Paul Oakenfold
His set is as
free-form and eclectic as you would expect from Oakenfold and the punters
are as knowledgeable and
appreciative
as you would expect from Cream. It's perfect synergy between DJ and dancefloor
as he delivers a
four-hour ride
of ever-widening ripples of classic house, friendly trance and harder,
complex breaks and the dancefloor
replays the favour
with a non-stop frenzy of the kind that only the Cream crowd deliver.
And when Oakenfold
drops the Daft Punk-meets-disco flavour of Stardust's 'Music Sounds
Better With You'
(his prediction for Tune Of The Summer), the whole venue hits Spinal Tap's
fictional "eleven".
Suddenly everyone's mouthing wordlessly at one another like dazed
goldfish in a
bowl of neat vodka. Later, we meet on Amnesia's outdoor balcony, watching
the
sunrise and Oakenfold
asks, "What did you think?" At first I think he's after some kind of
approval (from
me?). But then I realise he's just checking I've had a good time. That
desire to
share once again.
The truth is that Oakenfold is still preaching the music gospel. Not house
music. Or club
music. Just good music.
"I grew up on
pop music," he says. "Because of that I'm open-minded. If you're only into
one sound then where do you
go when that
sound dies? In all kinds of music there's a lot of crap. It's just a question
of knowing what's the best of
each type. And
that stems from coming to Ibiza ten years ago when the DJs were brave enough
to do that."
Of course Ibiza's
very different these days. Oakenfold's memories of way back when are littered
with references to
long-forgotten
bars, a time when Café Del Mar was off the beaten track outside
San Antonio and the term 'superclub'
was used only
of Manchester United or Real Madrid. And there are regrets too: the rampant
commercialism, the
attitude of some
of the Ibizencos and the attitude of the English lager boy/thug element.
"I have an on-off,
love-hate relationship with this island. Like last year I was here for
six weeks and
my Dad died,
Princess Di died and I saw a kid killed in front of me, knocked off his
motorbike. I've
finished with
girlfriends here. A lot of relationships have fallen apart. Mixed emotions.
But Ibiza has
changed my life.
It touched me deeply and continues to draw me back."
Listening to Oakenfold's
10-year-old memories outside Amnesia (apart from the obvious irony) is
a
melancholy experience;
kind of like looking at the baby photos of British popular culture. But
the
proud father
is ever optimistic.
"The whole scene's
still growing. Divisions in music are breaking down. Kids who buy Oasis
also
buy the Chemical
Brothers, my mix of U2 outsells the original, turntables outsell guitars
and,
musically, everyone's
eyes are on England." And Ibiza?