is a big influencer over dance and techno music, especially in the last two decades. With summer residencies on the party island of the world, Ibiza, and sets at legendary festivals such as Burning Man, he is often touring to far-off destinations and playing all over the world. Luckily for us, he has a house in Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsular, so he does come to Australia pretty often, gracing us with his club bangers and mixes.
One such visit will see him play the Greenwood Hotel in Sydney on 7th March, for another brilliant T1000 event. Unfortunately, we have to prepare for him to leave our shores soon after, as he closes the summer season once more. He explains, “I built a house seven years ago, and every year I go back in October and jump on a plane end of March to start playing back in Europe via America. It’s different for me than it is for most European DJs, because I can do a gig and then go home, so I understand the desire to live in Melbourne.”
As well as the main man, Cox will also be supported by local DJs, including DigDeep DJs. As a global act, he has witnessed dance music scenes all over the world, but with the distance of Australia from everywhere else, he explains to us that it’s difficult to pick out home-grown talent from Australia that has caught his eye.
“Most of the Australian talent has yet to cross over, and this is a good thing and a bad thing in some ways because you don’t have any scope to be anything apart from what you’re expected to play. And the thing is, you’re on the other side of the world. So what do you do to be noticed? It’s very difficult. Even the punters in the crowd get their USB sticks or CDs to me. I do have a website where they’re able to upload new music to me, and I’ll get this on a weekly basis. I get to shoot through so many of these new records, and then I’m able to pick and choose the tracks that I think will go down well on the dance floor.”
So now you know how to get your music heard by Carl Cox, don’t miss him at the Greenwood Hotel on 7th March for the party to end the summer season.
Keep up to date with Carl Cox Music and Tours carlcox.com
Check out T1000 events in Australia
T1000 Presents Carl Cox Australia Tour – Archive Events Page
[Fast Fwd 2016]
We recently had a long chat with the ever so lovely Carl Cox, who’s pumped for ‘Pure’ in April this year. He will present the first instalment of his own unique festival in Oz. Taking place in Melbourne and Sydney, ‘Pure’ will showcase players from the global techno and house movements and will feature Carl’s favourite peers, as selected and programmed by him and Eric Powell of Bush Records. Carl Cox is definitely one of the most charming DJs in the business. He’s a world musical ambassador, a champion of techno, a dance music pioneer, label owner, ‘Rev head’ and he proudly calls Australia home. We talked about his exciting past, about the even more ambitious current, and about future plans within the music industry.
Hey Carl Cox, thanks for chatting to us! How are you this morning?
No problem! I’m great thanks.
How has 2016 been for you so far? Do you miss Space Ibiza at all or is this the start of a new chapter?
I’ve done a few parties in Australia already that I’ve enjoyed this year so far, and at New Years I played a festival in New Zealand, called Rhythm & Alps which was just fantastic. On New Years Day I came back to Melbourne to play Alumbra, which was great too, and they had a great response to my house and techno music. All the parties have been amazing and I’ve been enjoying the summer here! I’m looking forward to Pure, but meanwhile its something that I have to do before getting back over to Europe, and of course this being my last season at Space Ibiza for me, once it finishes this year I will miss it a lot. Every year on the island since 1989 I’ve done nothing but play at Space Ibiza, so as you can imagine 27 years is a large part of your life. I’ve really enjoyed it but yeah I’m going to miss it terribly.
We’re really excited you’re playing at Pure 2016 on the Anzac Weekend! Will your set have any surprises?
The thing is about Pure, I have really no idea what to expect until I actually get there. The DJ’s we’ve chosen for this one are really amazing! I love that we were able to get in contact with Joseph Capriati, he’s one of the very busiest DJ’s right now and the hottest around, as well as Format:B, the artist who had one of the biggest records that came out in 2015, called Chunky. From one side where we have us playing music, we really are looking for a good solid crowd to come and enjoy the ideals of what I’m bringing to the table, here in Australia. So I can be very happy knowing that in the end, we can enjoy this festival and develop on it, especially as it’s our first event.
Yeah it should be exciting! So what are your ambitions with the Pure event? If its successful, do you aim to turn it into an annual bespoke Carl Cox event or create a brand with it?
Absolutely. I think its something people can believe in and understand. I mean I live here myself and I’ve been living here for the last 11 years, so I’m dedicated to the cause of music been played here and supported. This music has been around for a long, long time, its not a phase, its here to stay. All we need to do now is nurture it and enjoy what we have, for years to come. Now for me to be able to create something here in Australia, I feel very passionate about and also proud at the fact I’m able to put something out on the doorstep where I actually live. With that, I can feel that I’m always coming home or I that I can feel a good part in the development of house and techno music in Australia. With Pure, I think it can open doors for quite a lot of creativity to happen here, so it’s not just like another event, its something I feel very close to.
So have you had a good reaction from the public towards pure 2016?
I think people are definitely excited about it. I mean I went out to a comedy club last night and the guy that was serving me had just bought his ticket two hours before I turned up, and he didn’t even know I was going to be there! So you can imagine the smile on his face when he randomly got to see me on downtime, but he was very happy and pleased that he bought a ticket, he’s really looking forward to it and I’m sure that many others that have got tickets are also feeling the same. It’s not like any festival where you’re swamped by 50,000 people in a middle of a field somewhere, this is somewhere where you can feel much more close with, and the idea is that you’ll always feel comfortable each time we create these events.
You’re playing at Melbourne’s Shed 14 and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. So what made you choose Australia to hold Pure there?
Well we felt that we’d keep it relatively small, something that we can really handle, and create a good initial buzz in what we believe in. What I would like is for people to come for the music, because of the DJ’s and for the ideals of why you go out in the evening. I’m trying to get back to the ideals of why people really buy tickets, and with that it shouldn’t really matter what DJ’s are playing, because if I’m booking them, they’re chosen because they have a certain talent, a certain je ne sais quoi and are top quality. My ideals is to start something which is Pure, which is organic, something that can grow organically and that you can feel part of. For me I feel very honoured that I’m able to host this in Australia, because I’ve been coming here every year since 1989, so I feel kind of compelled to do something in Oz.
You said your aim was to support the techno and house community in Australia, does this mean you want to encourage up and coming artists in the genre?
Well the thing is, its really hard for any DJ to break out with their music in Australia. So what happens here is that the only way you can basically be seen, earn money, cross the waters to play in Europe and beyond, is to be commercial. It’s the only way. And the biggest problem with that, is anyone who wants to be successful has to become commercial to be successful. So therefore you miss out all the beautiful, most amazing records ever made from an underground point of view. Anything that’s No. 1 or the biggest, always falls back down to earth. So if you become the biggest commercial orientated DJ in Australia, your only direction to go once at the top, is back down again. The ideals of Pure festival is to play the best music, and have people listen the best music possible. I don’t want to create a festival where commercially, I have to put bums on seats just to make money. The idea is if a record you don’t know comes on, you haven’t heard before, and a DJ’s plays that record, you will get absolutely taken aback by its purity. That’s probably one of the sole reasons why I’m still here doing what I do. I feel more compelled to play a track people don’t know, yet are still dancing to it.
Do you enjoy living in Melbourne, or being based there as I assume you’re always travelling?
Once I get to Australia, there is no-where else I’d rather be. It’s so far from the rest of the world, there’s so much to offer here in Australia in a sense of the beauty of it- its wineries, its mountain ranges, the lakes, just everything. I live on the Peninsula and there’s water everywhere, I just enjoy it. I find myself to be able to be the person I am. If I want to walk away from everything, I can quite easily; I can get to Tasmania quite well, New Zealand if I want to. I love it here, I think it suits what I need perfectly.
What do you reckon the most amazing location is you’ve ever played?
As you can imagine, I have played in some amazing places. I’ve played in Barbados and as it’s a tiny Caribbean island, its beautiful. Playing on the beach there is probably one of the nicest places I can think of!
Do you get to enjoy chill time or is most of it spent working?
When I get back from Europe to Melbourne between November to March, I’m kind of able to do what I want to do, in terms of chilling and relaxing, and just live a little! For the rest of the time, all the other months are full with my tour schedule. And I appear everywhere, Germany, France, Spain, literally all around. But as soon as I’m back in Oz, I’m right in my hammock watching the sun go down.
Sounds Perfect! Although it has been around a long time, we feel that house and techno music has really exploded onto the mainstream global scene over the last year, where do you see the future of house music?
Well I think house and techno music has just got more understood, as a genre of sound. And the thing is, the sound of this music in the late 80s and the people who were into house at that time are over 50 now, so probably don’t go out anymore. So you have a whole new genre of people who are into techno now and feel as if its fresh. If I played a track from 1989 and played it to the new generation of people today, they would think it’s a brand new record. For me, that record was always very well produced and very well executed- it’s the perfect example of a house record. If I played that today, they will think it’s Disclosure! I don’t think much has changed in a sense of what the genre stands for, I just think time has moved on and now people get to understand the true meaning of what house music, deep house or future house is. At the end of the day, you have to feel it and it has to feel you, you have to understand the reason behind why it makes you move and where it takes you. So for me its fantastic, as you can always mix the old and the new and it still sounds fresh today, and I’m having a lot of fun doing just that. You’ve got at least another thirty years of house to come. People are now believing its part of their life-culture. I guess house is that soundtrack to your weekend, so it’s not going anywhere!
And finally, After Pure festival, whats the next step for your career?
To be honest, I am going to be stepping down a little bit, from what I’ve been doing for many years. I do want to still become an ambassador and work on my record label. You know, where I’ve been on the front line, on the decks for so many years, I believe my time has come where I feel I should take more of a back seat, which suits me fine as the travelling aspect is probably the hardest thing I do. In a sense with saying all that, it’s going to be hard stepping back as it’s something which I love to do so much. For now, I’m not focusing on albums and instead making some remixes which I’m enjoying. This year should go pretty quickly and then from next year you should see a step back from my career.
Thanks so much for talking to us and good luck with Pure 2016!
By Suanne Cunningham
PURE 2016: ANZAC Day Long Weekend:
Saturday 23 April – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Time: 4pm – 1am
18+ ID Required
Tickets: https://www.ticketek.com.au
Sunday 24 April – Shed 14, Melbourne
Time: 4pm – 1am
18+ ID Required
Tickets: https://moshtix.com.au
LINE-UP:
Carl Cox, Joseph Capriati,Format:B,DJHMC and Eric Powell
Supports:
Murat Kilic + Mantra Collective (Sydney)
Mike Callander + Scott Freedman (Melbourne)
[Rewind 2011]
QUITE possibly the world’s number one DJ, Carl Cox is returning to Melbourne’s Billboard next week. This time, he’ll be introducing us his “The Revolution Continues” concept to which was the most successful club night in Ibiza in 2010.
What would you say sparked your interest in Music?
To be honest I think a lot of it has to do with the curiosity of it at a young age. When my father used to play his records; whether it be county, western, blues or rock and roll, I was very interested in the styles of music.
What would you say has been your best work as a DJ?
I think, wherever I’m playing be it a wedding or a birthday party, a big festival or a race, my goal is for people to be left with a big smile on their face when I’m done.
I suppose a really good example of that was when I played for 1.8 million people at the Berlin float parade in about 2002. I never thought I’d see myself in a position like that in the driver’s seat, to have this many people listening to my track, my every mix, but here I am, and for me that was definitely one of the highest pinnacles of my career.
When can we expect your next album to hit?
I’ve been working on an album for the last year and a half, I’ve actually been working with two producers from Melbourne called Davide Carbone and Josh Abrahams, it’ll be released by September this year. I’ve been road testing the tracks over the last year to the point where I’m very happy and the people have been rocking out to them even though they didn’t even realise they were Carl Cox tracks.
Finally, what is your top priority on your Bucket List right now?
Just to try and make as much time for myself as possible. I’ve always gone and made everyone else happy and made hardly any time for me so at some point in my life I’m going to put some time aside for myself.
When: March 18th
Where: Billboard, Melbourne
Cost: From $35