Not only does Paul Oakenfold produce records, but he also mixes them. In 1987 he spent several months in Ibiza with a few friends and fell in love with dance club music. Oakenfold produced "Happy Mondays' Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" before producing for U2, Massive Attack, Simply Red and New Order (to name a few).
In 1999 after building an American fanbase he released "Tranceport" which was widely accepted by American trance fans.
After "Tranceport" came "Perfecto Presents Another World" which was arguably his most successful album, as it introduced millions more to his style.
His popularity grew as many of his works were inclulded in movie soundtracks such as Swordfish, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Die Another Day (where he remixed the James Bond theme before later going to work on the videogame Goldeneye: Rogue Agent in 2004) and Collateral.
In 2002 he released Bunkka, which featured the hit single 'Starry-Eyed Surprise'. In the same year, Oakenfold was listed in Q's "50 Bands to see Before you Die" compilition.
2004 brought about the double album 'Creamfields', but it was in 2005 that he released the Perfecto Album entitled 'Perfecto Presents The Club'.
He also released the album Great Wall, recorded live at the Great Wall of China.
2006 saw the release of 'A Lively Mind' where he colloborated with, amongst others, Brittany Murphy (for the single Faster Kill Pussycat) and Pharrell Williams. 'A Lively Mind' is an edgier, more club-based album, as opposed to his calmer album Bunkka.
Paul Oakenfold's musical career started from admirably humble beginnings, playing soul and rare groove cuts in a Covent Garden wine bar in the late 'seventies with mate Trevor Fung. By the early 'eighties, having decided that NYC was the place, Paul decamped there armed only with the chutzpah to blag his way into a courier's job in West Harlem. At that time, more than any other, New York was bursting with musical invention: hip-hop was the freshest street sound around, and Larry Levan - arguably the first ever superstar DJ, inspiring a frenzy in the crowd that some guy playing records had never inspired before - was packing out the Paradise Garage every week with the revolutionary, hypnotic mixing style that would become the acid house DJ's stock in trade.
Returning to London, Paul became one of the UK's leading authorities on hip-hop. During his stint as an A&R man for Champion he signed the as-then unknowns Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and Salt N'Pepa. Oh yeah, and he appeared on Blue Peter with a breakdancing crew who he was looking after at the time.
In 1985 young Paul spent the summer on a beautiful Balearic island called Ibiza. Ever heard of it? Oakey is as much responsible as anyone for making it the clubber's paradise it is today, as two years after that first trip he, alongside mates Trevor Fung, Nicky Holloway, Ian St Paul, Danny Rampling and Johnny Walker, went there for a week to celebrate his birthday. If the first visit had been good, this one changed their lives forever. Dancing in the warm night air beneath stars at the then open-air Amnesia to the oddest mix of music any of them had ever heard, courtesy of island legend Alfredo, Paul's urge to import this incredible experience - and the Balearic sound - back to England became too great to resist.
Prior to his Ibiza trip, Paul had been running a successful soul/jazz night at The Project in Streatham. On his return from the white island he persuaded the owner to let him run an after-hours 'Ibiza reunion' party. An attempt at a Balearic music policy had failed Paul one year earlier: the crowd just hadn't been ready to hear so many musical styles mixed together in one night, let alone in one DJ's set, but by 1987, and coupled with Paul's sheer enthusiasm and showman's talent for setting a musical mood, attitudes were changing. The night was a complete success, and led to what was to be - alongside Danny Rampling's Shoom - one of London's, and England's, first major acid house nights: Spectrum at Heaven in Charing Cross.
Spectrum grew out of Future, a night held in The Sanctuary, which annexed the much bigger Heaven club. Many never thought Spectrum (suitably subtitled 'Theatre Of Madness') would succeed: a 1500+ capacity club on a Monday night? Forget about it. And at first they looked to be right. For the first few weeks, attendance was low, leaving Paul and co-promoter Ian St Paul in dire financial straits. Then, suddenly, the vibe was out and the queues were literally going around the block. And a new phase in club culture had begun.
Spectrum continued for a couple of years, changing its name along the way to Land Of Oz. New initiates to the scene (as almost everybody was) marvelled at the full-on atmosphere of the place: hands reaching up into the sweat hazed air, laser lights pulsing and washing over the smiling crowd. Alex Paterson (later of The Orb) DJed in the VIP chillout area (the White Room), while Paul created his now trademark fervour in the cavernous main room.
Alongside running a seminal club night, Paul's production career had also begun by 1988 under the name Electra, working with long-time collaborator Steve Osborne. By 1990, with his work on The Happy Mondays' frugadelic Wrote For Luck and then Hallelujah (on the Madchester Rave On EP), Paul had created two of the cornerstone records of the indie-dance scene, a hybrid that demystified acid house for kids who'd been raised on a musical diet of guitar, bass, and drums. Paul was one of the guest DJs at The Stone Roses' legendary Spike Island gig, and his work with Osborne on The Happy Mondays' classic Pills, Thrills And Bellyaches LP (NME's 1990 Album Of The Year) won the pair the 1991 Brit Award for Best Producer.
Remix galore followed, for Mondays labelmates New Order; Massive Attack; The Shamen, and Arrested Development among others, as Paul and Steve began trading under the name Perfecto. If the name was little known at first that soon changed with the 1992 Perfecto mix of U2's Even Better Than The Real Thing. The track, with delicious irony, attained a higher chart position on release than the original song, thus signalling a watershed in the history and growth of dance music.
1993 saw Paul hired to provide the warm-up sonics on U2's Zoo TV world tour, and as a result the de facto arrival of the superstar DJ. The past decade has seen Paul rack up a dizzying blur of firsts and foremosts, including, not least, his being voted the number one DJ in the world by the readers of DJ magazine, and has heard the name "Oakey!" yelled hoarsely from clubs, fields (including an epoch-making set on the main stage at Glastonbury Festival, no less) and arenas in every corner of the globe.
On the production front Paul began to release his own tracks as well as continuing to turn in remixes, while Perfecto expanded into a fully-fledged label. Its offshoot, Perfecto Fluoro, became the label of choice in the mid-'nineties for the harder, trippier Goa trance sound. Today Perfecto boasts artists as diverse as Arthur Baker, Harry 'Choo Choo' Romero, and Timo Maas on its roster, and has gone from strength to strength by refusing to pander to only one style of dance music. Alongside the building of the Perfecto brand, Paul released a string of superlative mix CD's, amongst them his awesome New York set for Global Underground - still the series' biggest seller to date. And who else would have been commissioned to write the theme for what was certain to be the biggest TV show of all time? How did you guess? Paul wrote and produced the Big Brother theme, as Element 4, with Andy Gray.
On the club front, well, time for a deep breath...Ready? OK, here we go: Paul undertook a legendary two-year residence at Liverpool's Cream that took residencies in general to another level, from the personally designed DJ booth to die-hard fans (dubbed 'the Oakenfolk' in the press) who would travel the length and breadth of the country week in, week out to hear him whip up a magical musical storm, that would still be ringing in the ears and exciting the mind in the office or the lecture hall on Monday morning. Ever keen to push himself further and harder, Paul decamped in 1999 to become Director of Music at home, the multi-million pound superclub built defiantly - and, as it turned out, problematically - in Leicester Square, the heart of London's West End. That club's immediate downturn in popularity after Paul's departure goes to show the extent of his impact and following. There are but a handful of DJ's in the world who attract the fervour and create the excitement that he is capable of provoking in a crowd. You only have to be there when he plays to feel the electric charge in the atmosphere, more akin to the devotional than the merely appreciative.
Leaving home was a difficult decision for Paul, but he risked his UK and European profile, not to mention turning down the certainty of serious amounts of cash, to decamp to America, one of the few places in the world - ironically, given that it all started there - where dance music is yet to be championed and grasped in the way in which it is elsewhere around the globe. But this was a move typical of the man: where others would sit on their laurels and bathe in their hard-won glory, he has always taken the tougher option, sustained by his belief that greater effort means greater rewards. It's this attitude that saw him leave a huge fanbase in Britain to start all over again in the U.S.; that has seen him play to crowds in the low hundreds in isolated Alaska; and that led him to take a pair of Technics with him when he went on holiday to Cuba, and organise a free, unpromoted and not strictly legal party, purely to spread the word of great, life-affirming music and good, good times. This man lives, breathes and eats his art.
So what now for a man at the pinnacle of his profession, the world's premiere DJ? Why, upward, ever upward of course. 2001 has seen Paul score the Joel Silver-produced and John Travolta-starring Swordfish, remix the theme to Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes, DJ on Moby's Arena:One U.S. tour, and make a triumphal return to his home shores with a free gig that left tens of thousands sweat-soaked and grinning like Cheshire Cats on London's Clapham Common. We can only expect that the best is yet to come, so stay tuned and prepare to be amazed.
Nixon's Spirit
Paul Oakenfold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Its Anita Baymont Hunter Thompson's assistant,
I'm going through the messages,
Just getting back to you to let you know that Hunter did get the CD's,
I've listened to them and I'm excited and Hunter has listened to them and
He is interested. So eh we'll give you call back in a couple of days,
Yeah so um great stuff we'll talk soon thanks bye."
"Nixon's spirit will be with us for the rest of our lives
Whether your are me or Bill Clinton or you
Or Kurt Cobain or Bishop Tutu or Keith Richards
Or Aimee Fisher or Boris Yeltsin's daughter
Or her finance's sixteen year old beer drunk brother
With his braided goatee with his whole like a thunder cloud right in front of him."
"This is not a generational thing you don't even have to know
Who Richard Nixon was to be a victim of his ugly Nazi experiments."
"He has poisoned our water for ever.
Nixon will be remembered as a classic case
Of a smart man shitting in his own nest,
But he also shit in our nest
And that was the crime that history will burn on his memory as a brand.
By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States,
By fleeing the White House like a diseased cure,
Richard Nixon broke the heart of the American Dream"
The lyrics of "Nixon's Spirit" by Paul Oakenfold are an excerpt from a voicemail message left by Anita Baymont, Hunter Thompson's assistant, regarding the CD's given to Thompson by Oakenfold. The message is a mix of personal news and political commentary. Baymont refers to how Nixon's legacy will continue to haunt the people of America. She mentions several names from different spheres of society, like politics, music, religion, and entertainment, to emphasize that Nixon's spirit will remain relevant regardless of social status or age. Baymont goes on to suggest that Nixon's corruption has affected every citizen in some way, actively polluting the country's water and leaving a lasting impact. She ends by addressing Nixon's infamous Watergate scandal, which resulted in his resignation and tarnished the nation's belief in the promise of the American Dream.
Overall, the message in the song is that Nixon's actions were unforgivable and must not be overlooked or forgotten. The reference to Aimee Fisher, Boris Yeltsin's daughter, and her fiance's underage brother shows how, despite the different circumstances, they are all affected by Nixon's polluting of the country's water. By mentioning the names of such prominent figures, the song also serves as a reminder that political corruption is not isolated to one person or party but is a systemic problem.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a message for Paul Oakenfold, how are you?
The singer is Anita Baymont Hunter Thompson's assistant, conveying to Paul Oakenfold that she received his messages and will connect with him soon.
Its Anita Baymont Hunter Thompson's assistant,
The singer introduces herself as Anita who works with Hunter Thompson.
I'm going through the messages,
The singer is currently checking through received messages.
Just getting back to you to let you know that Hunter did get the CD's,
The artist is informing Oakenfold that Hunter has received the CD's he sent.
I've listened to them and I'm excited and Hunter has listened to them and
The artist confirms that she and Hunter listened to the CD's and got excited.
He is interested. So eh we'll give you call back in a couple of days,
The singer tells Oakenfold that Hunter has shown interest in his work and will call him back in a few days.
Yeah so um great stuff we'll talk soon thanks bye.
The singer thanks Oakenfold and hints at a future conversation.
Nixon's spirit will be with us for the rest of our lives
The artist says the influence of Richard Nixon will linger forever.
Whether your are me or Bill Clinton or you
The artist believes Nixon's actions will impact anyone, including political leaders like themselves, Bill Clinton or Oakenfold.
Or Kurt Cobain or Bishop Tutu or Keith Richards
The artist cites cultural icons like Kurt Cobain, Bishop Tutu, or Keith Richards, who are also not immune to Nixon's impact.
Or Aimee Fisher or Boris Yeltsin's daughter
The singer mentions the lesser-known Aimee Fisher or Boris Yeltsin's daughter who also can't escape Nixon's reach.
Or her finance's sixteen year old beer drunk brother
Even someone like the artist's fiance's underage, intoxicated brother cannot escape Nixon's effect.
With his braided goatee with his whole like a thunder cloud right in front of him.
The singer describes the physical appearance of the drunken boy being affected by Nixon's actions.
This is not a generational thing you don't even have to know
The singer believes that Nixon's influence does not just affect one generation and requires no prior knowledge to grasp.
Who Richard Nixon was to be a victim of his ugly Nazi experiments.
The singer believes that anyone can become victimized by Nixon's unethical behavior regardless of their knowledge of who he was.
He has poisoned our water for ever.
The artist compares Nixon's corruption to water pollution that never dissipates.
Nixon will be remembered as a classic case
The artist believes Nixon will become a textbook example of infamous, unethical behavior.
Of a smart man shitting in his own nest,
The singer believes Nixon's actions were that of a smart man ruining his own respectable reputation.
But he also shit in our nest
Nixon's actions also negatively impacted the reputation of Americans.
And that was the crime that history will burn on his memory as a brand.
The artist believes that history will forever associate Nixon with his crimes and unethical behavior.
By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States,
The artist believes that Nixon's behavior reduced the office of the President to a lower moral standard.
By fleeing the White House like a diseased cure,
The artist portrays Nixon as someone who fled the White House as a temporary solution to a larger problem.
Richard Nixon broke the heart of the American Dream
The singer believes that Nixon's actions were antithetical to the positive ideals and values of American culture and identity.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY GRAY, HUNTER S. THOMPSON, PAUL MARK OAKENFOLD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juan Carlos Dunick
on Galactic Mantra (Liquid Soul Remix)
Many small errors in these lyrics. A few big ones.