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Review: Paul Oakenfold presents – We Are Planet Perfecto Volume 01

Douglas — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:41:10 +0000

Paul Oakenfold, a man who has been around since Trance began, has played a myriad of locations. His compilations thorough the ages have been notorious. He’s mixed film soundtracks into “Perfecto Fluoro” and selected his favorites from his performance of at the Great Wall of China (“Great Wall”). “The Goa Mix” is referred to one of the greatest Trance compilations of all time by many. That being said, I’ll be the first to admit Oakenfold has been lower on the radar in the last few years. Recently, though, he’s been releasing some serious singles and his last compilation ripped our faces off. “Never Mind the Bollocks” was full of heavy hitting, extreme Trance with a good balance of lighter tones. The only complaint across the board seemed to be that some of the tracks were a bit old by the time the compilation was released.

“We Are Planet Perfecto: Vol.1? is focused heavily on new material gunning Paul’s Perfecto label. What’s very special about this album is the sneaking suspicion that some of these tracks may be from Paul’s fabled album “Pop Killer,” which has been prolonged in release at least twice and into 2012. From the title of his collaboration’s title with Robert Vadney (that’s right — it finally happened) alone “Pop Star,” we’re seeing the newest sound. You’ll find it at the “pick-up” moment of Disk 1, along with his newest jam “Sleep” and a 2012 remix of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “My Otherside.” This version is extremely different, taking an intense progressive Trance sound rather than the previous house versions everyone has heard. This disk starts off with Juventa’s new song Ocean Sparkles, in the Eric Shaw Cinematic Mix. Oakenfold is a man who knows how important a first impression is, and through the years some of my favorite mix introductions have been carefully picked tunes for his compilations. There’s an intense consistency of winning tracks from the Otherside remix right until the end, a rework of PPK’s classic “Ressurection” by the Planet Perfecto Knights, remixed by Remy Le Duc vs. EC Twins. This is one of the craziest remixes ever done for this song, and leaves you wondering what the man intends to play on his second disk.

Disk 2 opens with USTM’s #3 track of November 2011: the original mix of Syna vs. Ayleon’s “Change.” This track is calming yet intense, instant pulling you into a mix we’ve all been waiting to hear for a long time. Right off the bat Oakenfold brings in his psytrance undertones with Liquid Stranger’s remix of “Ode Ao Sol” and the legendary Man With No Name with his newer tune “Sugar Rush” (Astrix Remix). Minutes later we’re hit with Robert Vadney’s remix of Paul’s song “Firefly” and things take a turn to the high-point of the compilation. Heatbeat’s remix of “This is New York” by Lange and Gareth Emery takes us over the new remix of Grace’s “Not Over Yet” we’ve all been loving, then into two brand classic remixes in a row: of Oakenfold’s “Faster Kill Pussycat” and “Southern Sun!” That’s all before some other noteworthy classics come in remixes and the mix ends with thumping Goa and Euphoric trance selections.

What I really like about this compilation is the skill Paul demonstrates in keeping the same vibe interesting through overtime, mixing each CD almost twenty minutes over the standard hour. The theme here is to demonstrate the new sound of Perfecto Records, and he’s willing to spend extra work in the mix to make sure you get the full picture. Once you realize it’s about time to wrap it up the pace changes again and you realize there’s no stopping this comeback. The sound of Perfecto has once again been solidified.

-Written by Tom Rogers

DJ Magazine Top 100 for 2007

djnth — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:13:32 +0000

Armin Van Buuren is number one in this year’s DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll.

I think everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Armin took the top spot as Top 100 DJ Poll.

Van Buuren has earned the title this year, with all of his top charting tracks and remixes as well as his incredibly popular A State of Trance radio show which is broadcast on 40 stations around the world.

Left behind were a handful of the biggest names dance music has to offer, including Tiesto, John Digweed, Paul Van Dyk, Sasha and Oakenfold.

Notable movers this year are: Justice, Infected Mushroom, Booka Shade, David Guetta, Sander van Doorn, James Zabiela, Freddy le Grand, and Eric Prydz.

Here’s the rest of the TOP 100:

1 Armin Van Buuren
2 Tiesto
3 John Digweed
4 Paul Van Dyk
5 Sasha
6 Above & Beyond
7 Carl Cox
8 Ferry Corsten
9 Infected Mushroom
10 David Guetta
11 Deep Dish
12 Paul Oakenfold
13 Markus Schulz
14 Hernan Cattaneo
15 Sander Van Doorn
16 Eddie Halliwell
17 James Zabiela
18 Astrix
19 Richie Hawtin
20 Marco V
21 Judge Jules
22 Fedde Le Grand
23 Gabriel & Dresden
24 Erick Morillo
25 Roger Sanchez
26 ATB
27 Sven Vath
28 Yahel
29 Umek
30 Andy Moor
31 Gareth Emery
32 Benny Benassi
33 Axwell
34 Mauro Picotto
35 Sander Kleinenberg
36 Eric Prydz
37 Blank & Jones
38 Bad Boy Bill
39 Pete Tong
40 DJ Vibe
41 Tiga
42 Steve Lawler
43 Danny Tenaglia
44 Ronski Speed
45 Nic Fanciulli
46 Steve Angello
47 Nick Warren
48 Matt Hardwick
49 Ricardo Villalobos
50 James Holden
51 Mark Knight
52 The Thrillseekers
53 Marco Bailey
54 Anderson Noise
55 Lange
56 Offer Nissim
57 Kyau and Albert
58 Justice
59 Matt Darey
60 Timo Maas
61 Danny Howells
62 Menno De Jong
63 Bob Sinclar
64 John Acquaviva
65 Agnelli & Nelson
66 Fatboy Slim
67 Andy C
68 Ricky Stone
69 Donald Glaude
70 Desyn Masiello
71 Daft Punk
72 Martin Solveig
73 BT
74 Chris Liebing
75 Valentino Kanzyani
76 Trentemoller
77 Jeff Mills
78 John Graham
79 Robbie Rivera
80 Chemical Brothers
81 Luciano
82 Hype
83 Lisa Lashes
84 Filo and Pero
85 Lee Burridge
86 Armand Van Helden
87 Magda
88 Dave Seaman
89 Victor Calderone
90 Dave Clarke
91 Richard Durand
92 Westbam
93 Sebastien Leger
94 Chus and Ceballos
95 Wally Lopez
96 Booka Shade
97 Adam Beyer
98 Dirty South
99 Erol Alkan
100 Laurent Garnier

via: DJ Mag Official Announcement

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Paul Oakenfold Drunk & Homeless in L.A. Bus Depot

djnth — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 09:01:02 +0000

Paul Oakenfold, once the #1 DJ in the world, was photographed drunken, unkempt, and apparently homeless in a Los Angeles bus depot. My how he has fallen.

His latest release Greatest Hits & Remixes, out Oct. 23 on Perfecto must not being doing too well. This collection features his remixes of Justin Timberlake, U2, Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and others.

(editor’s note: We have reports that this photo might not actually be Paul Oakenfold but rather one of the cast members of ABC’s new sitcoms “Cavemen”. We’ll keep you posted.)